BEFORE AFTER
This 1980's Guest House is a super cool place. Nestled on a hill in middle Tennessee the view is spectacular, the pool it sits beside tranquil and the house was built from materials harvested from the property itself and milled at a nearby mill. While all that is super cool, we really just wanted it to have a more modern, 2023 vibe. We also wanted to brighten the space a bit since "dark" was "IN" in the 80's but not so much now. Everything worked great except the house had no Laundry Room and no closet. So we definitely had our work cut out for us! Below are some overall planning recommendations for a project like this. I will also be sharing more over next few months.
Tip #2 Prioritize your project's "Wish List". For us, it was FUNCTION of the Laundry Room as TOP priority. Lightening the whole vibe was second.
To create a Laundry Room we needed to move the pool equipment and hot water heater out of the back corner room. This was SO expensive it blew our budget so we put off replacing cabinetry and appliances to a later date. So Tip #2 is MOVING PLUMBING is EXPENSIVE so be prepared. In our case we HAD to create a laundry room so it will be worth it, just decide how badly you want plumbing moved and is it worth it for your overall project? See if you can achieve objective by not moving plumbing.
Tip #3. Be flexible. When the plumbing came in way over budget I made the decision to forego replacing cabinetry, countertops, sinks, faucets and appliances at this time and stick to super functional things like getting the plumbing moved and new LIGHTING installed. New cabinetry and all will come later.
Tip #4 Do what work you can do yourself. Painting the existing cabinetry myself saved money and still helped us achieve the objective of brightening up the whole cabin! I also sewed the cutest ball fringe on some throw pillows and curtains that pulls the whole project together!