If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll know I’ve been working on a big project – my home renovations! I’m so excited to share this with you, and even more excited about how everything came together. As you probably know from when you’ve got work done around the house, renovations can be extremely stressful and disruptive. Between the noise, the mess, and the general anxiety of everything hopefully finishing in time and looking the way you had envisioned, it can get quite overwhelming.
I’m sure you can understand that I’m ecstatic to finally show you all the results!
The renovation was primarily focused on the kitchen and laundry room. I had a certain aesthetic in mind – modern meets traditional. Some may call it eclectic, I call it Lemon Poppyseed Girl Chic.
Our project consisted of taking out the island and replacing it with an updated look, replacing the laminate flooring with hardwood flooring in the kitchen and tiles in the laundry room, taking out the corner pantry to make the kitchen look larger, and changing the kitchen cabinetry and appliances.
We also used wallpaper for a few of the other rooms in the home, as well as got rid of the fireplace we used to have with the TV.
Throughout this whole process, I learned a lot and thought I’d share some tips for your next renovation project! Hopefully, this will save you some time, money, and a few meltdowns.
My Renovation Tips:
1. Get as prepared as possible by ordering everything you need ahead of time.
Prior to getting started, we had ordered our appliances, materials, and fixtures. This made the whole renovation process much smoother and easier than had we not. Especially during this pandemic, there are difficulties receiving materials on time and general supply issues.
So if you’re on a tight deadline and budget, it truly pays to be prepared. We were glad we did! On top of a pandemic, British Columbia also experienced major floods, mudslides, and road closures this year. Had we not been prepared, there’s no saying how long the renovations would have taken and been stalled!
Keep in mind though, that no matter how prepared you are there will be things that go wrong along the way regardless!
2. Take lighting into consideration when choosing paint.
I’ve always been a big fan of white – it’s modern, clean, and gives a very put-together classy look. I especially like stark white, however, I quickly realized that with the lighting the stark white looked like a creamy white. How did that happen? Well, during different parts of the day, the light will influence how your paint looks. During certain times of the day, it may look like a bright cool white, and at other times it may look creamy.
That’s why it’s important to not only swatch different shades of your preferred color to find the right fit, but also to look at these swatches at different times of the day, as it will appear differently. Find a shade that you appreciate at all hours of the day, and not just one you love in the morning when the golden sunlight hits your walls just right, but hate when it’s dark outside.
3. Be picky about your light fixtures.
Light fixtures can be an easy way to either make an otherwise average room into your favorite room ever, or it can make an amazing room look average. It’s an opportunity to really emphasize the style you’re going with, as well as give you another opportunity to influence the lighting of the room. Keep in mind the difference between warm and bright white for your walls in terms of light bulbs for your light fixtures!
4. Be there at all times during the renovation.
Things go wrong and that’s normal, but when decisions have to be made it can be a huge time saver if you’re there to make sure the right decisions are made. Mistakes also happen less when you’re there to catch them. I was home to catch most of the mistakes thankfully that happened, and yes some slipped past me (which resulted in some drama). But I guarantee that way fewer mistakes were made and that I wouldn’t be as happy with the results as I am now had I not been as involved from the get-go.
5. It’s all in the details!
Our beloved corner pantry was taken out in order to allow for more counter space. While it took some getting used to the change, taking out the corner pantry allowed for the kitchen to be much more functional and we love it!
Instead of having a fireplace wall, we decided to go with a feature wall. It was our way to add a personal touch to our home and make it a true family home. If you’re thinking that that is probably too expensive, then think again – we did some re-calculating and moving around some things until it fit our budget. We’re so happy we did!
If you’re looking for small things that offer maximum results, look at your hardware and finishes. By choosing different kinds of metals or lacquers, you can completely change the look of a room. We chose to use lacquer brass for kitchen hardware and for the built-ins. It gave off such an elegant and modern traditional touch that we fell in love with it immediately!
6. View unexpected repairs as an opportunity.
When we took out the corner pantry, we didn’t necessarily expect to have the ceiling repaired. However, since we did we were also able to get some electrical repairs done as well as a shiplap which added major character to the kitchen.
While we absolutely love the kitchen and our new laundry room, we’re also definitely happy that the renovations are over and that we get to enjoy the time in our newly renovated areas!
