Now that the major demo is over, some real decisions have to be made. Pinterest can only take me so far. On Friday we discovered that our original plan for the chimney style vent won’t work – the exterior vent runs into the a lower roofline on the back of the house. Bummer. That means hours and hours of research trying to find a solution that is within budget. We received the final costs for the cabinets with the continual upgrades that we keep adding…..and then take off. The good news is that Jeff will still get his dovetail cabinet drawers. The countertop costs came in above the estimate, but again, we added a bit of counter for a beverage bar that we’ll love once it’s done, so when I’m cooking out of my budget cookbooks for the rest of the year, I’ll only have myself to blame. Understanding how everything is priced out can be a bit confusing, but since this is not HGTV, we’re learning how this works in the real world. Continue reading →