Assembling Furniture & IKEA Kitchen

Well, big surprise what we did today! We put together a bunch of the furniture we bought yesterday. I should say that Fredrik and Linnea did most of the building. I cleaned and did housework like dishes and laundry. Not my favorite tasks in the world but it is a small house and we run out of things quickly if they don't get washed frequently. Our washing machine is small and it takes a long time to run. Then I have to hang dry the clothes (yuck) which is fairly quick but the clothes are stiff. Our dishwasher also takes a long time to run. Not sure what it is doing but it seems to take twice as long than at home. I heard this is a Swedish/European thing and pretty typical. So, not an exciting day for photos but I took a few.

Fredrik and Linnea building our furniture.

Davin helped a little bit too but for the most part he was more interested in playing games.

One exciting thing we did today was meet with a contractor that Fredrik has been in contact with since we bought the house. He seemed like a nice fella and of course he knows Fredrik's cousin Staffan (everyone knows everyone in this small town) who I am pretty sure recommended him to us. We have a huge list of projects that we would "like" to do but it all depends on cost and if we would get our money back either renting or selling it later.

We were surprised how little some things cost and how REALLY expensive other things were. Fredrik wants to get a quote on the larger projects from another contractor he has also been in contact with. So, we decided to start with two small and inexpensive projects first so we can test the waters with this contractor. Luckily they were also on the top of our list of things we want done so we can enjoy the house better. The first project is to reinstall our 1/2 bath. The previous owner had taken it out and converted it into a tiny office and we really need a 2nd bathroom. All of the items are stored in our basement so the only cost is having someone reconnect everything. That cost is approximately $450.

The second project is to add an outlet for a dryer so we can stack a dryer on top of our washing machine. We would need to buy a dryer but those weren't too expensive. The dryer will cost more than the outlet but not a lot more. This cost is approximately $300.

Things that are crazy expensive? Wallpapering the house. We would like to replace all the wallpaper in the house and it isn't something we want to do ourselves. I have never wallpapered and Fredrik doesn't like doing it. Mostly we just don't like the style/colors but some rooms are really in need of it being replaced. Our house is just under 1000 sqft and the approximate cost just to PREPARE the house ... $4,500! That does not include the actual paper (it ranges widely depending on quality and design) nor the cost to install it. So really ... $4,500 just to fill holes and cracks in the walls?

Another thing we thought was expensive... refacing the kitchen. Usually, this is a cheaper option rather than replacing all the cabinets in the states. You just replace the cabinet doors with something nicer. Well, I don't think that is the case here. It would be approximately $6,000! He encouraged us to look at IKEA and their kitchen designer as it is a cheap option that a lot of people use. So, with the help of my husband to translate all the items and menus ... I spent the day building our "dream" kitchen here. Guess what? That cost? $4,400! Of course, there is still the cost of delivery and installation which maybe doubles the price? So maybe we just wait a few years and update the kitchen when we have more money. It is probably better than spending $6,000 now for a band aid patch that I know I won't really be happy with.

Swedish dream kitchen costs $4,400!