Number crunching

Have you ever:

- Bought something you did not need that you probably should not have spent the money on?
- Spent much more on a major purchase than you planned (house, car)?
- Spent more on house repairs/remodeling than you planned?
- Lived to not regret these expenditures?

The answers? Yes, yes, oh yes, and yes.

Our first house cost $40,000 back in 1990. Even then, it was not a lot of money. We sank quite a bit into it, but we made it all back when we sold it five years later. Our second house cost somewhat more. Then, on house No. 3, we had a limit a very high limit, for us - on what we could spend ... which we exceeded by $10,000. Then came the house in Houston, where I didn't feel so bad about it - the house looked like a very, very expensive place, but because we were out in the suburbs it was actually much less.

(Though it was odd, too, as people got the wrong impression - my uncle visited and, upon entering, said, wow, this must have cost $600,000. It made me cringe and want to tell him how much we actually spent. Then I worried that my in-laws would think the same thing. We didn't ever tell people, but I don't like that people think we would really spend that much on a house.)

So here we are on house No. 5. We spent less - quite a bit less - than the Houston house. But we are doing a lot of work. Bunches of work. (Which is wearing on me - we are looking at six months of remodeling so far.)

Today we sat down and finalized our plans. Meaning, we made the decision about which kitchen cabinets to get.

Now, I am somewhat of an expert on remodeling. I am, A, living through this project and B, we have done the major old-house-rehab before. Additionally, I have watched many, many hours of HGTV and This Old House. Plus we used to subscribe to Old House Journal - what other qualifications are required to be an expert?

In any event, I know how to do things right (read: I have watched My House is Worth What, so I know what the real estate experts will say). I know that kitchens and bathrooms are where it's at, that you do not want to own the most expensive house on the block, that you do not want to leave some rooms undone.

Thus, armed with this knowledge, with this expertise, I sat with Gary and we finalized our remodeling budget. I hate to cut corners on a job this big; I do not want to look back and think, oh, we should have gotten a different counter top or backsplash - things that are way too pricey to change. It's one thing to paint a whole, to change cabinet knobs, but a whole different story when it comes to tiling a floor.

So we looked at prices and numbers and made final decisions:

- Slate floors
- Slate backsplash
- Granite tile countertops (though they look like solid granite)
- Undermount kitchen sink (though it does raise the price of the countertops, as the inside edge around the sink must be finished)
- And ... for the cabinets: We are going with Zinn.

If you are from here, you know the significance. Zinn is *the* name in kitchen cabinets. When you read the real estate listings, they are always sure to mention "Zinn kitchen." They are custom, completely designed for your kitchen, made locally. You choose the door design, the wood, the finish. They will install the hardware you want and come change it if you don't like it. They design every element of your kitchen.

Yes, they are more expensive. But their prices include installation and, because designing cabinets is a service, they charge no sales tax. So when you look at their prices vs. others, the difference is not as significant as you might have thought.

Plus, they are guaranteed - if something should break or need to be fixed, they will do it for us forever.

These are not just cabinets - the Zinn people are artisans. These cabinets will be a work of art, just for us, for our house.

Clearly, I have totally bought into the whole Zinn sales spiel. But it's all true - trust me. Or just talk to anyone who has ever had a Zinn kitchen. Which I have - back in our first Lafayette house. It was old, from the late 60s or early 70s. The cabinets were very simple, and they only looked slightly dated (the finish was a little shiny). But no one had ever changed them - the cabinets were very sturdy; they were a quality product.

It's all falling into place. It's costing us for sure; we will spend as much adding 520 sf as we spent on an entire house (and we're talking house No. 2, not the first house). We are spending more than my friend just spent on her dream house, a lot more than my in-laws entire house is worth.

And we still need to refinish floors and paint three rooms. Install a new garage door. Rebuild our deck.

But it's what we want. We will end up with an 1880 house with fantastic woodwork, three fireplaces, and living room built-ins; we will have a four-room master suite with bathroom, dressing room, fireplace and five closets. We will have the old house charm of a formal dining room but a fabulously updated eat-in kitchen, a third-floor game room and four bedrooms.

In short, it will be the perfect home for our family. Which is all anyone could ask for.