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Windows and Tile and Mudding – Oh My!

Renovations· The Guest Bathroom· The Laundry Room

24 Aug

If you haven’t gathered this by now, let me reiterate the fact that I have an incessant need to buy only things from the thrift store or on sale. Before I could even purchase things with my own money, it was ingrained into my brain that I should NEVER buy anything full price.

So it comes as no surprise that I was in deal-finding heaven this past weekend when my parents took Brett and I to this builder’s outlet warehouse.

It’s called Building Materials Outlet and it is in Eagan, Minnesota – the opposite side of the Twin Cities from our house. Which means we have to actually plan to go there. It’s not like we could just hop in the car and run to the store five minutes away. Needless to say, this was a big deal, even before we pulled into the parking lot.

So how did we find this place if it’s on the other side of the world? My parents had been talking about visiting BMO since we moved in last March and it had taken us six months to finally get it on the calendar.

They would yammer on about how great this place was and that we could find some great deals and it would be so wonderful and we need to get there soon, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Having now made the trek down there, I can assure you it was everything they said and more.

Let me paint the scene. You walk into this warehouse and to your right is appliances, then there is an area for tile and furniture and then rows and rows of kitchen cabinets. Then there are rows of bathroom vanities and then these absolutely stunning butcher blocks and also a section of granite counter tops. If you go to the back of the store, there is a separate room filled with trim. From there, you walk into a room full of doors of all different sizes and then that connects to an area with rows and rows of windows and a section of bathtubs. And best of all, everything is at a discounted price.

I mean, this place is amazing. Extremely overwhelming, but amazing.

windows

We walked in at about 8:15 in the morning and after doing a quick once-over of the entire place, wound up in the window section. We were looking for two windows to go in the guest bedroom, one for the mudroom and one for the second guest bedroom/the current office. After sifting through the mountain of windows, we were able to get four Pella windows for more than half-off the retail price.

After going through the windows, we perused the bathtubs to see if we could find something for the guest bathroom, but came up short.

Then we mulled over buying a new dryer because our current one leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out either.

Lastly, and what I am most excited to share, is we found some tile for the mudroom and guest bathroom at 99 cents and $1.33 per square foot!

mudroom tile

mudroom tile

guest bathroom tile

guest bathroom tile

 

We walked out at 11:30 with huge smiles on our faces – you know, the kind that you get when you realize you just got an amazing deal and are so excited to bring your goodies home.

Which brings me to the moral of this great story – check your area for a builders outlet. I didn’t even know there was such a thing, but now that I do, I am sure Brett and I will be frequent visitors.

This place is anything but glamorous, but honestly who cares when you’re getting a great deal? Renovating a house is dang expensive and if you can cut some costs by having to sift through tons of stuff, then do it! It may be a little more work to actually find what you are looking for, but it’ll save you hundreds in the long run!

sheetrock
P.s. We (and by we, I mean Brett) started mudding the sheetrock and our walls are starting to actually look real!

All our best,

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Related posts:

You Can Never Have Too Much Light: Adding New Windows Project Update: Fall & Winter 2016 Guest Bathroom Renovation UpdateGuest Bathroom Renovation Update Laundry Room Renovation: Lessons From a Can of Paint

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Comments

  1. Sabrina says

    September 16, 2016 at 1:29 pm

    I can’t believe what a great deal you guys made there! I actually just found out that BMO has three locations, one of them in FL. It would be a long drive (6 hours) but I love myself a road trip!! I can’t wait to see what the mudroom looks like with the new tile. The walls look great already!!

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      September 18, 2016 at 7:31 pm

      That is so awesome you have one close. If it’s anything like the one we have, it would definitely be worth the trip!
      Thank you for the kind words – I cannot wait for the tile either 🙂
      Best,
      Kelly

      Reply

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oh, hi!

We’re Brett and Kelly! A husband and wife team tackling our first complete home renovation. We love all things DIY, our two furbabes and lazy summer days out on the lake. Our mission? To share the journey of turning a house into a home.

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the archives

Who doesn't love a good before and after?!? Who doesn't love a good before and after?!?
Last summer, Brett and I didn’t get out on the w Last summer, Brett and I didn’t get out on the water at all – not once did we take the boat out.

Given the fact that we live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I felt like the worst Minnesotan. How could we not enjoy the water when there’s three within five miles of our house?

This year? We've been able to get out on some body of water at least once per week - how cool is that?!

What’s been really great about these last few months is that we’ve seemed to have found a nice “balance” between go-go-go and taking time to enjoy whatever it may be.

While this season of relaxed work is probably not the norm, it's been a pleasant surprise that we'll be enjoying for as long as we can!

Enjoy the week, friends!
If you need me, I'll be here gazing lovingly at ou If you need me, I'll be here gazing lovingly at our newly trimmed windows and painted walls 😍

We have to add trim to the slider, install the baseboards and frame up + install the pantry door.

And then...

This kitchen will be DONE! 🙌
Yesterday, #ontheblog we did a mid-year check in o Yesterday, #ontheblog we did a mid-year check in on our renovation list and shared two new projects we're adding (of course!)

The second addition? Giving a little refresh to this laundry room by pushing back the washer, dryer and cabinets.

We finished it wayyyy back in 2017 but there was a small frustration: the washer and dryer cover the window.

Every few months we'd circle back to the space and see how we could make it work. It was one of those little issues that might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but here's the thing - you deserve to LOVE your home.

After four and a half years of constant projects, I often find myself wondering why in the hell we are doing this and I keep coming back to this idea that a home is meant to be loved, to share a story, to work for you, to be a space that you can relax in and enjoy.

So while the washer and dryer covering a window might be insignificant to a visitor, for us, it's something we see every day. And, after three years of brainstorming, we finally found a solution that felt good.

I guess that's the bonus of being four years into a reno - the idea of knocking down a wall seems like an easy project nowadays 😂😂
Just in case you missed it - new last Thursday #on Just in case you missed it - new last Thursday #ontheblog is a tour of our front porch and a few summer decorating ideas!

Hope you all had a safe and happy Fourth of July! 🧨
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New post #ontheblog today all about the lawsuit we've been in with our neighbor for the last year. And it started all because of our garage.

In short: three years ago the county required us to get a survey done on our property in order to build the garage. The results showed that the easement our neighbor was using to access her property was not in the right place - it was inside our property lines instead of outside.

Fast forward to July 2, 2019 when we were served lawsuit paperwork from said neighbor, claiming the rights to the easement location - and it's been a long, stressful process since then.

But, we received the good news last week from our lawyer - everything is finalized and we can finally put this whole mess behind us!

Cheers to starting the week off on a high note!
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In other news, Brett scored big time and found a giant rug for our living room - it was half off and arrived last week. Now we're patiently waiting until we get the new floors down until we roll it out. Check the stories if you want to get a sneak peak!😁😁 Enjoy the day, my friends!
Spent the evening at my parent's with two of my si Spent the evening at my parent's with two of my siblings and their kiddos.

Brett showed up around dinner time and proceeded to spend the next hour in a water + cake fight with six kids under 10.

Yup, I'm married to an adult child. 😂😂 Kidding aside - I had one of those 'I love summer' moments, watching them all run around outside, laughing their heads off.

Hope you're enjoying the start to your week, friends! 🙌
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Two words: dried grout.

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We started this entryway with white built-ins and light walls. Damn it looked good in pictures but real life? With two black dogs and a lake... Well let's just say the functionality of the design choices were at an all time low.

So, we overhauled the space and darkened the walls and built-ins. While I was a little nervous to go so dark, I have to admit Brett's instincts were right one this one.

So, here's to continuing to find that balance of function and design - and I'd love hear, have you compromised anything because it just didn't fit with how your family lives in your home?!?

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