Brighton Homeowners Create a Bright Future

Brighton Homeowners Create a Bright Future

May 2014—Jeff Klein and his wife, Rachel, knew that, if they wanted to become homeowners in Boston’s high-cost market, they would need to buy a fixer-upper. They found a two-family house on a quiet street in Brighton to raise their family.

To renovate their kitchen, they found a large cabinet set at the Reuse Center at Boston Building Resources. “The cabinets are so well made,” said Jeff, noting the soft-close drawers and pullouts. “We never would have gotten anything close to this quality on our limited budget.” They arranged the cabinets in several different ways before deciding on a final layout, and installed them themselves, learning the basics from online videos.

Because the cabinet set had come from a larger home, there were cabinets left over after the kitchen was finished. Jeff and Rachel took two of the extras and topped them off with a butcher block to create a sideboard. One wall cabinet is now a mini linen closet in the guest bedroom, and another has been reconfigured as the bathroom vanity.

Jeff especially enjoys the kitchen’s peninsula, where they can pull up a stool for lunch. He has one area set up for bread making and another for microbrewing.

“It’s incredible to think about how much money we haven’t spent,” he said. “We feel so grateful.”