I live in SW Austin. Remodeled our master bathroom in March of 2022. Took everything down to the studs. Moved plumbing. Chose moderate materials; didn’t cheap out on anything but everything we chose can be bought at a big box home improvement store and the cabinets were all wood but nothing fancy. Used a solo contractor recommended by a friend. He did a very good job. $40,000. Worth it. Highly highly recommend an oversized shower that has 2 shower heads. Highly recommend fancy bidet. My shower in my bathroom is my favorite place on earth.
Remodeled our kitchen (and updated the paint and flooring in the rest of our home; also updated the guest bath) last summer. Turned the formal dining into a butler pantry; highly recommend. Chose the best appliances you can get at Home Depot. Used the same contractor. Pretty sure it was the biggest job he’d ever done. In the end he went over timeline and over budget without telling us and so I paid him $10,000 more than I had to, which I regret. He still did a pretty good job, but we’re not as happy as we were with the master bath job. Total price for all that was $80,000.
Between the interior remodel and replacing the exterior siding, I’ve put over $130,000 into my 1800 sf house in the last 3 years. And our garage, enclosed patio, landscaping, detached workshop, driveway, and pool all still could use updating. And our AC is 20+ years old. That shit is such a beating. If I had it to do over again I would have just bought a new build, but they don’t make new homes on the kind of lot/location I’m on. Oh well fuck me I guess.