Example 1: my own house. A 1991 single-story in Vacaville, remodeled room by room over seven years: the kitchen in 2019, both baths in 2024 and a pantry added to the kitchen in 2026. I chose every finish, designed the rooms and lived through every install. My contractor worked out the shower with me during construction, niche and bench height included.
Example 2: a client’s house in Long Beach. No kitchen or bath remodel, just furniture plans, light fixtures and finishes.
Room index
Example 1: my own house
My own 1991 house in Vacaville, remodeled from 2019 to 2026.
Before and after: kitchen and baths
Same rooms, same footprints.
Kitchen, sink wall Before above, after below. Tile counters and arched cabinet doors out; quartz, shaker cabinet doors and a patterned backsplash in.
Kitchen, range wall Before at left, after at right. The raised tile bar came out, so the counter now runs level toward the fireplace.
Primary bath Before above, after below. A tiled drop-in tub and oak vanity, replaced with a freestanding tub and a long quartz counter.
Primary bath, shower Before at left, after at right. Glass block and 4-inch tile out; veined porcelain, a bench and a pebble floor in.
Hall bath, lighting Before at left, after at right. The bulb strip came down and the lighted mirror does the work now, along with three new recessed lights (two over the sinks, one over the shower) and a new exhaust fan.
Kitchen remodel in Vacaville: about $22,700
What it cost, all in: about $22,700 in 2019 and 2020. That covers cabinets, counters and installation from the cabinet shop, four appliances, the sink and faucet, a window shade, and a $550 chandelier I never hung. In 2026 I added a pantry cabinet from the same cabinet line, still made seven years later: $1,654 for the cabinet and $950 to install it. That brings everything spent on the kitchen to about $25,300.
Where the money went
Cabinets and hardware $6,261
White shaker, 14 pieces (15% contractor discount, passed on to me), a trash pullout and 27 handles
Quartz counters $1,900
Two slabs
Backsplash $670
The glass tile, plus grout, caulk and metal edge trim
Labor $6,650
The cabinet shop’s installation, including removing the raised tile bar, extending the counter and running the hood vent through the ceiling
Sales tax and plumbing parts $794
Tax on the cabinet shop’s materials, and plumbing parts
Appliances $4,844
Refrigerator, slide-in gas range, microwave and dishwasher ($3,601), protection plans, installation, haul-away and parts ($998), and tax
Sink and faucet $665
A 32-inch workstation sink, faucet and soap dispenser, with tax and shipping
Window shade $350
Chandelier $550
Bought and never hung. Seven years later it’s still in my garage.
Total $22,684
The floor was fairly new, so it stayed, and the disposal and the existing lights were reused. The chandelier still counts, because I paid for it. Before buying appliances, I priced three matching sets: KitchenAid at $5,311, LG at $4,556 and the Whirlpool set I bought at $3,601, all before tax.
A 1991 kitchen with tile counters and cathedral-arch cabinet doors. The footprint and the paint color stayed; everything else changed: shaker cabinet doors to the ceiling, quartz with the veins lined up across the peninsula, and a backsplash doing the only patterned work in the room.
What it cost in 2024: about $49,300 all in. The contractor’s price was $32,000. In addition to that, $14,672 in finishes, fixtures, furniture and art I picked on my own, and one $2,620 change order. See the selections, drawing and priced list for this bath.
Where the money went
Contractor’s price $32,000
Labor, plus the tile, shower glass and paint he supplied
Change order $2,620
One bill for changes made once construction started
Vanity wall $7,565
Cabinets and quartz, two sinks and faucets, the lighted mirror cabinet, vanity lights, and the room’s cabinet hardware and towel bars
Tub, toilet and shutters $5,023
Freestanding tub and tub faucet, smart bidet toilet, made-to-measure shutters on both windows
Shower valve and drain $687
Furniture and art $1,397
The oak cabinet, a vanity chair, wall art and a side table
Total $49,292
Grab bars bought for later aren’t counted.
The two baths show the range. The primary has a smart toilet ($1,946) and a 72-inch lighted mirror cabinet ($2,799). The hall bath has a standard toilet ($695) and a 70-inch lighted mirror with a separate recessed medicine cabinet ($1,880).
Veined porcelain covers the shower walls. The pebble tile underfoot is the only pattern that repeats, and it repeats on purpose. Leftover quartz went to the window sills, the niche, the threshold and the curb under the shower glass.
The same veined porcelain and pebble tile as the primary bath, on purpose, so the two baths read as one new build. The pebble wraps the front of the tub instead of hiding behind a panel.
A client’s house in Long Beach, 2014: furniture plans, light fixtures and finishes, no construction.
Furnishing a house in Long Beach: about $23,500
Paint, wallpaper, lighting, a furniture plan and furniture, plus reupholstering what was worth keeping and a desk drawn and custom-made from scratch. Same method as my own house: the bed wall and the desk were drawn and modeled before anything was ordered or built.
What it cost in 2014: about $23,500 all in, or roughly $33,000 in today’s dollars. That covers furniture, lighting, wallpaper, fabric, upholstery and drapes, bedding, picture framing, a ceiling fan and the closet organizer, plus freight, installation and sales tax. It doesn’t count the design fee, or a few things paid for separately: the painting, the desk’s iron frame and glass top, removing the old cabinet and closet, and moving the electrical box for the wall lights. With me today, the design for the living room, primary bedroom and office would start at $5,400, at $1,800 a room.
Selections Wood-grain wallpaper for the bed wall, headboard, nightstands, iron wall lights with linen shades, driftwood art, and the sitting area’s console, swing-arm lamp and leather lounge chair.
Bedroom sitting area
Where the sitting area started A 1949 panoramic team photograph. The whole sitting area was built around it.
Bedroom sitting area, planned first Laid out in 3D on the computer before anything was bought: dark walls, a curtain panel at the window, the lounge chair and ottoman, the console and an instrument against the wall.
Bedroom sitting area Before at left, after at right. The tall wardrobe came out, and the photo went up over a wood and metal console, under a swing-arm lamp, with dark walls, leather and sheepskin.
Primary bedroom, driftwood wall Before at left, after at right. A bare cream wall, painted charcoal, with two panels hung as a pair.
Primary bedroom, bed wall before Cream paint, no headboard and a pair of wood wall lights.
Primary bedroom, bed wall drawing The wall drawn and measured, with the electrical marked, so the wall-light boxes could move before the wallpaper went up.
Primary bedroom, bed wall built Wallpaper, headboard, nightstands and the iron wall lights, built from the drawing above.
Primary bedroom The papered bed wall meets the charcoal wall and the driftwood.
Living room, paint and fabric All Benjamin Moore: River Gorge Gray on the wall the art hangs on, White Heron on the ceiling and trim, and Coastal Fog, Sharkskin and Audubon Russet in the kitchen, office and dining room that open off it. Pinned up with the pillow fabrics, the rug and the size for the art over the sofa.
Living room Before above, after below. Same sectional, coffee table and rug. The cushions got new beige covers, plus new art and pillows.
Desk, drawn to fit the alcove 7′4″ overall, glass top on a black iron frame. A metal shop built the frame from this drawing, and a glass shop cut the top to fit once the frame was built.
Desk alcove Painted and empty at left; the desk in at right, with holes cut into the glass for the computer cords, at the client’s request.
Guest closet Sketch, then before and after. Measured and drawn on graph paper: hanging space along the top and one side, and linen shelves across about three-quarters of the back wall.
These are my numbers. Yours depend on your house and what you choose, and that’s what the first visit settles: you have a price range for your room when I leave, or you don’t pay for the visit.
If one of these rooms is close to what you’re trying to plan or design, say so in the form and tell me what’s different about yours.
