Q: My husband Tim and I just bought our first fixer upper two weeks ago in Fort Worth, Texas. It is our second home and we hope to make it our last. Falling in love with our home was the easy part, but the thing is we just don’t know where to start. Should I mention that we have a 19 month old little ball of energy “helping” us? I know you don’t know what our house looks like nor do you know what our plans are for it. I won’t bore you with the details, I just want to know if you have a post about getting started; about how to go about making a plan so that we can go about this process efficiently. Or maybe I’m over thinking it and we need to just dive in? – Amanda
That big “where do I begin?” question is something we get asked a lot, both in comments on posts like this, and in emails like Amanda’s. And since we’re at “the beginning” again, it felt like a good time to write about our process. So here are six questions we’ve asked ourselves after moving into each of our houses that have helped us prioritize our to-do list.
#1. What’s necessary for us to safely inhabit this house? If you’ve bought a fixer-upper (or any house that revealed some surprises during the inspection), this is probably a question you’ve been faced with. What’s broken, malfunctioning, or so deteriorated that it must be rectified in order for you to move in?
Is there a mold problem? Broken windows? A heating system that’s not up to code? A swarm of bees living in the attic? Some of these may not be cheap or “glamorous” projects, but it’s probably a no-brainer to put them at the top of your list. In our most recent move that list consisted of four get-on-it inspection items: a malfunctioning furnace that needed to be repaired or replaced, a few dangerous trees that needed to be removed, some rotting wood and siding that needed to be redone/repainted, and an old roof that was actively leaking.
#2. What would be easier to do now, rather than after we’ve moved in/unpacked? This is a tougher question because almost everything could fall in this category. Bathroom remodels. Kitchen gut jobs. Heck, even simply painting each room. They’d technically all be easier to do in an unoccupied space, but it’s often not a realistic goal to accomplish a bunch of major renovations before you move in, and sometimes you just like to live somewhere before rushing into picking every wall color anyway. So we’d suggest picking your tasks wisely. We actually think kitchen and bathroom renos turn out better if we live in the house for a while (that’s the only way we ever would have thought about closing off a door to gain almost 65% more cabinetry and counter-space in our first kitchen).
This time around, Sherry and I chose to tear up musty old carpeting upstairs, spray all of the blue/mauve trim up there white, and install hardwood floors before move-in day. Out of everything on our list, it was the hardest to imagine doing those things after all of our furniture came into the space. The good news is that we were 100% sure about what flooring we wanted. But if we weren’t able to find flooring we liked, this task would have been put on hold and something else would move to the top of the list.
So one tip would be not only to brainstorm what’s the most helpful to tackle first, but also to make sure you’re going to be happy with that new look/material/choice for the long haul. If any part of you is uncertain, it’s probably best to move on to something that you’re more sure about instead of rushing into something you’ll regret. And since we’ve painted two houses worth of rooms/ceilings after moving in (and prefer to think about wall colors over time instead of choosing them all at once) that approach works well for us.
#3. What will make us feel comfortable and “at home”? In all of our moves I’ve experienced a period where I feel like I’m living in someone else’s house. Something about living amongst their design choices makes it hard for me to feel like the home has become ours. Obviously big gestures like tearing out the kitchen would do the trick, but that’s neither an easy or a quick fix (aside from it being one of those things we like to think through for a while). So we prefer to tackle a few simpler tasks after moving in that make things feel more like us. Like getting rid of dated curtains and carpeting – or, my personal favorite: painting. I remember how painting the first wall in our last house was the turning point where I felt like the house finally belonged to us – even if we ended up changing the color down the road. It was an important momentum-building (and morale-building) step for us.
Oh and this feeling of not being able to relax in “someone else’s house” is probably compounded by the general chaos and exhaustion that goes along with moving and unpacking. That’s why I think it’s helpful to put something on your list that will help you feel like you can put your feet up and fully “settle in” to your new space. It could be small, like setting up a reading nook with your favorite chair and a lamp or even just hooking up the TV so you can decompress after a long painting session. In our last two moves we set up Clara’s room on the first day to make sure she felt at home quickly, and then moved on to our own bedroom. Because sleeping on a mattress on the floor certainly didn’t scream “comfort.”
#4. What can we afford? This one’s pretty self explanatory, but if you have ten things on your to-do list that you can’t wait to tackle, but you can only afford to take on three of them, bump those guys to the front of the list and get going on them while you wait for your savings to build up again for the larger/more expensive tasks. For example, when we had those four important inspection items to take care of from tip #1, they made us feel like we turned the money faucet on high and drained our entire bank account. So we dove into nice cheap (and even free) projects, like stripping wallpaper, painting trim, removing an old glass shower door, ripping up more carpet in the sunroom, painting a bathroom, painting our front door, etc. They’ve definitely helped us stop the money bleed and made us feel more in control while we slowly build our savings account back up.
#5. What’s quick and easy? If trying to answer the above questions didn’t leave you with any clearer sense of where to start, then just keep it simple. Getting a new shower curtain or organizing your silverware drawer may not constitute an earth-shattering design decision, but it’s certainly better than doing nothing at all. Accomplishing lots of fast and affordable things can add up to an updated room – and eventually, an updated house.
#6. What will make us the happiest? In the end, you can throw all the logic, reason, and worry that you’re doing the “right” or “most important” thing first – but it really comes down to doing what makes you smile. And often times, that’s something free and something that you consider to be more fun than work. On our first night here I was initially surprised to see Sherry playing around with the items on the built-ins in our living room. Of all the things to do, that seemed pretty far from crucial. But as I sat on the sofa resting my weary moved-ten-million-boxes bones, I could tell that it was her way of relaxing into our new space – and that having one not-trashed corner to rest her eyes was her way of finding peace among the chaos.
In the end, the good news is that it’s hard to mess this up. Because no matter what starting point you pick, you’re already doing something right by doing something at all. The truth is that the right starting point (or the right order) is most likely different from person to person and house to house. How do you guys figure out where to start or what project to tackle next? Are their other questions you ask yourself that help you sort through your to-do list. We’d love to hear ’em, because we’ve got quite the list going on ourselves!
Cora says
I completely agree with this post. We moved two weeks ago and are at #3 on the list. We have two daughters so it was very important to me that we get their rooms and the family room looking good first and then tackle the rest of the house. Painting for me is HUGE in making a house feel like my own.
Diana says
I love this post!! I really like all your DIY and home decor stuff but also really like reading these kinds of posts too. Some of my past favorites that I frequently reread are about simplifying and cloth diapering. Thanks for sharing so much of your lives with us!
Patty says
Is it weird that I saw this poster and thought of you and Sherry?
http://www.27designco.com/portfolio/gh_chicago/
YoungHouseLove says
So much fun!
xo
s
Amie says
We just moved into our first place two weeks ago. On possession day (the Friday), we tore out the entire kitchen. The next day (Saturday) was moving day, as we had only until the Sunday to get out of our apartment.
Saturday also had us ripping out the kitchen floor, painting and TSP-ing all surfaces in the house while we had an army of friends moving us in and helping out.
Our first thing to tackle was the kitchen. It was not functional the way it was before, so it was priority 1. It has since turned into a major remodel, that is almost done, with three floorplan changes to get it where it is today!
Then it was tackling the shady electrical with help of my dad. Things are much safer now.
Kitchen and wiring were also taking place as we had all the windows replaced Thank you purchase-plus-improvements mortgage! Adding 9200 to our mortgage to take care of the broken windows throughout the house right away was the best decision we made.
Next up is Rejuvenate-ing (thanks for the review on this product) all the floors as we paint walls and trim in rooms we haven’t touched yet. And other cosmetic things, like pressure washing and staining the deck.
Spray insulating the attic and taking care of errant wiring up there will happen in a couple weeks when my dad is back out to help supervise the process.
We are definitely doing the safety items first, then cosmetics as filler until we can afford more of the larger items.
Kirstin says
Love this post!
Especially the part about what makes you the happiest and what makes it feel like your space. On our first night in our new place, one of the first things my fiance did was put his magnets on the fridge. I didn’t really think that was an important task at the time, as we hadn’t yet put our bed together. But now I definitely can see that it was what he needed to do to make it feel like it was his apartment. He also needed to go through his entire collection of pint glasses to decide which were getting used and which were getting stored – I was less excited about that one…
We’ve now been here a year and a half and are still figuring out items for walls, headboards, etc. But many of those are things I wasn’t ready to do on day one.
Kristin says
Great post/tips! I just bought my first home here in Wisconsin, a 1958 one-owner ranch style home that is very retro on the inside (read royal blue carpet, wood paneling, pink toilet/tub/sink/walls in the bathroom and buttons on the brown kitchen appliances). Like you suggest, I quickly had to prioritize what NEEDED to be done versus what I WANTED to do. Once those projects (new roof, rotting eave, etc.) were tackled, weather became the next driving force and so I have been trying to focus on outside projects first like priming the exterior in preparation for a color that is yet to be determined, pulling the million garden weeds in the neglected garden, building a bench/deck around a tree, planting pumpkins, finding a place for my teal garden gnome Gus, painting a wrought iron patio set in fun summer colors, stripping and painting the concrete patio, trimming back the trees, putting new house numbers on both the house and the new mailbox I installed, installing a new exterior light fixture, planting perennials in the planters out front, washing the windows, touching up all the white “stuff” like laundry posts and an old water hand pump, re-finishing the exterior doors and creating a fun directional sign on an empty post in my backyard. All this is keeping me busy with the occasional painting project and organizational project on the inside on rainy days. :) Kitchen and bath remodels will be coming in the future when funds are higher but for now there are a million little cosmetic things I am working on tackling. Thank you for the inspiration and drive to get it done!
Megan says
Great post – two houses in I agree with much of what you said. It is hard to afford all the nice to have projects up front, so prioritizing is hard.
Now that you guys seem to be in a house where you are “investing” more for the long-haul – possibly spending more money on better materials, finishes, etc, I’d love to see a post on how you decide how “nice” to go.
We’re in a house, similar to yours, in a neighborhood we shouldn’t be able to afford, but found just the right fixer. I struggle with spending $$$$ money on a front door or fixtures or finishes,like many of our neighbors do, when I am fine with $$$ amounts :) It has been a tough transition and I’d love to hear your thoughts as you cross that bridge more in this house. How do you determine how fancy is the right level of fancy for you, your house and neighborhood?
Like a wedding, you can spend endless amounts of money on everything it seems.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I hear ya! I think we’re still learning “how nice to go” and what range makes us comfortable (we’d much rather save for something we love than settle for something we only like, but like you said – it can get crazy if you keep sliding a level or two higher on the nice scale with everything). Hopefully once we figure out where we fall on that scale, we’d love to do a post about that!
xo
s
Bob Warner says
Couldn’t have found better info anywhere else. Thanks for presenting it in the way you did!
Juliet says
I’m not currently facing this problem, but what a well-thought out answer to a question! I’m sure this will help many people assess the situation sensibly.Very nicely done.
Shannon [Our Home Notebook] says
I loved reading this and all the comments. So many good ideas. We do a combination of the above things and for me, writing it down helps me so much. If I can see it all its easier for me to prioritize and decide what we need to focus on next. Thanks for sharing.
Carlyc says
I was curious… This readers question was sent to you via email… I would like to submit a question as well, but can’t seem to find an email address anywhere on the blog. Am I just missing it?
YoungHouseLove says
There’s a little button on the sidebar with our smiling faces on it with a contact us link for ya!
xo
s
Vickie says
Very useful tips for first fixer uppers, good luck with your new acquisition
Pamela says
All your paint jobs look soooo good. Besides the fact that you’re just good painters, can you share what kind of brushes you use for particular paint finishes.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Pamela! I love a 2″ short handled angled brush that they sell at Home Depot (it’s usually right up by the paint counter, it has a blue rubber handle if that helps). It’s so easy to control and I use it for everything. As for paint finishes, I tend to use satin or semi-gloss paint for furniture or cabinetry so it can be easily wiped down (and eggshell or flat finishes for walls since I like a less shiny look on those). The key to smooth paint jobs = thin and even coats. Don’t glob it on or you’ll get drag marks and drips!
xo
s
Annie says
We may have the opportunity to move into a home where we can pick the paint colors ahead of time. This gives me tremendous anxiety. What would you do? I’m leaning towards having everything painted the same neutral color so it is a blank slate.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a toughie! I would go in there with swatches if you can and do your best guessing on what few colors you LOVE! Maybe a soft neutral in most areas but a fun color for a half bathroom and a deeper color for the bedroom. Perhaps a soft blue-gray in a few rooms? That’s a nice subtle neutral-but-not-tan tone. So maybe three rooms in a neutral color, two in a soft blue-gray, one colorful bathroom, and one moody dark bedroom would be a good place to start?
xo
s
Kathryn B says
Wait, can we talk about how many times I had to say drawer-ganization out loud in my head in order to get it?!?
Raeann says
When I first read this post last summer, my only remodeling experience was in a heavily-wallpapered, pink-carpeted condo. With walls and floors that ugly, figuring out our first step was easy! :)
Now that I’m purchasing my very first home (the retro condo was a rental), I realize how hard it can be to make a game plan. I had no idea! We already decided that the very first step will be laying out the garden, since we want to have veggies this summer. In the process we’ll probably make some decisions about landscaping, and hopefully lay a paver patio + fire pit in the next few months.
But as for the interior? I have NO. CLUE. The house doesn’t have any major issues to tackle right away, but the paint colors are not my jam at all. I’m inclined to just go crazy and paint everything, but we don’t have any furniture yet. I don’t want to make choices I regret later! What do you recommend? Should I paint everything (I’m leaning toward just throwing a light, neutral gray up everywhere so I don’t have to see brown walls ever again), or should I wait till I have a decorating plan?
ALSO – con-freaking-grats on the Target line!! I went nuts and emailed my entire family when I saw your announcement this morning. You guys are great, and you deserve that success and so much more. Thanks for being so, so wonderful!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Raeann! I would try to hold up swatches to see what you like in what room, just because when we tossed up paint without much thought in our first house we later ended up repainting and it took longer than trying to get it right the first time. For furniture I’d just take my time and slowly collect things instead of buying anything as a set or in bulk. In other words, wait until a color or a furniture item grabs you instead of settling. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Raeann says
Thanks, Sherry! Emily Henderson says “pretty goes with pretty,” so I guess I’ll just keep an eye out for furniture and pretty things that I love and try to tie them together. So intimidating! But also exciting. Is this how you feel all the time?!
And I guess I’ll leave those brown walls alone…for now. Enjoy it while it lasts, walls – your days are numbered.
Thanks for the reply!!
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet Raeann! Have so much fun!
xo
s