Humans are mostly made of water, which is why when we drink the element, good things happen — like regulating our temperature, keeping our muscles and joints spry, and of course, helping to filter out the toxins in our body we ingest all day.
That’s why we like to think of the water we drink as the purest substance we put in our bodies. While that may be true, according to science, the water we drink is not exactly as pure as we’d hope.
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Name: Laura Merle
Location: West Village — New York, New York
Size: Around 500 square feet
Years lived in: 3 years, renting
I love my apartment. It’s old. It’s a bit run-down. And it has almost all the New York charm you can possibly hope for (I sadly don’t have a fireplace…). I rented the place on a bit of a whim: A bad day at work meant that I was procrastinating online and found a listing for a two-bedroom place in the West Village for a not insane amount. “Obviously fake. Or gone,” I thought, but rather than emailing the agent I called him and to my surprise the apartment was not only still available, but had just been dropped a couple hundred below the listed price. I enlisted a friend to go check it out that evening, “Because if he wants to kill us, at least there’ll be two of us to fight him off.”
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When you’re house shopping, it’s easy to find faults with the homes you tour. Why is the master bedroom Cookie Monster blue? Whoever designed the kitchen didn’t know a thing about cooking. Did vampires live here; there’s hardly any natural light?!
Sure, most design flaws could be remedied with renovations. But, we don’t blame you if you’ve ever fantasized about buying a plot of land and building your own house so you can have a say in every single design element—from the teak hardwood floors to the slate roofing.
So, how much, exactly, does it cost to build your own home?
The short answer: An average of $427,892, or about $154 per square foot for a 2,776 square-foot house. That’s according to the latest report from the National Association of Home Builders, which uses data from 2017.
Although, real estate professionals will warn that’s really just a base and on the lower end of the scale.
“The costs of building have increased. We are looking at what was once $150-ish per square foot, now looking like $220 per square foot minimum,” says Michelle Mumoli, the CEO and Realtor of The Mumoli Group at Keller Williams City Life Jersey City.
Also, unexpected home building costs can easily run into six figures, warns Dan Lesniak, a real estate agent and author of the Hyperlocal Hyperfast Real Estate Agent.
“Home builders usually go under contract for a base price, which doesn’t include a lot of the selections: cabinets, appliances, tile, counter tops, carpets, alarm systems, exterior lighting,” Lesniak says. “These things add up very quickly.”
What we’re getting at: $427,892 is really just a baseline because there’s a whole lot of factors that can affect the cost of building a home, including custom finishings, where you’re building your house, and if you run into any construction problems along the way.
Here’s a look at what it costs to build a home, including some unexpected expenses that can throw off a budget:
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Bathroom vanities can take a serious chunk out of a renovation budget. Given that a mid-range bath remodel can run upwards of $19,000, according to Remodeling’s 2018 Cost vs. Value report, the prices shouldn’t come as a surprise, but they often do. I was determined to not drop a small fortune during my recent bathroom remodel, but at first that seemed like an impossible task. The vanities I kept crushing on were upwards of a thousand dollars (and often $2,000) and that often didn’t include the counter or sink. So, yeah, no.
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Have you ever fantasized about living in Stars Hollow, going to Luke’s for a cup of coffee, and stuffing your face with pizza on Lorelai Gilmore’s couch? We’ve all been there. For years, this has just been a dream and we’ve had to settle for binge-watching “Gilmore Girls” and the revival series.
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Attention shoppers: One of your favorite stores is adding home decor to its roster.
From megawatt retailers like Amazon and Target, to direct-to-consumer companies, to small boutiques, design enthusiasts are in no shortage of places to find beautiful furniture and accessories. Still, we’re always craving somewhere new to shop.
Over the past few years, big fashion brands like Gucci and the Elder Statesman have released equally stunning home decor collections. Now, J.Crew is dipping its toes into the interiors world with a line of their very own.
We’ll let that sink in for a minute.
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Name: Haley Lertola
Location: True North — Detroit, Michigan
Size: 1,100 square feet
Years lived in: 1/2 year, renting
Haley Lertola owns an event planning and design company, Detroit Cultivated, where she’s “committed to disrupting the Detroit event industry by creating inspired experiences that incorporate sustainable practices. One of the goals of each event is to transport guests to a truly original setting. In late 2016 we planned a dinner party for a corporate client in the two original Quonset huts. I loved every minute of working in the Quonset hut. I felt inspired by its unique shape and the natural light that was let in on such on a cold, December day in Michigan.”
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The HGTV Dream is going up—and not just in altitude. According to PEOPLE, the 2019 Dream Home is the priciest one yet—valued at over $2.3 million.
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If you’re a fan of fun and inexpensive home decor DIYs—and who isn’t?—then we’ve got the hack for you. Usually reserved for hanging clothes to dry, and in my case, securing bags of foodstuff in the kitchen, it seems clothespins are actually awesome for organizing all sorts of things throughout your home. Don’t believe us? Read ahead for some of the savviest ways to use clothespins to streamline your space.
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If you’re a frequent “FixerUpper” viewer, then you may remember the Prickly Pear House from last year. Named for its giant, overgrown cactus in the front yard, the four-bed, three-and-a-half bath home in Woodway, Texas was entirely overhauled thanks to Chip and Joanna Gaines. And the best part? It can now be yours if you’re willing to drop $499,000.
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