Q: You’re putting time and energy into this “temporary” job for your bathroom (not to mention some money), so why not just go ahead and do the full gut job? I know you guys watch money really well, but isn’t this not the most cost-effective in the long-run? :) – Karen
A: This is a great question, and we thought it would be fun to elaborate on the subject. Because it’s safe to say that we love saving a buck, but we also like showing an old house some love and making it feel like home, so here’s our take. First of all, I think a lot of people think like Karen does – in fact we had that same exact instinct when we moved into our first house. It was so tempting to just to freeze a room until we had the budget to completely redo it.
But we slowly learned that sometimes a small “sweat investment” in the form of a few upgrades to tide you over for a year or two until you can save up the loot to fully redo a room (and really think it through) is completely worth the Phase 1 effort and the small amount of money you might sink into that interim upgrade. And sometimes doing a few small things to improve a space before diving into a bigger redo can actually save you money because they give you a chance to (inexpensively!) figure out what you like and what you don’t like as you go. It can definitely cost you more if you don’t discover those things until the middle of a big gut job when time is money and the stakes are a lot higher.
Let’s take our current bathroom makeover, where we’re aiming to spend around $100-200 on a Phase 1 makeover.
We got to the point where we just couldn’t live with the old carpet in there for another day, so to us, showing the room some interim love just made a lot more sense than living with things that made us groan for a few more years. Especially since inexpensive updates like a few cans of paint and a new mirror (which can always be used in another room down the line) can easily make it a lot more pleasant in there. Note: this is just a photoshopped rendering of our plans, but next week we hope to have the floors stenciled!
Why not just get to gutting things right away? Well, we learned all the way back in our first house (even before we started blogging) that doing a full renovation when you only live somewhere a few months means you might not have time to think everything through. For example, it took us over a year of living with our first kitchen to realize that if we closed off a door we’d gain 70% more counter space. Had we rushed into a renovation, we never would have come up with that plan – so we’d have new counters and cabinets – but the same cramped layout that we started with.
Soon after moving in we did a Phase 1 makeover while we saved up for a more major reno down the line. Just some paint on the cabinets and peel and stick tile on the floors (along with updating a few appliances that we reused when we fully redid the room). Let me just tell you, it was so worth enjoying a somewhat updated kitchen for that time (during which we got married in the backyard and had 75 of our friends and family over). Sure, we spent a weekend painting the cabinets, another weekend updating the floor, and dug into our savings for about $150 just for Phase 1 (that’s a guess at the total cost for the primer, paint, and the peel & stick tile) but the “return” on that money & time investment was that for over a year we got to walk into a room that felt fresher, cleaner, and more like us, instead of feeling stuck or frozen in the before shot for over a year.
When we had finally saved up the money – and had fully thought it through – we got to renovate that kitchen and ended up loving the outcome. It was completely worth the small time/effort up front for a Phase 1 update while we saved our pennies, and the fact that we ended up with a completely redone space that we adored (with a lot more function than anything we could have slapped together right away after moving in) definitely confirmed that this phase-by-phase, over-time method just seems to work for us.
The same thing happened in our full bathroom at that first house of ours. We started with this carpeted and crocheted space…
… and we did some simple updates like pulling up the carpeting, re-caulking things, adding some paint, and bringing in some sweet art, new lighting, and accessories to tide us over for a few years.
But up close both the floor and wall tile was cracked and damaged, so although we loved it, we sadly couldn’t salvage it.
So when we finally had the money and time to tackle a full gut-job a few years later, we were excited to dive in. And thanks to spending a lot of time planning every step, we only spent around $1800 on a full bathroom renovation, including rebuilding this room from the studs (new walls, new trim) along with a new marble tile floor, new fixtures, a tub/shower that we tiled to the ceiling, a new custom vanity, etc.
But it was certainly nice not to spend years living with this carpeted bathroom with a duck curtain, and do that Phase 1 update – even though we couldn’t fly out of the gate with a full renovation immediately.
So this method has been serving us well for a while now (holy cow, over seven years!) and we expect that nearly every room of our current house will have a multi-phase progression since we’re planning to be in this house for a nice long time. We don’t want to rush into anything without fully thinking it through and we’d like to save up for things that we truly will love for the long haul. But that doesn’t mean we have to live with old carpeting and wallpaper – and that we can’t toss up a little paint up, hang some art, update some light fixtures or faucets, and generally make the place feel fresher and more like us as we plan those larger scale undertakings and squirrel away some money.
In fact I think moving forward and experimenting within a certain space (not just in your head or while staring at a picture in a magazine) is a really helpful step when it comes to getting it right down the road with your major renovation. This was our first attempt at our first house’s bathroom. Scary, eh? But it turns out we had to paint the windowsill black and toss up a blue pashmina to learn that it was NOT what we liked (I thought it would be “so Domino magazine” and it was so… bad).
So we course corrected as we went, and ended up with a room that we could really enjoy in the interim, which then led to a brand new bathroom that we loved even more down the road. I guess one way to look at it would be that those small updates over time are like stairs. They build to a better result, and they bridge the gap between your before to your after. Without Phase 1 in here, we might never have arrived at that “love it” Phase 2 result, which might now have led us to a “love it even more!” Phase 3 outcome. So expecting to freeze at “before” and then skip right to “after” might not happen for everyone. But for us, that step-by-step approach over time just seems to get us from point A to point C without as much stress as attempting to skip right from what we hate to what we love in one fell swoop.
And sometimes it’s amazing to see how a few updates like paint, art, a window treatment, and a few accessories can bring an old room back from the brink without a major makeover down the line. Yes, in some cases a Phase 1 update can help you see that you don’t need to gut something at all (hello, money savings!) – and realizing that you can actually work with what you have can be the equivalent of finding a thousand dollar bill in your couch cushion. Take our $51 guest bathroom mini makeover, for example. We had pretty much planned to work with this tile from the start (it was in great shape and we thought the vintage yellow tone was charming) so we hoped this bathroom just needed a few cosmetic fixes… but others who came over couldn’t see how it would ever work without bringing in the sledgehammer.
All we did was paint, add a window treatment, hang some art, and remove some bad elements (like the mirror that reflected every guest’s full body while they sat on the toilet) but when the decorating dust cleared, even my mom was saying “you’ve made a believer out of me.”
So you might think a room needs a full gut job, but experimenting with some affordable for-now fixes might just prove otherwise and save you a whole lot of money and effort down the line. And the only way to find that out sometimes is by diving into Phase 1. So if you wait and skip right to Gut Job, you might never know how charming a room can be with just a few wallet-saving fixes. Our hall bathroom was a slightly more involved update than our guest room (we framed out the mirror and added a built-in shelf), but the tile was still in great shape, so we got to work with almost everything that was there already. Note: pardon the yellow cast on this picture, it was move-in day and I was rushing around shooting in the wrong mode.
After spending just $168, we had a completely fresh looking room.
The cool thing about this method is that if Phase 1 does the trick, you’re done! And you’re probably thanking your lucky stars you didn’t go straight to full-reno mode. And if Phase 1 only serves to “tide you over” instead of majorly saving you from a bigger renovation, it’s still a win because you get to smile more as you save up and percolate on Phase 2 plans down the line. Plus going through the thought process of Phase 1 can better help you pinpoint what you still don’t love about a room (the layout, damaged tile, missing counter space, etc) and you get this bonus “learning experience” before jumping into any major construction down the road.
What about you guys. How do you balance your desire for a space that feels fresh and homey without blowing a bunch of cash you don’t quite have? I’m sure it’s different for everyone, so I’d love to hear what works for you. Do you do the ol’ freeze thing and just try not to think about all the things that bug you? Or do you sprinkle in some inexpensive updates along the way? Don’t get me wrong, we still have a bunch of rooms that we’ve been ignoring for months (can’t do ’em all at once!) but I like to think that those “we just can’t take this anymore” moments are what help us decide what needs a Phase 1 intervention most of all, and then we can dive right into that with some gusto.
Update – Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint colors we used? Just click on this button:
Eilene says
I heart your first kitchen. It looks like what I want to do for my kitchen now, but then I worry that everything will go out of style the second I make a big investment. Do you think of what’s on trend when you enter phase two at all? I don’t plan on selling my home, but if I did… I don’t want to try to sell an outdated kitchen after spending all that money. Speaking of trends… I think that would be a fun post. I know you do a lot of looking (online, stores, TV) and it would be fun to hear what you think is on trend or about to become a trend.
YoungHouseLove says
I definitely think we like to think about it as “what will we love for the long haul” or “what could be a timeless choice for this room” rather than what’s in or on trend (we’re consistently behind the trends, haha!), so that helps us do more risky or fun things with accessories (a fun light or a playful window shade over the sink with a striped rug for texture) and then for things that you wouldn’t change out as frequently (the cabinets and the counters for example) we try to make classic/neutral choices that feel like they won’t be something we’ll tire of.
xo
s
Carrie says
I am so with you on the phases thing. I had a similar nasty carpet situation (although not in the bathroom – gross!). I couldn’t take it anymore so we ripped it out and stenciled the subfloor in our dining room and living room last year until we can save up money for hardwoods. the stencilled floor started out as a temporary solution but it ended up being one of the best parts of our whole house. You might want to check out this post on the pros and cons after living with it for seven months: http://www.lovelyetc.com/2012/08/painted-plywood-floors-update-good-bad/
YoungHouseLove says
OH MY GOSH I LOVE IT! Even the colors are similar to what we’re thinking and it was so helpful to read all of your experiences. Thanks so much for sharing Carrie! I love that you still love it after living with it for so long!
xo
s
Whitney says
Thanks for sharing this Carrie! We just bought our house in June and we have ugly forest green carpets in the second floor hallway and stair landing… and old grey carpet in the 3 bedrooms. Everyone told me to just rip it out and live with the sub floor- but the sub floor was just so ugly so I couldn’t bring myself to do it. But the stencil looks awesome! Not sure if I could convince my husband to take on this undertaking 6 weeks before our first baby is born… but maybe soon after?! Sherry and John- I hope you also do a tutorial. It seems there are a lot of naysayers in the comments, but I think it’s a great solution- my only question, are all sub floors created equally? Because I am pretty sure from what I took a peek at mine are the worst! Maybe a stencil couldn’t help- give me some faith that they can all look that good!
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely plan on sharing a tutorial!
xo
s
Courtney Heeg says
I LOVE that you guys do different phases of lovin on your home… I think it is so realistic and inspiring. A ton of people, I think, can only afford to do the basics like painting, accessorizing, etc. anyway… so it is so fun to follow you on these ‘baby-step’ kind of projects. It is, of course, super fun to see the major renos. too.. but the little projects are just as inspiring. I love what you are saying in this post- you show us that a home can get some love and can feel homey even without a giant reno… we don’t have to live life in our homes stuck in the old and dreary- so inspiring! You teach us how to love and enjoy life even through the ‘small’ things/moments! Huge.
Natalia says
I would love a brand new kitchen, but in the meantime, just replacing the sink and fixtures made a HUGE difference. It’s all a work in progress.
Kate says
My problem is normally getting stuck at phase 0 or phase 1.95 where my husband and I fully plan out a room, paint it and get all the furniture done but then fail to put up the last few final touches on the wall (that we’ve even purchased) because the room is almost perfect and I get almost a sort of “(pre)hanger’s remorse” about where art/pictures/shelves/drapes should go that it never gets done.
Jes-ka says
My fiance and I currently live in a friend’s “guest suite” (it’s not that fancy, I just don’t know what else to call it). And it has lots of potential. So much it makes my design brain itch like crazy! Since we are getting married soon and plan to eventually move out, we are only doing the Phase 1 type of upgrades to make this area feel like ours.
Our friend would love the benefit of us totally renovating the area, but since the house was updated with crown-molding right before he purchased it, it just needed some paint and clever storage decision. I think we moved a towel rack in the bathroom. We painted the entire living and bedroom areas a bright teal color (the fiance wanted to try something adventurous, so boy did I give it to him!) and it just looks amazing with the white trim everywhere.
We are on the fence about fixing this built-in area in our bedroom that is missing shelving. A lot of it is that we don’t know what will end up looking the best for the cheapest investment, so it just hasn’t happened yet. But that’s fine, we’ve only been here 6 months. It’s something we may never get to while we live here, and that’s okay. :)
Thanks for the great article! I really take the stuff you guys write about to heart and have learned a lot about my own decorating style because of you guys. <3
Robin says
Thank you for this post! I’m sorry if I’m repeating something already mentioned in the 200+ previous comments, but it really calms me down to see the time you guys take with your tasks. We’ve lived in our house going on 5 years, and we’ve yet to make any lasting changes. We’re now in a position financially that we won’t be able to make any major renovations for years to come, so our galley kitchen will have to keep its narrow layout, our upstairs bath will have to keep its weird (awesome) diagonal-trough-in-a-square tub, and our basement will have to stay partially finished for a while.
That said, I have spent a lot of time reading your blog, and I love watching your rooms slowly evolve. The phase 1’s make such a huge difference so quickly and for so little money, and it shows me that I don’t have to have major renovations to feel like I have control over my space and my happiness in my home. Simple things like painting a cabinet or changing the shower curtain liner to cloth (great idea!) have spruced up our home noticeably and without a lot of pain. Thank you for validating the idea of taking time and making small changes.
Emily says
I bought my house in May and am finding it tough to commit to even small fixes. I know that a new faucet and different towel rods in the bathroom would make me so much happier but this little part of me is like “well is it the faucet or the stupidly short vanity (with shell sink!) that makes you sad every toothbrushing?” faucet I can afford now but not a new vanity! I think I will have to give it a try; your mini-makeovers sure seem satisfying.
As for the bigger things, I got the hardwoods refinished before I moved in which made a WORLD of difference and finally painted one room of wood paneling which suddenly made it feel so much more like home. And yes, painting one room qualifies as big to me, the paneling was a beast. :)
Paulette Smith says
TOTALLY agree with your approach. Putting some lipstick on a room until I figure out what I want prevents the massive groan every time I enter a “before.” I love your website…have learned so much from you two!!! And your Clara “comments” are adorable!
LeeG says
I couldn’t agree with you more re: living in a space before making big decisions. There are so many nuances to a space that you can only appreciate if you’ve lived in that space long enough (how the light hits it at a certain time of day, noise, even where the light switches are/should be etc). When I first moved into my house 10+ years ago (!), I was going to renovate everything. I ended up getting about 10% done and had to wait for the rest of the house. Now, 10 years later, all the major renovations are done but I am so glad I tool the time to get to know the house first.
Jenn says
I like to break all big projects into manageable chunks. I just wrote about this last week, but I’m proud to be in phase 3 of a 4-phase kitchen remodel. With this kitchen I painted and organized a pantry that I knew I would be knocking out, but it was worth it just to have a neat space that I could love for the meantime. Sometimes watching too many makeover shows gives people a false sense of how long projects take, and how many twists and turns come along the way. I may or may not have lived with a hole in my wall between the kitchen and family room for 4 months before removing it completely (that was like phase .5) …but hey, it’s gone now and I couldn’t be happier! What commercial is it that says, “design is never done”?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that commercial quote is so true!
xo
s
Nicole says
I completely agree with the phases. 2 & 1/2 years ago, my husband and I bought a fixer that was so bad, we decided to renovate everything before moved in. We lucked out on our bathroom but since it was our first house ever (we were stil living with Mom & Dad) we kinda made some choices with our kitchen that I wish I could have taken back; like not putting in more drawers instead of standard lower cabinets, placing our fridge behind the sink (galley kitchen), and that having a somewhat hallway to get into the pantry (door is between the fridge and a wall) really was a big deal since my husband can’t get most things out of the pantry (hello wide shoulders).
Cherry says
Totally agree with you. For health reasons, the carpet needed to go URGENTLY. For happiness, a nice looking place is definately a mood enhancer. For spiritual, cleaniness is close to Godliness. For financial reasons, spending little money to get health, happiness and spiritual well being NOW is totally worth it!
Ally says
Eeeek! This is my first time commenting ever on a blog, scary!
I love your approach. I’ve just taken on a major reno project in Bristol, England. Unfortunately, all the big money is going upfront on things that don’t look pretty like new plumbing, plastering and electrics. I’m going to be in Phase 1 for a good couple of years whilst I save to do the major stuff! Thanks so much for the inspiration.
Kelley says
I SO needed this reminder! I’m an “overhaul” person, or maybe you can call it impatient. I’ve jumped into projects and made all kinds of quick decisions just to have it done and then changed my mind after it was over. I love your perspective on a little investment to make it livable instead of a larger investment redoing it (or that feeling of “I made a big mistake”) Thanks for addressing this topic!
Sarah says
We bought a house in the Near West End this July and knew there was no way to get it all done before we moved it. It was a definite fixer upper but in our dream location!! We had 4 weeks to do reno & move in. We absolutely put a lot of money and sweat into the house before we moved in but I don’t think any room is at its final stage with some rooms being barely touched. It is in a liveable stage which is good and I don’t go too crazy when walking around. I think if you buy a house that doesn’t need much remodeling it is a lot easier to get to the LOVE IT stage. But we are making our house ours not building off of someone else’s ideas.
Stacy says
We sold and purchased a house that was a major size upgrade about 6 months ago so I’m all about phases and changing a few things. With a three year old and almost one year old twins, making lots of changes to a 5,000 square foot house is just not going to happen over night anyway. It’s not a complete fixer upper like yours but I know why families tend to want “turn key” homes now. Every single room needs to be painted including the baseboards.
Can’t wait to see the stenciled floors.
Theresa says
This was a great post! I agree, it’s best to put in a little effort now, instead of waiting to save up for the “big” makeover. Even though that logic can seem a little backwards at first. I think it’s important to feel comfortable and at home in a space, until you can budget for what you ultimately would like in the space. I’m currently working on small changes to make our SF apartment feel more like home.
Erin says
I’m a time freezer. No phase one for me. If I did, my husband would think we were done and never agree to necessary renovations. I wore flip flips in my own shower until he finally agreed that we could gut it. Now I have the bathroom I envisioned!
Sarah says
I love your phase 1 projects!! They are especially inspirational to me b/c as a renter I often can only change very simple things in a room!
Heather Bailey says
Dude, yes! I love working through phases, it allows you to get past the fugly things that are bugging you and really learn what’s working and not working for that space. That knowledge is then applied to that final phase, and you not only get that beauty that you’re hoping for but the functionality that you need as well!
Victoria says
I love your phased approach. There is value in making temporary changes to make your home more attractive and personal. I live in San Francisco and like 60% of us in the city I have always been a renter. SF real estate is just too expensive for me to buy.
I have improved every rental I have lived in. Of course, paint and decorating has always been a part of my improvements but I have also sometimes put in new flooring, new tile, new appliances, etc. Many people (who don’t live in an expensive city) think this is foolish. Why improve your landlords property? I understand this thinking and I know many would not make some of the improvements I have done.
However, I have lived in my rental places a long time. For instance, I have lived in my current rental for 21 years.
That is a long time to live with something that is ugly or doesn’t work properly or just bothers you. I negotiate with the landlord to pay for materials while I provide the labor for the landlord approved upgrades. I’ve always been so glad
I did it.
I have now inherited a 1940’s bungalow in Florida. I don’t currently have the $$ to renovate so I am doing what I have done in my rentals – adding decorative touches and some small upgrades while I save money to gut the bathrooms and kitchen, etc. Many of the things I am doing in my little Florida house are based on things I have learned from your blog and from living in rentals for such a long time.
Thank you, you are so inspiring.
Morgan says
Phased approaches are great for the ‘big’ projects. We did this in our full bathroom because the first color scheme was not working at all. It helped with understanding the flow…recognizing that we needed the extra large closet in there (which we prob would have demo-ed early on in the process), and taking the time to secure materials for a cost effective renovation. Took about 6 months to get the right fixtures/tiles for a discount.
We tend to jump right in on the functional, money saving, and safety projects like you mentioned in a previous post. ie. Built in storage, lighting, roof, insulation, gutters…
mp says
Well said.
Kathleen says
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately – we had this carpet that literally made me angry every time I came home (why hasn’t he vacuumed? Oh, you did, half an hour ago, it’s just that the carpet is that gross?) The wood for our first floor was going to be $2K and we didn’t know what we wanted. Mild sanding, some floor paint, and low VOC urethane (about $200 because of the urethane) bought us two years and a chance to try out a really dark (as in black, with highlight painting) floor and we really liked the look. SInce it was temporary, we didn’t sand as much as we should/could have, so it’s slowly getting beat up, but now we’re excited to lay down the real wood this winter!
Katie says
Phase 2 of your sun porch/room project? ;)
http://northtryon.com/how-to-installing-bifold-doors/folding-door-exterior/
YoungHouseLove says
Insanely amazing!
xo
s
Mindy says
Thank you for this post! I have been putting off painting my kitchen cabinets until we can save up for new countertops, floors, backsplash, undermount sink, etc. But I quit my job to become a stay at home mom this year, and I am realizing that a kitchen reno is not going to happen any time soon. My 80’s orange oak cabinets are taunting me, so I think it’s about time to paint those bad boys! Even if they don’t look great with a cream laminate countertop, it will make me happier in the interim. Thanks for that inspiration!
Avone says
I totally get band-aids/Phase 1 type of upgrades while saving/deciding. What I do not understand is making a Phase 1 change when you already KNOW that you will undo it. I get ripping up carpet and taking down wallpaper, etc. And fresh paint is always nice, but spending time and money on a bathroom that is open to the bedroom? Man, I’d wall that thing off right away or do nothing. Especially so I could move on to the nursery. (ahemhintahem)Hurry up, already! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! I think it’s different for everyone. We did peel and stick tile in our kitchen in 2006 right after moving in knowing that we’d replace it down the line with hardwoods and for that year it made things a lot nicer in there, so since it was just a weekend to lay them and a small expense we were all for it!
xo
s
Liz says
Thank you so much for this posting…we debate the same thing all the time and I totally agree that living in a space allows you to learn and strategize in a way that you can’t as a newly-moved. As always, I learn so much from you guys!
deb says
We actually spent a lot on a phase one in our kitchen.
When we first bought our 1920 bungalow, the kitchen was still in the 1960s. The counters were white with a wood trim and the sink was tiny with two taps coming out of the wall. One for hot and one for cold! They were so close to the wall that you couldn’t get a pot under them for filling let alone washing.
So we had the countertop and sink replaced. Cost us about $3000! Things are a bit more expensive here in New Zealand. :)
We loved it and lived with it that way for 3 years. Over those three years of living with a kitchen with a very bad layout, we redesigned it in our heads on and paper many times. We finally came up with the perfect layout that didn’t require removing any supporting walls.
$15000 later, we have our dream kitchen!
We were really happy with our phase 1 and I would do it that way again. We ended up giving our countertop to a friend who was renovating their barn so it was a win/win.
Shawn Mosch says
I am looking at this for my house right now . . . spend a lot of money and have just what I want, or spend a little money to freshen things up and then maybe move. Thanks!
Shawn Mosch ~ The Buckle Boutique Design Team Coordinator
Crafty Chics Blog
MyCutSearch.com a searchable database of Cricut images
MonW says
I like this phased approach. You live with things and as they bug you, you slowly make incremental changes until you get the look, and budget you aimed for.
You also learn about your own evolving tastes and things that are best for that specific space.
our spaces have taught us to wait and eye the first year in the place before going totally crazy redoing things.
So far, the house has always been right.
Krissy says
The first room we redid when we moved in was the bathroom… because the shower faucet was broken (we needed to use pliers to get it to work) and the plumbing was leaking behind the wall and into our bedroom closet. We jumped right in for that one because enough work was required that it would be silly not to finish. In the bedroom and big living room/kitchen areas, we waited and did Phase 1. We even had a phase 2 of the kitchen layout before the final phase 3 that we have now. I think it depends on the room and the situation. I can definitely see when Phase 1 comes in handy; we would’ve had an awful layout had we not played around with the kitchen before completely redoing it. :)
Erin says
I love the idea of phasing your house renovations. You really do have to live in a space for awhile to know what you can/want to live with going forward! Erin @ House Envy
Shannon [Our Home Notebook] says
I love your thoughts on this. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to balence this at our house. Some of the easier rooms (like the bedrooms) need a new ceiling and trim and wall paint, so we’re happy to do that all at once. But some other bigger room, like the kitchen and bathroom that have some bigger elements that need updating, I decided that I’m happy to do smaller phase 1 projects with (like some paint, art, lighting, etc.) as we save up and plan for them.
Thanks so much for sharing and starting us thinking. I’m loving all the comments!
Paula says
How hard was it to pull up the sticky tiles when you later wanted to put in a new floor? I really would like to try an update in my kitchen but have read that sticky tiles are a nightmare to pull up. Did you put them right over the linoleum?
Thank you for sharing these interim type projects. We have a pot o’ cash ready to spend (not that big, but saved money!) and are trying to decide if we fix up the lawn or the kitchen. I’m leaning towards the lawn because we spend a lot of time just watering it and sprinklers would save us time :) We could paint the cabinets and do sticky tiles and then save up for a kitchen!
YoungHouseLove says
They popped right up. They even sell scrapers on a long arm if you want to stand instead of bending over and popping them up with a screwdriver.
xo
s
Carolyn says
I really appreciate this post. I spend a lot of time ‘waiting’ to decorate rooms, partially because I like to marinate on ideas, but also because I usually have something much more expensive in mind that I am not ready to commit to yet or don’t have the room in the budget. We moved into our new house a little over a year ago and I’ve agonized a bit over some of the things that we’ve decided to postpone (a new kitchen, bathrooms, refinishing the floors, etc), but I have recently been looking into ‘phase 1 improvements’ so that I can enjoy living here in the now, even without the major $ improvements. Your post came at exactly the right time and gave me some ideas for our home. Thanks!
ShellyP says
I appreciate this post very much and agree with the concept of Phase 1 vs. a complete re-do. Especially when renovation spaces like kitchens and bathrooms where functionality is key. Living in those spaces first and understanding how they are being used and lived in and what might be missing, etc. needs to happen first. I did a Phase 1 with my kitchen because a total reno was too expensive and I didn’t want to live with the 1976 kitchen until I could get to a total reno. The Phase 1 is working for me and I no longer lust for a total reno. Would I like a total reno down the road? Sure. But Phase 1 was effective for updating and freshening and bringing the space into the 21st century. And now that “eat in kitchens” are coming back (See Centsational Girl’s post on Monday) then I figure I’m golden.
Great post Sherry. I’m all over Phase 1.
Angela says
After living in our house for almost two years, we’re considering moving ahead with Phase Final (?) for our kitchen remodel and are in the process of getting an estimate for our design. I’m so glad to see that image of your first (adorable) kitchen, Sherry, because it’s a cozy size like ours will be. We’ll have clearance in our U-shape that’s a little over four feet, which I think is similar to what you ended up with. Did you guys ever find it was too tight in that part of your kitchen? If so, did the added storage and functionality make it worthwhile?
YoungHouseLove says
I wish I remembered our area in the middle. We thought it was perfect (really easy to do lots at once since everything was just a step away). It definitely wasn’t a kitchen for four chefs to share but for one cook it was great.
xo
s
Sarah says
Well, we are percolating. Just bought an older home in a beach town on Lake Michigan. Good bones/repair but, not doing major reno until we live with it….may not need to be major. Trying to be creative and use what we have and repurpose for a great look that just looks cool…not homecrafty (for lack of a better word). We are having a great time! The only trouble I am having is shutting this creative brain off. Patience is a wonderful thing!
Colleen says
I am all for Phase 1 updates. However, sometimes Phase 1 just won’t cut it no matter how hard you try. We have a horrendous bathroom (the only one in the house, and it is 5′ x 6′). In a fit of fury we ripped down the drop ceiling just weeks after we moved in, and have now lived with the unfinished ceiling for almost 4 years. Despite painting the walls, painting the vanity, adding artwork, and the like it is still TERRIBLE. So, Phase 2 is likely to commence very very soon. =)
Sarah W. says
I totally jive with you on phase one projects. I’m in a rented apartment, so all we can really do is phase one kinda stuff.
My bathroom is very similar to your second house’s guest bathroom. It’s all blue tile with a black edge around the top, and once we put about $100 into accessories that play up the blue and black (a shower curtain with blue and black dandelions, dark walnut open shelves, and a funky dark brown towel rack) it looks like we intended for the bathroom to look like that. It’s amazing how a little love and a few pennies can make a room so much more enjoyable!
Carly says
I totally agree with this approach. It’s all about prioritizing. After living in our house for about 15 months we’ve decided we can’t handle the 60 year old master bath anymore, and we are willing to put our money towards a gut job. That means the other two baths, which are in better shape, will get inexpensive upgrades in the meantime. One of them you can see here: http://www.betterafter.net/2013/01/itty-bitty-baby-budgets.html Put your money where you’ll get the most use out of it!
YoungHouseLove says
So awesome Carly!
xo
s
Katie Howard says
Totally in this boat all the time! My husband and I are renovating a house built in 1941 and we bought it knowing we wanted it to be our forever home and that it would probably take 20 years to transform. I refer to phase 1 as “band-aid buying” and I have some boundaries about it. I will only band-aid buy for the “meat and potatoes” of a room as opposed to buying accessories I half way love (putting accessories in a room that has bad bones I think is like putting lipstick on a pig). We just put down a floating laminate floor in our upstairs over original hardwoods. The original hardwoods are in TERRIBLE condition and we just can’t afford to redo them the way we want to right now but knowing they are under there ready for us one day makes me happy. In the mean time I come home to a beautiful finish that the dogs and future kiddos can’t scratch up. Have to say you guys have made me feel like I can tackle anything by watching enough videos. Thank you for what you do!
jo says
A good Phase 1 solution for the entryway would be a steem clean. Stanley Steemer cleans tile and grout and they are in your area! They even offer coupons online, just enter your zip code.
Easy, inexpensive solution.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jo!
xo
s
Mary says
I have a question, and I’m sorry if you’ve answered it before (I don’t often read through all the comment threads). Your home photos always look SO clean — including floors, walls, etc. Do you give your rooms a good scrub-down before you photograph/publish them, or do you just have a really awesome cleaning regimen? If the latter, what do you do/how often and how has that changed in a larger house?
YoungHouseLove says
Nah, it’s just that dust and crumbs are too tiny for the camera to pick up! We like to clean as we go (there’s more on our cleaning regimen on the cleaning section of our Projects page) but we live with a dog and a kid, so there’s definitely not perfection here at any time! Haha!
xo
s
Mary says
Well that’s pretty comforting, haha :) Thanks for answering my question!
Emily says
THANK YOU for writing this post. We just bought our first home, that needs quite a bit of renovating, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms.
So this post is perfectly timed! :)
Ann says
I read the first line of this article and thought of you:
http://www.hgtv.com/bathrooms/selecting-the-right-bathroom-flooring/index.html
(it says, “carpeting in the bathroom? you bet!)
of course, definitely agreeing with your decision on that one haha… but who would have thought?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Kat says
Yep, we’re like you guys. We painted our dark and dated cabs in our kitchen and it really changed the entire atmosphere. We lived with it like that (super cute ’50s theme) for several years while we saved up (and gathered ideas) to do a full blown reno. I think so many people just jump the gun and do updates they can’t afford and then regret quick decisions afterward. You guys are so smart to do it the way you’re doing it. It really is a rare quality these days and I love that you are willing to take the time to live with and update what you have while prepping for bigger and better things ahead. Keep up the good work! You can check out our kitchen if you want. We’re pretty proud of it:) http://www.mapleleavessycamoretrees.com/2013/03/kitchen-reveal.html
YoungHouseLove says
Looks awesome Kat!
xo
s
Julianne says
I completely agree with you! Some spaces definitely take major time to figure out, but in the meantime, it’s nice to have a fresh, updated space to live in. Totally makes a world of difference in how you feel in your home until you can get to the final decorating stage!