In What Order Should You Renovate the Rooms in Your Home?
If you are planning to renovate your whole house or multiple rooms, you may wonder where to start. The main confusion may be whether to begin in common areas, like the kitchen and living room, or is it better to focus on the less visible rooms so that those shared spaces stay usable for longer? Let's take a look at some details to consider when deciding how to renovate the rooms in your home.
How Inconvenient Are You Prepared to Be?
Whether your remodel is big or small, any type of renovation brings an amount of inconvenience and disruption to your life. Think about which room you will have the most trouble giving up for an extended period. Weigh the bathroom, kitchen, and living room with your desire for an improved space to help you make the best choice.
Option One—Pick a Room that Will Increase Your Home's Value the Most
Think of it from the perspective of unpredictability—you do not know what will happen in the time it takes you to remodel one room to another. It is always a good idea to take things one step at a time and look at individual rooms as separate entities. Always talk to your contractor about such things, and they will help you decide. When determining where to start, pick the room that will regain the remodeling costs and create equity. Doing so will give you a sense of security no matter what the future brings. Kitchen contractors agree that starting with the kitchen or bathroom is typically the smartest move. Although kitchens cost more to remodel than bathrooms, they tend to give a better return on investment, so they end up paying for themselves in the long run.
Option Two—Think About Where You Spend the Most Time
Another aspect to consider when deciding what order you should renovate the rooms in is which room you spend the most time in. Maybe resale is not your top concern at the moment, as you do not have plans to relocate and think you will stay in your home for a while. If that is the case, you might not want to remodel the bathroom before the living room, even if a bathroom remodel offers a better resale value. On the other hand, your top priority may be enjoying a relaxing bath each evening. In that case, you might want to remodel your bathroom before your kitchen. If you plan on staying in your home for a while, consider which rooms you would prefer to enjoy for longer as you decide which room to renovate first.
Ask yourself a few questions:
Do you enjoy cooking with the family, but your kitchen does not have enough countertops or the right appliances that you need?
Do you need to prepare a nursery if you are planning a baby in the near future or are already expecting a child?
Does the family spend the most time in the living room and you would prefer to refresh the furniture there?
Is the bathroom, perhaps, the main room for you to relax and you need a new bathtub?
Take your time and assess which rooms you use most often and which will emotionally bring the most value to your family by being remodeled. Once you are done with that room in the house, turn to refreshing the spaces that need more love next.
Option Three—Consider Starting with Functional Issues
Are there rooms in your home that have structural damage and are long overdue for a fix? There might be water leaking from the ceiling or unsuitable weather stripping, making a room too cold to be in. You may have issues that have been there since you bought the place, but you simply never got around to fixing them. Taking all this into account, prioritize taking on projects that solve functional problems so that you can make the most of your space. A design upgrade will brighten your home but should not be a priority, especially when there is a room in the home that desperately needs repairs.
Self-Storage During Renovation
Depending on the size and scale of your renovation, you will need to take care of your furniture and belongings appropriately. If you need to empty the rooms but have nowhere to keep your things, storage is a convenient solution. By putting away your furniture, you ensure that it will not get damaged or broken while you renovate the rooms in your home. You can also have a moving company come in and pack, load, and move all your belongings to the storage, so you can entirely focus on your renovation.
When You Need to Renovate the Rooms in Your Home—Start with the Kitchen
A lot will go into your decision on how to approach your kitchen remodel. Rely on your contractor to guide you as they know the best practices in these situations. The current state of your kitchen will vastly dictate how you move forward. Remodeling your kitchen correctly will include a minimum of:
Upgrading your appliances
Installing new granite or quartz countertops
Installing new hardwood floors or tiles
Depending on the current state of the kitchen, you might even be able to refurbish your existing floors and save costs when you renovate the rooms.
Bathroom Remodeling Ideas
When you are remodeling the bathroom, your minimum investment will be:
New flooring
Bathroom vanities
Updating bathroom fixtures
If you are looking to save on remodeling costs, you may consider reglazing the tub instead of getting a new one. You can make a big difference in the bathroom with inexpensive details. Whatever the size of your bathroom is, simple upgrades like shiny knobs on cabinets or a sparkling new faucet for the sink can go a long way. After that, you can elevate the space with towels, small shelves, and cabinets. When you renovate the rooms in your home, the ultimate goal is to make it a better living situation for you and your family without breaking the bank. This way, everyone will ultimately benefit from the remodel.