I built my white whale for <$200 on BrickLink + loose parts

I started collecting the Modulars starting with Green Grocer, so Cafe Corner was always a White Whale of mine. Four years ago, I started this project to see if I could build it completely (or mostly) with loose parts in my collection. Since it was the first modular, it used a lot of common pieces with a few notable exceptions. I spent a total of $166.49 on BrickLink orders for the pieces I didn’t already have. The most expensive? The four dark blue columns that cost a total of $33. The...