How a quick coat of paint became an obsessive hobby in home improvement for Kelly Murphy
AFTER: Now he can’t stop remodeling.
BEFORE: Kelly Murphy’s bathroom redo cost him only $800.
For Kelly Murphy, "The whole project started with a can of paint someone gave me."
The project wasn’t supposed to be much of a project at all. When he first surveyed his bathroom, Murphy’s plan was to quickly slap up a coat of paint to freshen the walls. Then he decided he preferred a smooth surface to the heavy texture already there. So before applying any paint, he began sanding.
At first, Murphy was simply going to paint the wainscoting white. Instead, he decided to replace it. Wainscoting, a tongue-and-groove paneling hung on the lower part of a wall, is often used as an inexpensive and easy way to finish a room.
"I ripped that out and the wall wasn’t finished underneath, so I resurfaced the wall," he says. But to finish the wall, "I had to remove the toilet and the fixtures had to come out."
After that, there was no stopping him.
Murphy never considered himself much of a do-it-yourselfer before, but as with many people who first begin to tinker, the home improvement bug proved to be a chronic disease. What started as a quick afternoon project became a months-long renovation.
Murphy never liked the tile and didn’t really care for the sink, and since he was already so invested, he began looking for replacements. A store called Floor & Décor in North Dallas offered free classes in how to lay tile, so he decided to look into it.
He was lucky in that he was the only person to show up for class that day, which meant he got individual instruction on the dos and don’ts of cutting and laying tile. He learned to plan his layout to minimize cutting by working around outlets and corners.
The tile he eventually used, however, he found elsewhere. A friend had installed some he loved that cost $12 per square foot. After searching a number of places, he says, "I found these two hot Israeli brothers who have a store on Harry Hines. I paid 79 cents a square foot" for virtually the same slate and granite pieces.
Murphy’s tub had been recently replaced and he reused the original toilet, but the rest of the room was new. He accessorized the bathroom with an oversized framed mirror from Ikea and turned a wine rack into a towel holder, rolling towels to fit where bottles were intended. He found a sink and 1950s-era metal cabinets at Discount Home Warehouse, an architectural salvage store on Empire Central. He exchanged the traditional wooden door for one made one of frosted glass.
Doing all of the work himself and scouring the city for the best bargains he could find, Murphy estimates the entire bathroom redo cost him only $800.
But that was just the beginning. In the three years he lived in the house, Murphy estimates that he made about $4,000 in improvements. When he sold it, he pocketed a $50,000 profit.
And as much as he liked the color of that original can of paint that started the project, he found it just wasn’t suitable for a high-humidity area. The can remains unused.
Murphy has continued to renovate ever since, bringing value and his own personal style to his house. When he recently moved to Beaumont, he got a great price on a house but knew the kitchen had to be updated. After his recent bathroom adventure, a complete gutting just didn’t seem daunting.
The original 1950s kitchen had a refrigerator in one corner and the stove in another separated by six feet of counter space. A big table fit in the middle of the room.
"I love to bake and you need counter space for that," Murphy says.
He thought of relocating the kitchen, but because of the slab foundation, the plumbing couldn’t easily be moved. He planned the layout with a designer at Ikea and got the cabinets from them, but knew he needed to get creative again to stay on budget and find interesting fixtures he wanted.
In Dallas, he saw a stainless steel farm sink for $1,400. On eBay, he found a similar fixture for $500. He priced faucets at Lowe’s for $200 to $500. He eventually purchased one for $89 on eBay.
The original kitchen had one shallow pantry and a spring-loaded door that wouldn’t do for his tastes.
"I hate cabinet doors slamming," Murphy says. His new kitchen features six pantries that each pull out with springs that prevent them from banging shut.
While he hired an electrician and a plumber to hook up the gas line and plumbing and connect the wiring to the boxes, he saved money by pulling new wiring through the walls and attic himself. Outlets are concealed under the counters so wiring for appliances such as the coffeemaker and microwave remain out of sight.
Murphy saved money on appliances by shopping at the Sears Outlet store in North Dallas. He says he was careful about what he bought, but found pieces with minor scratches and dents on the sides that were completely obscured when slid into place.
Although he wanted to build a center island, he felt that the new, bigger cabinets and appliances took up too much space. Instead, he settled on a two-foot-by-four-foot stainless steel moveable island. With two bar stools, it serves the same purpose.
Including appliances, Murphy’s kitchen project cost about $10,000. But if he has learned one thing, it’s that you can’t judge too much on the dollar amount — eventually, most home improvements not only pay for themselves, but are rewarding to do.
Discount Home Ware-house, 1758 Empire Central, 214-631-2755, dhwsalvage.com.
Floor & Décor, 2350 Alberta Drive, 972-243-9230; flooranddecoroutlets.com.
FloorNMore, 10845 Harry Hines Blvd., 214-350-0650, floornmore.com.
Sears Outlet, 1215 Marsh Lane #180, Carrollton, 972-418-2293.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice – Great Spaces print edition April 18, 2008.