Mom Time on a Dime

Well, things are moving and grooving!

As you can see, the can lights are installed!

...and Chris wanted to give you all a big hug

If you remember from my first little update, I had the epiphany while writing the post about taking the pantry out and I'm SO glad we decided to do it since it just feels SOOO much better! I really do think will help make a difference in the feel of such a small kitchen.  Countertop space is key!  If the walkthrough from the dining into the kitchen wouldn't have been load-baring, we would have taken the whole thing out and expanded, but hey, work with whatcha got!

We also started the next, expensive process of putting in insulation.
Chris actually forgot about this in the budget and its crazy how quickly a couple hundred dollars can be spent on something that's behind the walls and never seen.  But I guess thats what you get in a condo that's already down to the studs!

So up it went!  In the kitchen...
and all the ceilings first.  This is also helping keep the AC in since its 100+ here in Dallas and that cold air is just leaking out faster than we can cool it down.
Before we insulated the interior walls, we had our plumber come in and make sure all was done with easy accessibility.

See... ohhhh... ahhhhh.... plumbing stuff* (...*official term...)
We also moved a water line through the ceiling and over to the other side of the kitchen... so the fridge can have water and an ice maker.
The bathroom is really coming along too! Look!  We even have a tub!
And see how tall the shower head is?  Boom.
Yay kitchen pipes, water, and a shower above armpit level!

Full disclosure, I don't even know what Im supposed to be looking for in this picture.  Photo by my loving husband.

We also completely updated the water line in the laundry room since it had an awful continuous drip which needed to be fixed ASAP.
See! Much better!

My awesome father-in-law is also working on the bricks above our fireplace.
The actual fire place itself is in fine shape but the brick above it (which was hidden by drywall) needed some help.

The brick is that groody 1970's/80's ugly bricks and not a pretty red brick worth saving, so Im pretty sure we are going to paint the fireplace.  Im still working on my color scheme so stay tuned for that.  Thinking maybe a dark grey with the walls a few shades lighter?  And some crisp white base boards and trim?

I'm also working on our kitchen layout and best options for cabinet color, countertops, and backsplash.  I think that will probably be my next post.   Until then!... Thanks y'all! Hope you're staying cool in this super hot summer!

Something that has always bugged me about "flippers" are when they redo a space by doing the least amount possible as cheaply as they can.  Yes, this is a good way to make money, but the quality of what you CAN turn something into is always lacking.  My theory?  If you're going to do something make it amazing!

That doesn't alway mean you have to spend the big bucks though... you just have to know where to look!  Like our local Habitat for Humanity resale store!

First thing I always check out is are the lights... like this guy who caught my eye right away.
A sputnik chandiler... Pretty funky! and very cool but at an asking price of $174.95 and I would still have to buy the lights, I decided to pass for now.

I also saw this guy, which read very "restoration hardware" to me.
  Pretty... but also $149.95... eh, maybe if they have a sale later.

The whole reason I went in the first place was to look for a new front door for the condo.
These ones I think came from an old school and were the brown color we needed... but were interior only.

This one would have been nice for the back door

But at $149, I can get a brand new one with the built in blind between the glass for $129... soooooo yea, gunna pass.

Then, found these AWESOME metal letters...

Not something I really "need" but at two bucks a pop I was thinking of decking out the boys' room.  However, I had to stop myself and repeat the mantra, "We are poor condo flippers who have yet to close on the sale of our first flip... we are poor, we is poor, we be poor."  The close date to condo #1 could not some soon enough!

I also found this little gem:
and told Chris to stop the search.  If it can't be our exterior door, you bet your little Siegfried and Roy hiney that we're going to have white tigers leading into the bedroom.

Sadly, he did not agree.... ugh, he lacks such vision!!

Next, I went to Home Depot to grab our shower/tub fixtures and sink faucets for the bathroom (plumber is coming tomorrow (Tuesday) and we at least needed the shower fixtures).  But when I walked through the lighting area I was super surprised to see this little guy.
Not a perfect spot on match for the one at the resale store but $30 cheaper and brand new.
Not sure if thats really what Im feeling for this flip, but we'll see.

I was there to plan out our bathroom and started with lighting.

Since the ceilings are dropped in the bathroom, we learned that we can't do over sink lighting without making the mirror tiny-human height (thanks for that lesson condo #1) so we are going to have two sconces on either side.  I liked this one...

And on clearance, I liked it even better.

Heading over to bathroom fixture land, I got lucky with the clearance fairy again!
In all honesty, I actually really liked the large rain head shower to the right, but it didn't have a tub spout AND cost more, so clearance one it is.  Plus, I really do like it! Brushed nickel with just a little bit of shine.

And for the vanity faucet? Matchy-Matchy.
Makes my job a LOT easier when I see those little yellow signs.  Even more so when its really cute stuff! So that was easy.

I showed Chris the chandeliers when I go home and he LOVED the funky sputnik one.  After doing some research to find one that looked like it (to make sure we would be getting a good deal), the closest one I could find to the one I saw was this guy.

via GIPHY

Well guys, even MLS is confirming condo #2 is officially ours!

We started work on Wednesday (and by we I mean Chris and our buddy Blake) and started the little bit of demo there was still to do.

Like opening up this wall.
Nothing crazy drastic, but opening up the space just a couple more feet definitely helps with the flow.

We also remeasured the kitchen so I could go and finalize our kitchen lay out for cabinets,

Sorry for the impromptu shot Blake #reallife #ticketstothegunshow #ladiesheissingle

That's actually a little pantry.
...
...
...
Which as I sit here writing this, am debating getting rid of. Why is this just now dawning on me?  To build out the doors, shelves, drywall, etc, it actually might make more sense to take it out, move the fridge down (which would have been where that little ladder is behind Blake) and add some more storage cabinets with pretty quartz countertops... ... ...

hmmm interesting.  May have to run that by Chris.  It would definitely open up the space and in such a TINY kitchen, it could really use it... decisions, decisions.... anyway, stay posted on that decision.

Turning around, we face the living room and need to decide how many can lights we are going to use.

Photographers note: warn Blake before every picture...

We decided to go with 6 lights and thanked the demo Gods again for giving us a place thats already gutted.  Chris can get those installed in a day.

Regarding the bathroom;

We had toyed with the idea of making a walk-in shower, but Chris reminded me of the one bummer regarding the bathroom; the dropped ceiling, which makes it REALLY short in here (thanks AC unit) and just wouldn't have the space to do it properly.

That plus the added cost of the pluming, adding a little pony wall between the shower and the toilet, and then having to pay for the shower glass which is MUCHO expensive, a walk-in shower just isn't in the cards.

So tub it is... at least we will get to move the shower head up to give it some height.

heaven forbid you want to clean anything higher than your armpits.  Were people in the 70's just 6" shorter than the are now?

I also got to make a run to one of my favorite "play places", Lumber Liquidators.

We had a great experience with them and their pricing with condo #1 so it was a no brainer to go back.  PLUS a vast majority of their flooring (at least the laminate that we were interested in) come with pad already included.  Easy and saves us a step, yes please.

True, we did have about 200 sq ft of the flooring from condo #1 left over, but I think we are going to save that for another project.  This place was talking more "warm wood" to me than "trendy grey" flooring.

This is the first guy I saw and boom, I was in love.

Still has some grey tones to it, but I love the wide plank and the textural warmth to it.

Plus, did you see the price???
Umm yes please!

True the pad isn't attached on this one, but FREE PADDING is just as good!  Chris gave me a budget to keep it under $2 a sq foot so I was THRILLED with this find!

I took a couple samples back to the condo just to double check...
First one: too yellow
Second one: I like, but probably not for this project.  Just a tad too grey
Third: The most expensive, by nearly $1 more than the original one I liked, so that one was vetoed.
Fourth: The Super Sale one is our winner.

Plus I think it looks good with our bathroom tile (which it will meet in a transition to the bathroom) and the kitchen backsplash.
See how it reads a little darker in that pic? I think its really versatile and the "wood grain" variance will look great throughout the condo.

We will need 800sq ft, even though the condo is around 750sq ft, for cuts and stuff and you can always return boxes you don't open.

$1.29 x 800sq ft = $1,032.00

If we were hiring someone to install this, it would probably be 3x that cost.  Hooray for handy husband-man!

So thats it for right now!

Not much else to report... other than we went shopping with our plumber (who lets us walk Home Depot with him and buy the supplies he needs.  Saves us the up-charge!) and were hit with this fun bill on our first day... just on plumbing supplies.

sorry for the heart... didn't want the internet to see our credit card information

Money adds up quick on these things.  Our budget is $20,000 so we'll see how we do.  I'll keep y'all updated!

First let me start of by saying I am SO sorry, and normally Im not that big of a tease; telling y'all we were doing a condo flip and then documenting NONE OF IT.  When we landed the show (more details on that later as soon as Im allowed to talk about it) they made us sign our lives away, which included no posts or updates online of the property we were doing (little things on my personal Facebook and talking about "a tv show" were fine as long as no major details, network name, or show name were posted.  No fun, I know.

The good news is that we are officially DONE with condo #1!  We are currently under contract and will close in a few weeks.  As soon as we are signed and sealed, I can talk a little more openly about that project, even though I'll have to leave some detail out until AFTER the show airs (THIS FALL! YAY!)

AND we JUST closed on our SECOND condo flip! Whoo hoo!!

This one was actually a really fun find, especially since we were in a bidding war with 8 other people (....suckas....)!
As you can see, its only a 1/1 but trust me when I say we got it for a STEAL! (I know finding out how much we are paying on these things is half the fun, but until it's sold, Im going to keep the beginning and end dollars under wraps.  I PROMISE to post a FULL and honest breakdown as soon as its sold though!)

The reason we got it for such a great price is due to the inside of the unit.  Its gutted.
Yea, as in NOTHING... no floor, dry wall, nada...

But hey, what do we care? We like working with a blank slate anyway! And this way, it a LOT easier to get to plumbing, put it recessed can lights, electrical, the works!

So Im going to give you guys a little walk through of the place so you can get a bit better idea of what we are working with.

Let's back up and start with the view right when you walk in the front door; the living room.
Not much to look at, but the exposed brick is pretty cool.  A white-washing in it's future? Probably.

Next we turn around...
and are facing the dining room and entrance to the kitchen.  We will probably knock that wall to the left of the front door back a bit to open up the space, but leave a little divide so you have a spot to put and entry table and place to drop your keys.

Next is the view into the kitchen...
The stinky think about this is the tiny door way and wall to the left is structural.  We can't open it up ALL the way, but will try to take it back to at least counter depth to give it SOME feeling of space.  This kitchen is TINY... I think maybe a 10x10? I could pretty much do a spin and hit all the walls with my freaky long arms.

Heading back to the living room into the hallway, you have your bathroom...

It too is pretty darn small...

Sink/vanity area

shower and toilet

We're going to have to raise the shower head and are debating turning this into a standing shower.  Maybe bring the shower head all the way up to the ceiling and make it a rain shower? That might get pretty pricey though. And with flips, its all about the $$$.

Across the bath, you have a storage closet (sorry no picture... its just an open square right now. Feel free to use your imagination).  So with the bath on the right and the closet on your left, you walk into your master...
Sorry this is such a terrible pictures, but it does bring up the fact that the windows in this unit are new.  Score!

The room is a good size, maybe 14x14? and it has a decent sized closet...
From the corner I was taking that picture, if you turn around, you'd be facing the laundry room...
Its actually a really good size! I think a 6.5x6.5. And from having a 3x4 at our house for laundry, I'm a bit envious...
We plan to that that back area and put in some storage, floating shelves, and make a nice butcher block top folding area.  In my mind, it looks great.

So that's about it! Its nothing crazy at -750sq ft, but I think we can turn it into something pretty cute, and hopefully make some good money off it (Common' baby... mama needs a new laundry room).

I also shot a walk through video of the "before" if you want to get a better sense of how everything is laid out.
So what do you guys think! What are you most excited to see? Any suggestions or things that you think would look cool in such a small space?  Im always opened to ideas!

P.S.- I plan to post a LOT more about this flip on here, but usually upload sneak peaks and fun pics of our flips on my Instagram, LittleHouseintheBigD ... you can also see me sharing super cute pictures of my kids, because lets face it, I'm a mom.

Glad to be back!