Many of you have asked for updates on my son Karl’s house.
He bought this house back in March of 2021. You can read about that HERE. There were no houses for sale at all in our town. He looked in neighboring towns and that was non-existent too. He looked for over a year. He finally ended up contacting a local guy who has rentals and asked if he would ever consider selling one of his rentals. He was and Karl bought this one… It needed work.
Most of his money went into the bones of the house.
He needed new electricity, windows, insulation, and siding. By the time he did all of that, the money had run out.
So…he’s been living with this awkward kitchen. These are pictures from when he originally looked at the house. It’s slightly better now.
Check out those… funky counter heights. Who remodels like this??
He knew it needed help and it’s been on his list to fix but the windows, electricity update, insulation, and siding took precedence.
Several people have asked for updates on his house but really, besides this pretty blue siding and new windows that they fixed in February of this year, there isn’t a lot to see.
I just have these older pictures and don’t have a current picture of his house.
He had wanted the house to be green but at the time, green siding wasn’t available. He ended up picking the blue and it’s really a great choice for his house.
We’ve done a few other things like painting the dining room and two of the bedrooms.
Buck has helped him cut down a couple of trees. He planted a couple of trees.
But nothing that was costly.
Last week, on Monday, he took the first step toward remodeling his kitchen. If you’ve been reading the blog for any amount of time you know our family has a very do-it-yourself mode…and we’re pretty frugal. So if the kitchen is going to get done, you can bet it’s not going to be done completely by contractors and it’s not going to be done at full price.
In light of that, I’ve been on a hunt for some used kitchen cabinets for Karl’s kitchen. I wasn’t in hot pursuit but I did a saved search on Facebook Marketplace. That meant that any time someone in my area posted kitchen cabinets for sale, I would get a notification. Most of the items I was tagged in weren’t anything we’d buy. They were more of old cabinets one might put in their garage or it was incomplete kitchens with only a sink area. I’ve had the saved search since he originally bought the house.
Well on Monday morning at 6 am Rusty my foster dog started barking. I didn’t know what was up so I got out of bed and went downstairs to check on him. It turns out he needed to go outside NOW so I went outside in my jammers and robe and took him to the bathroom in the 32-degree weather. 
Well after that there was no going back to bed so I sat down at the computer and went to scroll through Facebook. I had an alert that there were kitchen cabinets. This is what I saw.
Oh…these looked like about the best set of cabinets that I have seen.
There seemed to be a lot of them too.
They were only half an hour away…
…and they were only asking $1500 for all of them.
This sink was included as were the countertops. I didn’t think we could make the countertops work but still, that was a pretty good deal.
There was also a 5′ x 3′ island. The cabinets were from 2010. I thought it was worth shooting a message to Karl.
The cabinets must have been listed late the evening before.
Karl liked them and contacted the guy. He said several people had contacted him and the first person there with $1500 in cash could have them.
I called my other son Buck who knows a lot more about all of this than Karl or I do and Buck said he thought he could make the cabinets work.
I happen to be about a mile out of town heading to the town where the cabinets were so I turned around, got $1500 in cash, and bought the cabinets…
and best of all…
The cabinets were already removed. All we have to do is pick them up. I tried them out to make sure they weren’t the cheap low-end cabinets. They aren’t…they aren’t the high-high end either. They are just right…and the hardware isn’t terrible either.
Now we’re going to be playing Tetris (a puzzle game) trying to figure out which cabinet goes where and how to configure Karl’s kitchen.
Karl doesn’t have the funds to jump in head first with all of this and the cabinets are really here before we actually are ready for them but, how could we pass them up? He still needs to save some money for an electric update with a few more plug-ins, sheetrock, drywall…flooring too. All we know is that he has the big brunt of the bill, the cabinets paid for. YAHOO!!
Luckily I have garage space to store them until he’s ready for them.
I decided for a present to Karl I am going to have the same gal that did the plans for my deck draw up plans for Karl’s kitchen. That way we have a visual of what it might look like. I’m excited to see that and will share that with you when we get them.
So thanks to Rusty my foster dog for waking me up early and getting me to see the sale posting for the cabinets…and that my dear readers is the start of the dream of Karl getting a new kitchen.
Nice find on those cabinets! Can’t wait to see them in Karl’s kitchen.
How are Rusty’s eyes doing?
How funny, I had in mind almost the same comment! How is Rusty?
Hooray for a great find! Karl’s kitchen is going to look so good. Having a home and getting it refinished is so expensive, even doing most of the work yourself. Good going you all.
That’s very exciting! Your family is so good with finding deals, repurposing, and doing your own work.
I have cabinets that look very like those. We moved here in 2012 and the cabinets are very well built. Congratulations on finding cabinets that will work.
We have also played the same game with used cabinets, not fun but the cabinets did their job until we could afford new. Those same used cabinets then went into a rental we bought and are still there today.
Awesome! The kitchen is going to be fabulous!
Nice find. I’m anxious to see the finished project!
Just yesterday I was wondering how Carl’s house is coming along and here’s the answer! The kitchen looks like it will be really nice. A puzzle to put together but such satisfaction when done. Will some of the cabinets go in the bathroom? How did you get them from where they were at to your garage?
Very cool! I hope Rusty got an extra treat once the cabinets were secured in your garage!
I have seen kitchens with lower counters in spots. It’s supposed to make things like kneading bread easier. But those were absolutely nothing like this was done!
You may want to ask the designer to figure out options for the leftover cabinets. I’ve seen people use kitchen cabinets to make a variety of built ins. If there is a basement, he could finish it out to make a nice play area & workspace, especially with the island. Exciting.
Since the seller is redoing their kitchen, they may be waiting on new appliances to complete their job. Perhaps their “old” ones will be available for sale in the near future. They look to be in good condition and better than what he currently has. Just an idea.
Since the sellers are redoing their kitchen, they may be waiting on new appliances. Perhaps you can call to see if they will be selling their current ones in the near future. They look to be in better shape than the current ones.
What a totally spectacular find for Karl!!! Can’t wait to see his new kitchen…he may have cabinets to sell or to put in the garage he will probably get at some time!!! If any of your followers also follow Connie, they will know “the rest of the story”!!! So excited for all three of you!!!
What is Connie’s blog name?
I have those same kitchen cupboards. Mine were custom made to fit my kitchen. I have had them for years and they have held up well. I was wondering how Rusty is doing. I hope his eyes are better.
What a wonderful family that takes care of each other!! Your diligence in watching for cabinets has really paid off! They will be perfect for decades to come! Karl may be ready to host thanksgiving dinner in 2023!! Thank you for sharing!
Well done to your marvellous family, Jo. Great nite effort, Karl’s kitchen will be fabulous. Love his blue house too – much nicer than the green he wanted!!!!
If the dining room is next to the kitchen, this may be the time to demo a wall and use those cabinets for a bigger kitchen with an eating area. Those cabinets look really in good shape. Hardware can be cleaned up or painted for a fresh look.
That low counter looks like they had to work around that window. If the window cannot be redone, maybe counters could be higher on both sides, with a small area dropped for charging station, coffee bar or plants.
Stores like Menards often have way discounted flooring and backsplash tile. You can always mix colors for the backsplash or make a border on the floor if you need to supplement.
I do love the blue siding. It looks so fresh with the white windows.
This house is definitely a project, but it is going to be super cute as Karl moves on with reno. Good job, Jo, for helping making a comfy home.
I really like the color of his house! My house is green and I like it, too. Those are nice cabinets..just wondering what the seller was putting in to replace them (look too nice to be replaced).
Good job mom and Rusty!
Karl has “rail fence” flooring in his kitchen…he must be related to a quilter…lol
What a great deal! Karl is very fortunate that he has you looking out for his needs. So wonderful to have such nice cupboards for his kitchen. Yes, thank you Rusty!
What a find! Bet Karl is thrilled with those cabinets – those are nice! What a great Christmas present, too, to have the kitchen configuration done that way so he’ll know what goes where. The blue on his home is perfect, too! That’s going to be one really cute house when he’s all done…thanks for sharing with all of us.
Wow, that was a very nice surprise for getting up early. I am looking forward to the rest of the kitchen renovation. I assume he went ahead and took the countertops and sink as well. It’s good for him to have the cabinets so he can choose a flooring to compliment it. It really looked nice in that house.
What a great Mom you are! This was a spectacular find! Can’t wait to see them in place! Can we have an update on Rusty’s eyes!
What a wonderful find for Karls’s kitchen. Those cabinets still look brand new, and I like your idea to hire the designer to help with the placements and getting the most out of Karls kitchen space. Great find Jo. I also like the color of Karls house; the blue is fantastic, and he is right to put his money into the bones of the house before he remodels the inside spaces.
The cabinets look wonderful. Looking forward to seeing his kitchen after the remodel. Thank you and Karl for sharing.