Today was our final appointment with Sasha. We were to sign off on all the options that we chose for the house. Over the past few days, I've been mulling over the final upgrades list that I got from Sasha. The final tally was 50k in upgrades, so of course we needed to trim the fat.

Actually the 50k included the old choices that we made in the first appointment so cutting that stuff would bring the costs down dramatically. We had to think hard though, discussing what to keep and what to reject. We had to reject a few things like the blinds package that we picked out. At $5000 with the blinds credit that Jayman offered was a huge chunk of our upgrade budget, so we opted out for the washer dryer instead. We also had to cut out the granite counter tops that we wanted in the kitchen and bathrooms. The initial quote only included the kitchen and that alone was already in the $7000 mark. We also went back to a few standard spec cabinets, instead of the fancy pull out recycling center.

I felt bad because that was what Ritchie really wanted in the new house, but I assured her that I could whip something up for a fraction of the price once we get possession of the new place. I had to forgo the ceiling sound system that I wanted. At $2700 for three ceiling mounted speakers, it was just an unnecessary upgrade. We also rejected the counter top in the laundry room, as they were going to charge $700 to put one in. I am sure that I can do this once we move into the home.

Other things that we had to give up were stain grade railings and plant ledges. Because we were changing the colours to match the showhome, we had to change the type of wood the kitchen and bathroom cabinets were made of. We went from maple to cherry cabinetry, and in order for the other wood surfaces in the home to match the cherry stain in the kitchen and bathrooms, the railings and all other wood details needed to be changed to cherry as well. And in doing so would add another $3000 to the budget, so we opted out for paint grade finishes. It'll still look good and not cost us an arm and a leg.

In the end, we brought the upgrade budget down from 50k to 19k, which fit into our budget just fine. We did get to keep a lot of options, from upgraded appliances, tile work, carpet, hardwood, trim, doors, door hardware, kitchen hardware, glass work and rounded corners to mention a few. So in the end we were both more comfortable with the choices that we made and can't wait for the house to stat building!