When it comes to renovating your home. How do you decide what parts need to stay in and what parts need to hit the road? Often times the cost factor is the number one reason something needs to walk the plank , but is that always the best option? Here are some of our best tips on what should stay or go in your Reno.

Obviously the goal post is going to pivot a few times throughout your renovation, What you thought you couldn’t live without , vs what you actually need can become a bit blurry in the process.

Tip 1 - Stay focused and ask yourself or your design Team ( Designer, Architect, and GC ) what will give me the most for my hard earn dollars? An Example would be cabinets…. Those little buggers , while totally awesome can be really really pricey! If painting or staining them and swapping out the hardware will skim the budget, still give you great resale value and a beautiful outcome then its full steam ahead. Often times refacing and refinishing are the first go to, but hold up a minute peeps, its not always the best choice. Sometimes your cabinets have flat out had it , or were not of good quality to begin with, so brand new and sometimes custom is what we have to do. As said too many times here on this site, so I am sure you can say it with us….. “BUY IT CHEAP …….. BUY IT AGAIN” … Okay? So please do yourselves a huge favor and DONT”

Tip 2 - Ask yourself - What will I be doing here in 5 years? If you plan on being in your home for the next 5 years then put it in! You get to enjoy it for a reasonable amount of time and if you sell it, the new owner should love it too. Now we are not talking about pink carpet for the fairy princess, but that shiplap wall or new floor will work just fine. So we often are asked ,porcelain tile, laminate, hardwood, engineered Hardwood, or real hardwood and the answer is………wait for it………wait for it…….. it depends. It depends on a number of factors that will be very specific to you. Without mitigating circumstances our #1 choice is Engineered Hardwood and #2 is Porcelain tile. Both of these will give you a beautiful outcome and are also both very good for increasing the value of your home. So when you can put it in , DO IT!

Tip 3 - Leave it out, So with the above being said what should you be absolutely hands down , positively, leaving out of your Reno?

Too Much Emotion. Too much emotion ruins everything and is a breeding ground for bad decisions.

Too Trendy. Things that are too trendy will be here today gone tomorrow so stay away from the trends. Your design team can help you with this. But please be careful, all design teams are not created equal. Make sure if longevity is what you want (which it should be) Firms that don’t chase trends is where you want to live. Shameless plug - LCAD focuses on Classic Design

Too Expensive. Yes we said it. There is such a thing as too expensive. Now we know that the cost of a project is so relative to each individual , but in theory each item you purchase should be a part of a whole. An example would be your refrigerator should not cost 1/3 of your whole project. If it does you either need higher end finishes on the other end or you need to dial it back with fridge choice. It seems like an obvious thing but this really brings us back to the too much emotion part. Sometimes the cost is so disproportionate because there is an overly emotional attachment to something we have “always wanted.” This is usually not the environment for your best Reno.
So to summarize it , if you have a highly skilled team to help you have your best Reno and follow some simple rules, you will be ready to go and enjoying your new space before you know it.

Renovating or building your home should be fun, even through some of its challenges of not knowing when to hire a designer, which is why we exist here at La Casa Azul. 

Here at La Casa Azul Design, we specialize in interior design and interior architecture for your custom build, renovating older spaces and turning them into your dream.  If you’re looking to start a home renovation or building project and don’t know where to start, we’d love to help!

We offer complimentary calls to anyone looking to begin a renovation project that doesn’t know where to start.  We’ll talk with you about your vision and the goals for your home, and offer our best services to get you on the way to your well-appointed home.

To speak with one of our design specialists, you can book your complimentary call here… 

Best of luck to you on your upcoming home project!