Speaking of houses...which would you remodel first?

[ksr5377]

DH and I are interested in other's opinions on this.  Our new home was built in the 70's and needs  A LOT of updating.  Going into it we both mentioned that it would be nice to make sure our bedroom was done first, so that we had a retreat from everything.  At the home we're currently in (also a major fixer upper) we are just finished our master bath remodel this week and putting it on the market next week.  So we'll never enjoy it :p  We don't want that to happen again.  However, we're DIY'ers.  If you are one you know that it means everything takes twice as long as you initially think it will.  So we'll go in with the intent of doing the second project within 2 years, but it could be 5.  Who knows.  So here are out options.

 

Master suite:  Our 'master' bedroom is really just the largest bedroom.  There are two closets, but not walk ins.  Next door to this bedroom is a  walk-in closet (7'x9'), and then next door to that is the upstairs full bath that we'll be sharing with our 4 (maybe more someday) children.  We would like to take that closet and turn it into a bathroom so that we have a master bath.  

 

Kitchen:  Well, it was built in the 70's.  The counters are orange.  The floors are orange/yellow/green/brown.  The cabinets are solid pecan and not as dark as they could be for being built in that era, but their style isn't our favorite.  There's also a wall that will be coming down between the kitchen and living room.  However, it's in great shape.  Everything is high quality so it's showing almost no wear, other than being dated.  

 

There's a part of me that wants to do the kitchen because that's what everyone will see first.  I hate the idea of hating my kitchen.  I also know that if we do the kitchen first, there's a good chance we won't have a master bathroom any time soon - maybe ever.  If it's something only DH and I see it tends to get pushed to the bottom of the list.  If we do the bathroom first, there's no way we'll go decades without doing SOMETHING to the kitchen.  Even if it's just new floors and counters with painted cabinets.  Also, knowing how we'll probably be in the middle of remodeling over the next 5 years makes me like the idea of having that 'retreat' I hear people mention when talking about master bedrooms.  But then our vanity kicks in and we wonder if we'll ever invite anyone over if we hate all the entertaining areas of our home.  

[TammyS]

Do the kitchen.  If it's going to stop you from inviting people over, then just do it.

 

We had so much to do in our house when we bought it that I put off redoing the (only, realllllly ugly and worn, but functional) bathroom for two years.  And we didn't invite anyone over that whole time.  Stupid, stupid.  I finally got around to doing a mini-upgrade to that bathroom (painted the vanity, painted the wall tile, and put in a piece of sheet vinyl over the floor) that made me feel comfortable inviting people over now.  Only cost $100, and I feel stupid now that I didn't do it sooner (I really want to gut the bathroom to the studs, but that's just not in the budget right now).

[regentrude]

Kitchen. That's where functionality comes in.

Good countertops allow me to roll pastry and knead bread right on the surface. easy to clean floor means less work.

I wish we could expand the dining area, so taking down the wall would be my top priority.

I spend a lot more of my waking hours in the kitchen/dining area than anywhere else in the house.

 

Master bedroom? Well, a bedroom is for sleeping. It would be last on my list of priorities, as long as functionality is given (i.e. comfortable bed)

Unless the bathroom is the only bathroom in the house for six people, then I'd consider adding a second bathroom the top priority.

Edited May 1, 2016 by regentrude

[OneStepAtATime]

I would agree with doing the kitchen first if you already had a private bathroom or at least a second upstairs bathroom, even if it were tiny and ugly.  You don't.  You have one upstairs bathroom you will be sharing with 4 children (and possibly more).  Children that are getting older every day.  I would 100% do the Master bathroom first, and I would do it ASAP.  I might even call around and get prices from local reputable contractors just to see what the cost would be to at least get the big stuff out of the way, then do the cosmetic stuff yourself.

 

Then I would set up a time line/budget of things that you could do to the kitchen to make it look nicer in the interim, with a plan for a full upgrade in a few year's time.

Edited May 1, 2016 by OneStepAtATime

[OneStepAtATime]

You know, what you might do talk with a local contractor about the closet/bathroom conversion AND the wall coming down downstairs and see if it would be financially feasible for them to do both but you and your DH do the finishing touches.  As long as the wall is not loadbearing, you and your DH could do the demolition, the contractor could do the reframing probably in a fraction of the time it might take you and your DH since they would theoretically have a team of workers, then you and your DH could do the cosmetic stuff yourselves.  It might make getting both projects done in a more timely fashion a stronger possibility.

 

I suggest this because I have sometimes assumed a contractor was out of our financial possibilities but when I shopped around and found a good one I discovered they sometimes actually saved us money and certainly they saved us time in the long run.

[JFSinIL]

I vote bathroom. Having an extra place to take care of one's bodily functions takes precedence of prettifying a kitchen that already functions. Although, cost permitting, if possible I'd have the counter replaced at least in the kitchen. Throw some floor mats down to hide the flooring if need be. Swap out the kitchen hardware if you like. But put the most time and effort into another bathroom.

Edited May 1, 2016 by JFSinIL

[Closeacademy]

I vote kitchen mostly because I know that is the room where I spend most of my day other than the living room.  The bathroom can be next.

[zoobie]

If you mean you only have one toilet for 6 people and plan on adding more butts, yeah, bathroom all the way. Don't let an ugly kitchen stop you from inviting people over. Everyone has had an ugly kitchen at some point!

[Carrie12345]

While I love a great bathroom, I spend SO much more time in the kitchen!

[LisaKinVA]

Having done the 1 bathroom for 7 people thing...BATHROOM.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I live in the kitchen, so I'd do that first.  

 

But good point above about bathrooms.  If you only have ONE in the whole house, I'd add a bathroom first.  But I assume you have at least one downstairs, so it's not such a priority.

[JanetC]

I think it depends on "how bad" each room is, but overall you spend more time cooking and eating than showering, so I would say kitchen.

[Saddlemomma]

I voted for the kitchen.  That's the first thing we did in our 100+ YO house.  I cook A LOT!  Our kitchen was very outdated and all in one color -- cream -- even the appliances.  I didn't enjoy cooking in it.  DH and I did it all ourselves.  Now I have my dream country, farmhouse kitchen.  I'm in the kitchen most of the time and now I can enjoy it!

[TranquilMind]

I would agree with doing the kitchen first if you already had a private bathroom or at least a second upstairs bathroom, even if it were tiny and ugly.  You don't.  You have one upstairs bathroom you will be sharing with 4 children (and possibly more).  Children that are getting older every day.  I would 100% do the Master bathroom first, and I would do it ASAP.  I might even call around and get prices from local reputable contractors just to see what the cost would be to at least get the big stuff out of the way, then do the cosmetic stuff yourself.

 

Then I would set up a time line/budget of things that you could do to the kitchen to make it look nicer in the interim, with a plan for a full upgrade in a few year's time.

 

I agree.  Once your clothing and all your personal items get upstairs, this will be a messy undertaking.  Do the bedroom first so you can move in.  The kitchen sounds nice anyway, but you could always have them professionally painted and put on new counters for now.  Not too expensive and you can bring them into this century without going full out. 

 

We are redoing a house right now.  The upstairs will be entirely finished before we move in, including refinishing the hardwoods. The kitchen has been painted, but is also adjacent to the garage, so someday doing that job will be less of an inconvenience than people upstairs working among our things. 

 

[BarbecueMom]

Bathroom. I have an ugly dated kitchen with broken drawers and walls that alternate between sea foam blue and mauve. I spend a lot of time in there. But my bedroom is my retreat, and my master bathroom is the panic room inside my retreat. It's small and has only a shower, but it is private. That's the one thing I would never ever give up in a house if we moved.

[Lolly]

6 people sharing one bathroom? You need another bathroom.

 

 

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Since the kitchen is functional, and you're all sharing one bathroom, definitely add the bathroom first.

 

In the meantime, invite people over to see your "retro" kitchen while they still can.

[bettyandbob]

I'd do the kitchen. For some of the reasons mentioned. Plus, in the event you have to move, the kitchen is the thing people notice more than anything else. So you'll have flexibility to move again (even if you don't want to).

[EMS83]

We'd do the bathroom first because we don't like sharing with the kids, and because we don't really entertain anyway.  That's just us, though.

[Annie G]

It makes me twitchy to think about only having one bathroom.  Yesterday dd had two kids down at the same time, barfing.  With kids, that kind of thing happens...so I'd opt for a second bathroom first even though a remodeled kitchen would probably get more use. 

 

ETA:  We lived in a house with one bathroom for a few years and we got along just fine. So yeah, it's perfectly do-able. 

Edited May 1, 2016 by Annie G

[Carol in Cal.]

I'd hire someone to change out the counters and floor in the kitchen but leave the rest of the job for later.  And I wouldn't go all crazy with fancy countertops--I'd take a 'get her down' approach with something reasonably priced that doesn't take a lot of work to figure out.  I'd view it as temporary to make the kitchen bearable while waiting to do a full remodel of it.

 

And in parallel I'd work on the master bath myself.

[Spryte]

Not reading other replies first, so as not to be swayed...

 

Master retreat. Create your serene space. And ... The bathroom. You will love it. Make it a special place for you and DH to relax and recharge.

 

You said the kitchen is in good shape, just dated. Live with that, knowing it will change, and maybe embrace it in a campy way if you can. 70s mushroom decor, anyone? :P

 

I think if you go the other way around, there will always be a higher priority than your retreat.

[MEmama]

I'll vote kitchen.

 

I've never had a master bath and don't want one. Just something else to clean and heat, IMO. A separate tub would be a deal breaker if I were looking to buy.

 

But our bedrooms are only for sleeping, no one really bothers to go upstairs during the day. And we practically live in the kitchen. Every single day I am grateful to have such a beautiful, functional family space. It's truly the heart of our home.

[OneStepAtATime]

The other thing to think about is the location of your second bathroom upstairs.  You would be running plumbing into a place theoretically there is no plumbing.  If you do the kitchen first, then discover you need to rip up something from the kitchen remodel to be able to get the plumbing in upstairs, that would really stink.  You are also talking about removing a wall downstairs and probably redoing a wall upstairs for the bathroom.  You don't know what is in the walls.  We removed a wall we knew was load bearing but we didn't realize that a ton of electrical and plumbing was running through that wall.  Honestly, I would have a contractor come do an inspection of both spaces just to see what you are facing and what might make the most financial sense.

[prairiewindmomma]

I need my own potty that is not my kids' potty.

 

Also, having four kids at home all day often means that both potties are in use.  Some illnesses are easily to cope with with bowls/buckets, others are not. 

 

Choose having a second toilet first if you have more than two kids.

 

ITA with the others about looking into having a contractor do specific parts of the reno.  Hiring out drywall and tile work really cut down on the time we spent on our reno without adding a lot of expense.

[ErinE]

Kitchen first. We renovated our entire house except the kitchen as it had been renovated in the past ten years. We were dinged on our home inspection because the kitchen looked outdated compared to the rest of the house. We still have issues with electrical quirks because the kitchen draws so much power.

[Bluegoat]

I might go for the bathroom, especially if you only have one.  With four kids, things can get backed up.

 

I'm assuming teh kitchen actually works in terms of cooking, and the issue is mainly aesthetic.  The 70s kitchen look isn't my favorite, but if I was stuck with one for a while, I would just really run with the theme, get some cute vintage cafe curtains and maybe some kitsch accessories.  There are some cute things available in the right colours at the moment.

[Mothersweets]

Bathroom!!

[AngieW in Texas]

I would absolutely do the bathroom first. One bathroom for 6 people is not enough. Even if you have a half-bath also, you need more than one bathroom where people can shower/bathe when there are 6 people at home.

 

 

[Guest]

Bathroom!!! More the better! If you can live with the kitchen for a bit, appliances are good, do the bath first. See if you can hire someone to do the bath so it gets done quicker than take your time on the kitchen

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited May 2, 2016 by Paradox5

[Katy]

The kitchen will add more value to your home financially and personally from the sound of it.

 

Realistically though, I'd do the one that will be more timeless & less trendy first, that way it won't look dated as quickly.

[Xahm]

Bathroom! I grew up in a house with one for 6 people. Being a teen girl and needing the toilet while teen brother is showering is not ideal.

[KathyBC]

I voted kitchen, but only if you have at least another 1/2 bath somewhere. If it is one bathroom for six people, then yes that should probably be dealt with first.

[gardenmom5]

this is a choice between remodling a kitchen and adding a bathroom.  I'd add the bathroom.

[happypamama]

Of those choices, I'd go with bathroom.  Especially if you're considering having more children in the near future, I'd go with bathroom.

[Catalytic]

4 kids?  BATHROOM.  But make it basic and get on with that kitchen!  (Whenever possible, our kitchen is our main room, so it's pretty darned important.  A crappy kitchen in a house means we hate living there.  Seriously, it just ruins the whole house for us.)  But, 4 kids...you need another bathroom asap.  Even if it's a composting toilet in the closet while you work on the kitchen!

 

[nd293]

Kitchen. Or any area where you spend most of the time. While the idea of a place to 'retreat' is lovely, family life isn't really like that, and if that was the nicest spot in the house, that is where we'd all spend our time.

[Aiden]

It sounds like, in your situation, the bathroom is a functionality issue and the kitchen is a form issue (with some functionality implications, in that you don't want to invite people over). I'd pick function over form every time--do the bathroom first. I've lived in a bunch of houses that I haven't gotten to choose, and there's always something I don't like, something a tad embarrassing, sometimes something bad enough that if I had the choice, I'd rip it out and fix it ASAP. People understand. If you feel the need to comment or apologize for your kitchen: "Welcome to our retro kitchen! We want to update it, but it works fine and there were some other things we wanted to renovate first. In the meantime, enjoy your flashback to the 70s!"

[displace]

I would prioritize the bathroom if it's the only one in the house. But I would compromise by laying cheap vinyl in the meantime to cover ugly floors in the kitchen. Also there is counter spray to convert ugly to white or something else as a temporary fix. It covers Formica, tile, whatever. You could probably hire a teen to help babysit for a weekend and knock out the cosmetic kitchen. Or hire a teen to do a mediocre job while you take the kids out.

[ThursdayNext]

6 people, 1 bathroom = has to be the bathroom first.

 

Now, I do care what people see, and try to have people over regularly. It was hard when our kitchen was torn linoleum, the livingroom nasty stained carpet, and we had no couches & chairs, just 1 old futon. It was good for me to get over myself, but still... Our bedroom is the only room left in the house with nasty stained cream carpet from previous owners. Company will see the living room, go up to the playroom, other kids in my kids' rooms, but nobody comes to our bedroom. We will recarpet when we have spare cash. I also spend more on bedding etc for decorating my daughters room than our room. Our master bath will be the last to get wallpaper stripped too. It doesn't bother me.

 

A kitchen like that would bug me. But 6 people can't easily share a bathroom. That will make daily life difficult, not just un-pretty.

 

Can you do the bathroom and look at doing just the floor in the kitchen?

Maybe save $ by buying used toilet and sink on craigslist? If you can get the ugly floor gone, maybe you can rock those retro orange countertops for a while. Then paint cabinets white when you're finished with the other projects. Then come up with $$ for countertops or full remodel. Also, you know you won't leave the kitchen forever, and the risk of never doing the bathroom is to great to put it off.

[Bambam]

Personally, I'd do the kitchen first. We spend more awake time there than we do the bedroom. And with small children, the only time I saw my bedroom was when it was bedtime or when I dumped the clean clothes on my bed for sorting and folding, but the living couch works for that too.

[OneStepAtATime]

Personally, I'd do the kitchen first. We spend more awake time there than we do the bedroom. And with small children, the only time I saw my bedroom was when it was bedtime or when I dumped the clean clothes on my bed for sorting and folding, but the living couch works for that too.

I agree, I hardly spend any time in my bedroom, except for sleeping.  I kind of wish I could fold the bed into the floor and make it a craft room by day and a bedroom by night.   :laugh:

 

I think the reason a ton of people are saying remodel the upstairs closet into a bathroom first before redoing the very functional kitchen is not really to give a retreat but because lack of toilets/bathing areas in a house of 6 people (potentially more) can be a daily inconvenience, especially if anyone gets a stomach bug.  I also consider it a bit of a safety issue since I keep medications in my bathroom.  When the kids were little it was nice to be able to keep that room locked.  Perfectly functional but very retro kitchen vs. having more than just the one upstairs bathroom for 6+ people is how I think many are seeing this.  The retreat thing is nice, but yeah, not as big for me as the usable bathroom space.  :)