And we thought it would be easy...

Well, it’s been a heck of a weekend. DH and I are starting to get really serious about the kitchen remodel. Saturday we chatted with a kitchen designer who is going to draw up a plan for our kitchen and price it out. We’re responsible for choosing lighting and appliances. He suggested we stop at the Great Indoors for some ideas. Which we did, and were promptly overwhelmed by the stunning array of choices we had to make. Refrigerator: top freezer, bottom freezer, side by side, built in, with water dispenser. Range or cooktop and wall oven? Dishwasher?

With that in mind we signed up for a subscription to Consumer Reports to try and narrow down the choices. No help there. We got recommendations, but then try and find those models in the store. Near impossible.

One of the things that we’re concerned about is making sure that the renovation looks like an update. We also wanted to see some "designed" kitchens for ideas, find out what the new trends are, what our "competition" was, etc. So today we went to some model homes in some new communities in Clarksburg. We went to 7-8 homes and holy crap! I cannot believe how big these homes were. They were ridiculous. 4200 square feet – four finished levels, and every bedroom has a bathroom. I couldn’t understand what kind of families would live in these homes – and indeed even how they could be families. The master bedroom had its own living room; the kids had their own living rooms, plus rec rooms, the normal family room, sun room. A four-person family could literally spend their lives in the same house never seeing each other. Rather than finding it stunning, which I think is the reaction of most, I found it very cold.

What we did learn is why homes in our neighborhood are probably not selling like hotcakes – as they did just a year ago. They are being listed between $550-$675k, and these new houses (albeit 20 minutes or so up the road and not nearly as convenient to highways or public transportation), are being priced very similarly, or just a bit more ($450 for town homes larger than our house through about $850k for a ridiculous 4200 square foot monstrosity) The models are replete with master baths with giant soaking tubs, granite kitchens, hardwood floors throughout – all manner of luxurious amenities. So imagine you have your budget, and you are looking at a 20-year-old, not really updated house vs. a brand new, very large (looking), totally modern model home. Priced similarly (and with creative financing – probably within a few hundred dollars monthly payment, which for most is what really counts) and the choice seems easy – even if it means a ~20 minute longer commute.

In order to compete with these homes on their terms (if that is even possible) we’d have to totally update the kitchen (which we’re doing), renovate the master bath so that we have tiled floors, a 6 foot soaking or Jacuzzi tub, a separate, two-person steam shower, a window over the bathtub, skylights, yada yada yada. We’d also have to finish the basement with separate home theater, exercise room, rec area, and bar area that is nearly as kitted out as the kitchen (granite, fridge, wine cooler, sink, etc)

We’ve got a lot of work to do.