08/23/2026
After renovating a 1960s house basically down to the studs, these are the 5 things I’d happily spend the money on again—and a few of them aren’t very sexy.
1. Cabinets are more than just pretty things to look at. They are the storage you access everyday and the foundation of rooms like your kitchen and laundry rooms. The way your storage works for you matters and so do the materials you use. Better yet- custom cabinets can be surprisingly competitive with RTA or store bought options. Ask me about how almost swindled me out of $1,700.
2. Consider how your family will use the space. Does a play room make more sense than a dining room right now? Do you need a larger pantry? We said yes to both and changed the floor-plan to accommodate. We also turned a closet around from one room to the next. Make the floor plan work for you- even as a realtor I’ll tell you that resale decisions come secondary to how your family will live day to day.
3. Using humble but high quality flooring materials was the name of the game for our renovation. We went for real 3/4 in hardwoods (that can be refinished again and again), a classic hexagon and dot pattern tile, a timeless limestone for flooring. Floors are a pain to change- make selections that can adapt to any trend and that have stood the test of time already.
4. Outlets and hardwired sconces by the bed, electrical in the island for a charging drawer, outlets in the floor of the living room- electrical was the thing I thought about the least ahead of time and it cost me! We did so many edits along the way, it really pays to think critically about where you need outlets, lighting, and switches ahead of time.
5. A great tile installer can make cheap tile look expensive and a bad installer can make your expensive tile look crap. If you ask for a mitered edge and they tell you Schluter is your only option, keep looking. Our bathroom would not have worked without an awesome tile layer (shout out to Daniel!)
So what do you think? Where are you dropping the big bucks in your renovation?
