...you have money to pay that mortgage, right? If yes, then these things are minor in comparison. But you're saying the minor things busted the whole purchase, instead of the major thing of a mortgage on a house.

Buy used appliances, yes they are around. DIY carpet (which you didn't say before, so I think you're doing the slow trickle of just adding more and more now), DIY holes in walls (see it was holes in walls before, now it's walls). Put a piece of plywood on the counter until you can do something better. You can do this over time too. This stuff is cheap, cheap, cheap compared to a mortgage. Chow.