Hello, my happy readers! There was something I was wanting to talk to you about that I think is very important to note. I know that HGTV is everybody’s best friend (including mine), and there are all of these shows that feature amazing home renovation projects. We personally love to renovate homes, and I would encourage lots of people to try it!!! I feel like a lot of “move in ready” homes are super overpriced, and I would want to immediately change things if I moved in. If you renovate, you can find a floor plan that you love, and then work around it to add the custom features that you desire. In the end, you get things exactly how you want them, and oftentimes, at a much lower price!! However, I would also caution you that there are some downsides that you need to consider PRIOR to making the big step to home renovation. Here are my top items that you need to consider BEFORE renovating a home:
The main thing you need to think about is are going to live in your home during the renovation process??? A lot of these shows have the owners live in a different location during construction, which is not always feasible in real life. When we renovated our current home, I was still living far away when the floors were put in, but Bradley had to already move in (due to work). Although it was just for a few weeks, it was very hard for him because he was living in a total construction zone with no floors. He basically only slept at the house, because it wasn’t really livable while the floors were being put in. Are you willing to do this? Think about this sort of thing prior to making all of these great plans. Here is what he was working with:
Another thing to think about is if you are willing for things to take MUCH LONGER than you originally anticipated?? A schedule is a must for a renovation process, but due to weather, delays in materials, etc. you can pretty much guarantee that construction will cost more money and take longer to install than you originally planned. Living in a renovated home can be super stressful (particularly when you are pregnant), so is this something you are willing to do?
Above and below are the sorts of things that I had to look at for MONTHS!! We originally intended to get all of the work done when we immediately purchased the home, and then SURPRISE….. I found out I was PREGNANT!! This most definitely shifted my focus both emotionally and financially to all things baby, which resulted in a much longer schedule. After a hard day’s work, are you okay with coming home to things like this????
By the way, if you are wondering about the picture above…..Our house had these strange brass windows when we originally bought it. I REALLY wanted built ins (I still don’t have them yet), so we had our construction group professionally close them up and finish the wall. It looks SO MUCH better now, but I still look forward to the day of beautiful shelving!!!!
Also, don’t underestimate the amount of work that needs to be done to really change a room. Take another look at the above picture. The floors had been replaced, but the walls had to then be painted, the fan changed out, the new base boards had to be installed, the crown molding had to be installed, as well as the outlets and plates had to be converted to white. We also changed the fireplace insert to bronze, as well as put on new handles. Changing just this one wall took DAYS AND DAYS of work!!! Things take time if you do them properly, so make sure you are realistic with your schedule!
Another thing to think about is do you have children and/or pets who will be bothered by the renovation??? Most of our work was done before Madeline was born, so we didn’t have to worry about children getting into things that could potentially hurt them. We did, however, have our sweet little (big) Lucy to contend with. Overall, she was very uninterested in the home renovation, and didn’t really bother anything. She mainly just sat with you while you worked and stared with a strange look on her face – LOL! I think she was trying to figure out what in the world we were doing. 🙂 I love the above picture, because it looks like she is posing in front of all of her hard work!!
One thing Lucy did love, however, was the drop cloth – LOL!! I have no idea why, because it was not soft at all. However, she did like to cuddle up on it after a hard day’s work.
If you only listen to one thing I say, the please listen to this – NEVER, EVER underestimate the amount of money that it takes for construction! There can (and most likely will be) be lots of hidden problems that arise once you start ripping things out. Issues with plumbing, ductwork, etc are notorious for randomly popping up, so MAKE SURE you have a contingency fund as a part of your budget!!!! Do not plan to spend every penny you have on a room, because I promise you, ADDED COSTS WILL SHOW UP!
Above is another picture of the type of thing we had to live with for months. This is a picture of our “pretty powder room” on the main floor. Since we completely gutted it, there was no bathroom on the main floor for about a month. Think about rooms “going out of commission” for the time it takes to do construction. What will your backup plan be? We are about to completely gut our kitchen, so we are already thinking about what we are going to do during those two months. Don’t let these details go unnoticed and then suddenly realize that you won’t be able to cook or wash dishes for weeks on end! Make sure and also account for the fact that you will have to probably increase your food budget for a few months since you can’t eat at home as easily.
If we renovate again, we will have to have a more aggressive schedule since we now have a child. We love to renovate because we love the idea of something custom, but I’m not going to lie…….you will make some major short term sacrifices! However, with a little bit of strategy and patience, you can really make the home of your dreams. I am so pleased with the result of our home so far, and I hope that you have a lot of success in your construction process too. Please feel free to message me with any questions, because I feel like we have seen a lot over the past year. Happy renovating!!!! 🙂
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