Good, Fast, And Cheap — You Can Only Pick Two
I’m sure you’ve heard this before. It’s called the iron triangle, and it’s the idea that when it comes to goods or services, you can’t have all three — good, fast, and cheap — you can only pick two. If you want something done well and you want it quickly, it’s not going to be cheap. And if you want something fast and cheap, the quality is going to suffer.
The third combination is the one in which I live the most as a DIYer. If you want something done well, and you want it cheap, it’s going to take a lot longer. This is the world of DIY in a nutshell. Ask any DIYer to tell you their number one motivating factor for doing projects themselves, and it will most assuredly be “to save money”.
That’s not to say that saving money is the only reason I DIY. I also do it because I love it. I thrive on building things, making things with my own hands, being able to get a completely customized look that’s unique to our house, and having that satisfaction of looking at a completed project or room and being able to say, “I did that with my own two hands.”
But in the end, it comes down to money. I could very easily get a totally customized house, one that is completely unique to me and doesn’t look like anyone else’s house, and I could get that without ever having to pick up a power tool or break a sweat if I’m willing to pay through the nose for someone else to do it for me. But I’m not. Because I’m cheap. I want the completely customized look at the lowest price possible, so I DIY. And because I DIY everything I possibly can, it takes a lot longer. You can’t have good, fast, and cheap. You can only pick two.
So why am I bringing this up? Well, I started thinking about this last night as I was reading your comments on yesterday’s post about my upcoming storage room project. Many people recommended the Elfa system from The Container Store. There were other similar suggestions, but after looking at the other systems and comparing them, the Elfa system seemed to be the highest quality with the most options. For example, I really like the option of having solid shelves rather than wire shelves. I also really love the wire mesh drawers that easily integrate into the system.
But many of you warned, “It’s expensive!” I started out looking at the individual components (which happen to be on sale right now for 25% off), and they didn’t seem too terribly expensive. The top track from which the whole system hangs is just under $30. The rails that hang from that top track are just under $40 each. The largest mesh drawers are $60 each. Those are all current sale prices, and they seemed pretty reasonable to me, so I started planning out what I would need for my storage room.
Then I noticed that they have complete, pre-arranged systems that you can purchase in different configurations. So I clicked on the one that I thought might work for one of the walls of my storage room, and the price shocked me. Yeah, all of those little components that you have to purchase to make up a whole wall (or in my case, not quite a whole wall, so I’d need to add to it) add up really quickly!!
For example, this six-foot-wide pantry option, which would come roughly 18 inches short of covering one wall in my storage room, comes to $3120.75. And that’s the current sale price. The regular price is $4160.00.
Yeah, y’all weren’t kidding when you said it’s expensive. It’s very nice! And if I were to purchase a wall system, that’s exactly how I would want it to look. But again, that one pre-designed package wouldn’t even cover one whole wall in my storage room. While the second wall in my storage room would be arranged differently, I’d still need roughly double that amount for the two walls, plus extra components to cover the additional width of each wall.
So at the bare minimum, I’d be looking at about $7000 just for the storage components of a room that us just under 8 feet square. (I think the room is about 7.5 feet by 8 feet, if I remember correctly.)
Just for comparison, my entire walk-in closet, taking a room from this…
…and turning it into this…
…cost me a grand total of $10,698.88. And that price includes everything — new flooring, all of the cabinets, the center dresser island, the new lighting, the wallpaper, all of the hardware. Everything. And that room is about 11′ x 15′. (I’m going from memory, so that may not be the exact size, but it’s close.) The plywood, lumber, and trim for the wall cabinets and center island came to $3141.80.
I got exactly what I wanted in that room. I got the custom look that I wanted, and I got it as inexpensively as possible, but it took a long time to get from start to finish. That trio of good, cheap, and fast wasn’t an option. I had to sacrifice one of those things to get the other two, so “fast” had to go. And in hindsight, I’m so glad I went that route. I love walking into my closet and seeing the results of my hard work. I love knowing that I have a pretty and unique walk-in closet that is customized just for me. And the cherry on top is that the other day, Matt said to me, “Every time I go by that room, I’m amazed at what you did in there.”
All of that to say that I have a feeling that “fast” is always going to be the option that I choose to sacrifice. And that will probably be true when I tackle the storage room as well. Sometimes I’d love to live in a world where I could always choose the good + fast option, but for someone like me who is not only a true DIYer at heart, but who also has to live with a very real budget and always think of the bottom line when it comes to the many projects I want to do, I’ll probably never get to live in that world of good + fast. It’s fun to follow people on social media who have that option. I sometimes find myself getting a little bit jealous of them. But at the end of the day, I’m perfectly happy and content in my world of good + cheap, even if it takes a little (or a lot) longer to get to that end result.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I would suggest making a detailed list of what you will be actually storing in this room before getting excited about containers and configurations. It’s easy to get caught up in a look, and then discovering you only needed X but put in row after row of Y and Z. It may look fabulous but if the actual stored items aren’t compatible with the containers/drawers/shelves, it’s a wasted effort. I made this mistake in my original craft room configuration. It was so pretty, and so incompatible with many of my items. I have since removed all of the mostly useless or inconvenient storage options and tailored it more to what I actually need.
It’s a shame the Elfa system is so expensive, but I can attest to its quality. I’ve had their wire basket drawer system in the closets of all my houses in the the past 36 years. I’ve reconfigured them more times than I can remember. If there’s any way you can find to use them, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
There are track systems at both Lowe’s and Home Depot that are cheaper than Elfa at the Container Store. I suggest looking at them before you make up your mind. You are also not stuck with wire shelves, they have melamine coated shelves as well.
I might also add that those components along with Elfa are frequently resold on FBMP.
That’s where I sold my portable Elfa items and they were snatched up immediately by the same person every time! No dickering over price either. I left the wall rack for the next homeowner but she ended up taking it all down😵💫
Once I got to a point where fast was also an option, I realized I was still routinely disappointed. Contractors do have speed perfected but aren’t always as detailed oriented as you are. The best quality contractors usually don’t do small or single-room projects. The ones I’ve used were behind on the latest options in design or technology so I had to do way too much to bring them up to speed on what I wanted. And they still use subs for individual parts of the project so I could rarely count on info being passed along with the thoroughness I had hoped. As arrogant as this sounds, I often had better skills as a self-taught amateur than they exhibited as a trade professionals. (It’s tough to find comprehensive skill education online so I do have huge skill gaps to be fair.)
All this to say, you may be choosing the absolute best route to perfectly achieve your vision! You are a fantastic inspiration!
And on a pragmatic level … The longer the project takes, the more blog content you get. 😁😆 So that helps offset the cost even further. 😁😂
I personally would probably just do super simple shelving in a storage room … The cute wallpaper would elevate it already. But bottom line … If you’re willing to put the time into it (and I can’t think of any compelling reason not to) then go custom and enjoy the process. It’s not a race and we enjoy watching the process along with you. ☺️ Most anybody can use the predone systems … You show us what’s possible with ordinary people doing custom. ☺️
I love the Elfa systems – every closet in my house has it. Yes, it can add up but you can move things around when you have a change in need. I’ve actually moved my Elfa pieces as I’ve moved houses and only had a couple items that could not be reused in the latest house. The drawers can get expensive as there are multiple pieces needed. Home Depot/Lowes have similar closet systems that are less expensive.
Can we please stop using the word “cheap” to associate with an item or project which is created by a non-professional? It’s about value, whether that value is in working with your hands, getting just the right look, or using your hard-earned dollars in a way that’s different from what others do. There’s nothing cheap about it. Poor quality materials and sloppy workmanship are what make something cheap. Let’s not add to the negative stereotype so many people have about DIYers. You go above and beyond anything most “professionals” would do, and being professional only means you got paid to do it.
Just try to not overthink this one. There are only two of you in this household. Several of us yesterday asked what are you going to store in this utility room? Think of utilitarian and that’s what this room should be. You have plenty of other projects to use your DIY abilities that will certainly give you more satisfaction.
You do good work. I still think building a unit sort of like the picture you showed is better than building cabinets with doors. You build them wall to wall or whatever. The openness of the shelves is good.
One word….dusting
Having something done “fast” can leave no time for those magical insights that pop up when you are in the middle of a project that make it really special and perfect. You will do a wonderful job and we can’t wait!
I love Elfa and I have bought 3 different sets of it on Facebook marketplace. I wouldn’t ever buy a whole new set – I’ve spent probably under $500 and have 2 whole office setups and a closet. I have bought a few individual pieces new to customize it to my space. It did take patience and a couple years watching, but I don’t have the tools or ability to build something from scratch.
It’s strategic investments but nicer to build onto. I found making a bin for a shelf is better. You take a box to a project. See the voids to easily pack it back up, then return to the closet already sorted. Do a Build: Wall-to-wall shelf with Drawers. Deeper adjustable shelves above. The opposite wall- shallower but shelves above waist height. That is usable & saves the floorspace for equipment to reduce costs. Install trim (not molding) boards from the wall to wall build. Attach budget friendly hooks neatly onto that and it delineates a height to hang the paper above.
For much less I bet you can get all the base ELFA parts for shelves then build the rest as described above. Plan, tape it out onto the wall. Find the exact need for each ELFA part before new purchase. We installed the 40″ vertical/standards lower to minimise length needed. The verticals/standards can be safely spaced at 32″-36″ apart if just shelves or pegboard. A shallow shelf/wall you can likely get away with 4 verticals not 5. Ignore hooks/fancy drawers for the initial build unless you find some used. Lean on regular sales. I collect extras used from FBMP over time. Thankfully Elfa doesn’t significantly change over time (like IKEA changes the hardware/instructions) 10 year old hardware is compatible.
I think you are clever and talented enough to go to the home center, pick up the shelving brackets and their holders, build the shelves and the drawers to your specifications and it will come in cheaper and better than anything that is out there calling itself “custom”. Fast, is for the drive-thru…good, and inexpensive is what you do. Don’t call it cheap, because what you create is anything but. If your weather is anything like ours, your outdoor time is limited to the early morning hours or after the sun goes down…which would be great for us, except I need to be able to see what I am mowing or plowing, so out into the heat I go. You’ve got this. Can’t wait to see what you come up with. I am toying with open shelving in my canning kitchen and want to take notes.
Cheers to you, Matt and the Fur Contracting Team!