What a difference a few years, seasons and renovations can make!
I couldn’t help but take a photo of our house today, the colour of the trees and sky were so bright and beautiful!
Category Archives: Home Renovations
Looking to Save Money on Your Renovations?
Let’s face it, renovations can be expensive. Heck… a simple facelift of a space can start to add up!
When my husband and I were recently renovating our front entry, we made sure to look for ways to save money without sacraficing quality.
Here are a few ways we have saved money:
1. I painted the door and frame myself. To colour match our door and have the frame arrive pre-treated, it was going to cost us over $1,000 more. Personally, I felt that was outrageous when it was something I could do myself. I have painted many things over the years and consider myself knowledgeable in this area. Make sure you do your product research first!
2. Try to be flexible with your time. Almost all trades charge a premuim rate for off hours work. If you can coordinate to be home for service during regular business hours you will keep the necessary services at a reasonable rate.
3. If you possess the capabilities to complete the renovation yourself, do it! However, be honest with yourself. There are some things (plumbing, electricial, etc) that should be done by a licensed professional.
4. Pay cash!!! I will sing this from the roof tops over and over again! Stay away from “Buy now, pay later” or the dreaded credit cards, in the end the renovation will cost you way more than it did originally. If you can’t afford to pay cash, question if this is the right time to be completing the work or if you can truly afford it. If the work is necessary pull from your emergency fund, something every home owner should always have! ZERO excuses.
Happy Renovating!
Front Door Design Ideas
Stepping foot in any home renovation store or design warehouse makes my mind full of excitement! I begin to dream of all the possibilities. The options available to make our home beautiful are endless.
Without warning, reality comes knocking and I am reminded of the dreaded budget. Whomp whomp…
I say dreaded not because I wish to overspend or forget financial limitations, I simply wish limitations didn’t exist. Can we all dream of an endless money flow?? Just for a moment… ahh! To dream…
Now, where was I… Ah yes, stepping into the warehouse. Even with the various options available, I had a pretty set idea of what I wanted for our front door and entry way. My husband has been fantastic with letting me run with the design. Due to the age of the door frame, we need to have the door, sidelites and frame replaced. The size of our door opening, including the frame, is very large. We could fit a double door and sidelite into the opening but after walking around our neighbourhood and seeing other homes similar to ours with double doors, my husband and I decided we preferred the look of a single. Specifically, an oversized single door.
Knowing we want an oversized single door, I wanted a door with interesting detail. We will have two massive sidelites on each side of the door still, providing a significant amount of natural light. Having glass in the door itself, in addition to the sidelites, would be too much exposure into our home. After many hours of cruising Pinterest, I found the colour and door style I have my dreams set on!
Now, add two sidelites double the size of the one below and there you have it… our new front entry!
Beautiful Insanity 