Pluggers by Rick McKee for June 16, 2018

my goodness

Where do pluggers find fourteen grand? (Credit cards?)

My tastes are dated so I’d save all that money.

I’d update my kitchen, but every time I think about it, my newest ideas are outdated.

Gack! I hate those shows. It seems they’re populated with interns from acting school.

You’re a Plugger if your kitchen has Formica and an enameled sink, and you can remember kitchen tables, not breakfast bars or islands. You’re a Plugger if you can re-do 90% or more of the kitchen yourself.

Pluggers know how to save/use their money wisely… and a plugger who loves his sweetie would find a way to pay for stuff she desires!! On a related note.. I suggest a cartoon where a plugger “withdrawing from savings” is him digging through the couch cushions…

Actually most of the pluggers I know would have no problem coming up with the $14,000 primarily because they never saw the reason to replace their custom built in-place solid wood cabinets for cheap manufactured pressboard cabinets just so they can have granite countertops. Now if you are into having to replace your cabinets every few years go for it. Putting granite counter tops on top of most of the cabinets I see on those shows is like putting lipstick on a pig.

I’ve had this happen. “oh those cabinets are so dated” and they were my cabinets. True, I wasn’t fond of the country style when I moved in but they’ve grown on me since they are good quality. Might change the hardware someday

“Dated” is salesman talk for " If I can convince you that still liking something that you have had for years means there is something wrong with you" I will make a whole bunch of money off of replacing it with something then repeating the process until you wise up.

Our last kitchen renovation was just replacing the cabinet doors and hinges. No need to go crazy.

When we first moved in the main bathroom was in really bad shape, so we got a few bids. One guy came in made a beeline for the kitchen and started in on the “dated” thing. I told him to leave. Solid oak is never dated.

Only thing worse is they are ripping out a kitchen that looks like the one you just finished!

It was time to sell my childhood home and yep – boomerang formica counter tops, one piece enameled sink, metal cabinets, etc. Four potential realtors insisted we gut and redo the kitchen before selling. One said slap on a fresh coat of paint and said to list it for $30K more than the others. Guess which one we went with? Yep – and it sold in a month at full price. The new owners gutted the kitchen and did what THEY wanted to do, instead of dealing with whatever we would have chosen.

Yeah, I’m looking at the show thinking that kitchen looks pretty good compared to mine, then the inevitable “This kitchen is sooo dated, we’ll have to replace it before we move in.”

No thanks. I like my ancient bear cave kitchen.

There was an article recently about things that make your house look dated. Pull shades, dust ruffles, paneling, wallpaper, brass chandeliers, and drapes with tie backs. I had everything but shag rugs and an avocado fridge. I’m so far behind I think I’m in front!

The thing is… there is a fine line between what is “dated” and what is “retro chic”…. for me I look mostly to FUNCTION and CONDITION. If something is worn out…. it is time to replace it…. if it is solid condition then it is fine…. and is either “retro” or…. what I tell my wife is “PRE-RETRO CHIC” and that we are ahead of the trend curve!!! :)

And, if you are wise with paint color selection, you can make damn near any “style” look relatively current IMO by repainting the room for $100 or less. :)

Yeah, it kills me to see these young couples on HGTV who can barely afford to buy an affordable home saying, “we don’t want this one because we don’t like the color of the walls.” Hey, kids, a couple days and a couple hundred dollars for paint and you can have the colors you want without blowing your budget on a move-in ready home. They just have no imagination at all.

That’s just the down payment. Then there are new pots and pans, dishes etc. to buy.

If it ain’t broke no need to fix it.

Our son is a contractor, and $14,00.00 won’t even START to cover it! It won’t even cover a bathroom!

Since it’s my house, anyone who doesn’t like my wallpaper, 1950’s recovered 3 times and rebuilt once couch, wicker furniture, Victorian light fixtures, wainscotting, antiques etc, has my permission to go someplace he is more comfortable.

I agree with FlyerTom. I HATE those shows! At that seems to be always what’s on when I’m at the doctor’s office. That or some cooking show, which I also hate. My favorite doctor’s office is one that has NOTHING ON – no TV, no music. But I digress. This reminds me of a sad tale. I had a friend whose husband spent considerable time, money and sweat equity completely remodeling a house by his own labor. Happily, the house sold. Then the new owner tore the house down! He only really wanted the land it was on to build something else! Of course they were happy to have the money, but that was kind of a blow to him after all his hard work!