Stay Calm and Reno On

Not like the city in Nevada, but more like the abbreviation of renovation.

I cannot deny that renovations are stressful! It's one of the many reasons why people decide to buy a move-in ready home. It's convenient to find a place where your biggest worry is changing the paint color and updating minor details. It's a completely different thing to have your biggest worry be tearing down walls, dealing with re-routing of electrical wires, and so much more. When Sergio and I were looking to buy a house, he always assumed I'd rush for a move-in ready home. Yet each time I visited houses that had been "remodeled" by their current owners, I could not avoid having these thoughts run through my head: (1) Do I like this decor or style for me? (2) Did they install it properly? (3) Am I paying for their taste or my own? So what do you do when all the options you somewhat like are wayyy over your budget? You REMODEL! Here are a few reasons why you can do it (yes you can) and how to deal with the stress:

You have design control. When you remodel a house you are given creative flexibility to design something that is built to your style. Do you love an all classic look or are you more modern contemporary? What if you like both? You have full control of how to recreate your space.

Spend where you want and save where you want. So the awkward elephant in the room is always cost, when you remodel, things can get pricey. But frankly you spend where you want to. For me, I wanted the kitchen to be a fabulous space and chose certain items that were on the higher-end spectrum, but that also meant going a little less expensive on other items (or not doing certain things all together).

Here's a sneak peek of our kitchen faucet, it looks fancy, but is quite affordable.

Hire help. Some people do this all the time and they are what you and I aren't, experts. They can do things in a manner that is more efficient and less costly to you in the long run. I'll give you an example, one of my father's construction worker stopped by to help us demolish the kitchen. What took me two hours with the jackhammer, took him less than 20 minutes! This is a perfect example of what I mean by working more efficiently. When it came to putting the kitchen back together, Sergio and I knew we needed to hire help. When hiring help help, don't be afraid to shop around (it's expected), negotiate price, and ask how quickly they can start and finish. Remember the single thing we can't make up in life is time, so value yours.

Use your family and friends for free labor. Trust me they are happy for you and want to help (specially if beer and food is involved). Sergio and I were lucky to have demolished an entire half of the house for free. We had friends and family come in and help us throughout the process (thank you so much!) It was a huge saving! People just called and showed up and that made a world of a difference for us. We aren't the type to call and ask for help (except if you are my mom), so when people showed up we were speechless. Allow them to be a part of your journey, together you will treasure those moments and build memories.

Keep a balance. Not everything is about renovations, keep prior commitments and have fun. Do not let the remodeling period consume your time. If you are invited out, shower, get ready, and go out! Life is all about that balance!

Hope these tips help and inspire you to do your own remodeling. So pick a room you'd like to redo and share along your journey with the hashtag #JenniMadeMeDoIt.

Love always,

Jenni

#remodel #fixerupper #demolition #miami #lifestyle