"Our kitchen was small, but we made due," said Charity, 38. "We knew one day we would get around to fixing it up."
Renovation on the kitchen started in July 2007 when Tim decided to knock down a wall to create a space for a countertop and bar area. The hole in the wall led to expanding the kitchen by about half, upgrading the appliances, adding new lights and installing granite counter tops.
"I knew the only way to get the project done was to get it started," said Tim, 37. "Otherwise, I would have never done anything."
Tim gave up part of the garage so the kitchen could grow. He moved the water heater into the garage, relocated the washer and dryer and installed new windows.
For their efforts, the Figallo's won Best Kitchen makeover in The Virginian-Pilot's 2009 Do-It-Yourself Contest.
The co mpetition awards $500 to winners in each of five categories - Best Kitchen, Best Bath, Best Low-Budget Project, Best Outdoor Project and Best Theme Room - with an additional $500 going to the overall winner.
"I entered right at the last minute and didn't think we would ever hear anything back," Charity said. "We were both shocked and surprised to hear we had won."
Tim, a Navy aircraft mechanic, spent his nights and weekends working on the kitchen. During the 18 months that the kitchen was under construction, he even went on a three-month deployment.
"I had to keep the kitchen functional this whole time," he said. "At one point the... countertops were pieces of plywood."
The Figallos spent about $15,000 for kitchen makeover in their Windsor Woods ranch. They saved money by purchasing at scratch-and-dent sales and waiting until things were marked down. Tim's grandmother gifted the couple the granite to use on the counters.
The now-230-square-foot kitchen houses a large island with additional cabinet space and a seating area.
"I learned to swing a hammer at a young age," Tim said of his DIY skills. "I just keep working at something until I figure it out."
The Figallos would like to finish a few details before calling their kitchen makeover complete. Tim is still adding trim around the windows and floor.
"Eventually we will create another half bar that goes into the dining room," Charity said. "It's a work in progress, but it's still my favorite room in the house."
In her own words: Charity Figallo’s kitchen renovation
My husband, Tim, is the perpetual do-it-yourselfer . I feel completely blessed to have such a handy husband.
Our kitchen was a measly 120 square feet , but I have churned out thousands of meals in my postage-stamp-sized kitchen and supervised many craft and school projects from this small space. After nearly nine years we finally began the renovation . My husband was generous enough to give up some of his garage space to expand our tiny kitchen to 230 square feet.
My contribution was the design and layout and choosing all the colors and materials that would go into our new dream kitchen on a $15,000 budget. I also was the clean-up crew .
My best advice would be to never settle for full price on anything . Shop around; you will be amazed at how inexpensive things can be when you put a little extra effort into research. We shopped all the scratch-and-dent sales, wholesale home-improvement stores (like Home Emporium) and, of course, all of the labor was done by my husband.
When I say labor, I mean demolition of two walls, removal and relocation of a water heater and washer and dryer (which had to have all new plumbing and a new drain) relocation of outlets, wiring for new recess lighting, the hanging of drywall, the widening of our main kitchen window, cutting out brick to add an additional side window, tiling our beautiful travertine floors, installing a gorgeous back splash by cutting 120 subway tiles from standard 12-by-12-inch marble tiles I found on clearance at Home Depot, installation of cabinets and guess what? A pot filler to boot.
This project would easily have cost $65,000, but because of my husband we have this amazing kitchen . I want to cry now that I am seeing on paper just how much work he has done. I love my kitchen, but I love my husband even more .
