Home renovations start with the Pinterest board of dreams. When homeowners go into their renovation, they think about the showstopper sections—a grandiose kitchen island, a spa-like master bathroom, an open-concept living area to entertain. But what happens far too often, as professionals will tell you, is that homeowners forget about the small stuff and the working stuff, which can make or break a project in its entirety.
It’s not only the final look of a home that fails due to these small, overlooked areas but functionality and livability, and sadly, expensive mishaps down the line.
Floor Planning Gets All the Attention, But Floor Covering Gets Forgotten
Everyone spends countless hours figuring out the room layout, flow between rooms, etc., but no one considers flooring transitions. The issue arises that each room has its own specific flooring height; when rooms are done at different times, it creates awkward transitions between rooms, a telltale sign of “someone renovated in here.”
More specifically, when doing one room at a time—and this is most often how homes get done—there’s a need to acknowledge the adjacent spaces. For example, if a homeowner wants to redo their living room and put in specific flooring, they need to think about what their family room or entryway flooring will look like, in addition to what’s already been done in their dining room or up the stairs. An attractive collection of 8×10 area rugs, in reality, is the only thing that allows different flooring materials to seem cohesive while working through a house room by room.
The better situation is that no one considers the visual weight of flooring. Dark materials make spaces smaller yet light floors show every dirt particle. Those who plan to do multiple room renovations over time should have some semblance of sameness to create continuum.
Storage Planning Happens After Everything Else (Big Mistake)
This is what drives contractors insane. Homeowners want their dream space, and then, after it’s all been planned out, they look around say, “Where do we put things?” This needs to be incorporated from the start—not why it’s on the last page.
However, during this process of reconfiguring everything else, storage needs should be taken into account, because most people underestimate how much they need. They see those gleaming minimal images and think that they can provide half as many cabinets and closets as they’re currently using. Then reality sinks in when it comes time to determine where their winter coats will go, where cleaning supplies will be kept, and all those random objects without home.
Therefore it makes sense that before any demolition takes place—and certainly before final assembly—homeowners should do an audit of their needs by walking through their house to see what’s stored where, what’s successful and what’s annoying. That will determine what’s good for plans rather than after construction is complete.
Lighting Gets Treated Like an Afterthought
Typically there is a line item for “lighting” in budgets that allow for some basic constructions—recessed lights in the ceiling, a pendant over an island. However, few people take into consideration how different types work together.
People assume they’re going to get enough natural light from their windows during the day without thinking about shadows in the afternoon or shades versus window types. Then by 6PM when there isn’t enough lighting—or darkness falls early in winter—an otherwise bright and cheery room can become a cavernous hole.
Then there’s task lighting: no one remembers to ask for enough reading lights by the couch or under cabinet lighting in the kitchen or anything accentuated that can help with aesthetic appeal. All of these get expensive as people want extra work done with electrical systems later on instead of initially.
Ventilation and Air Flow Don’t Sound Exciting, But They Matter
There are very few people who ooze excitement over an HVAC system. But nothing is worse than a beautifully redone space with poor air circulation for it to be rendered useless. This is particularly true for kitchens and bathrooms, where moisture and odors need somewhere to go—having old ductwork makes it essentially impossible.
When walls are eliminated and changed around, areas become open where they weren’t before. The ceiling fan that once worked well does nothing more than blow air around haphazardly because now it does not serve its own purpose but rather is simply put in place for nominal reference. When square footage is added, the existing system may not support additional needs.
The obvious problem appears in kitchens. That fancy range hood looks great on paper but if it’s not big enough to get your cooking smell vented outdoors and it’s not vented properly to get out, then all it will do is recirculate those aromas along with grease.
The In-Between Spaces That Connect Everything
Hallways and stairwells and other transition areas are not given second thought outside of their transitionary purpose at best—they rarely have a function like “cooking” or “sleeping,” so people don’t care much about them.
However, this is what makes a home feel cohesive; spaces that connect others also serve as welcome opportunities for storage and shelving units for little decor moments as needed and require good amounts of lighting to help appeal to adjacent spaces.
Planning for Real Life, Not Just Pretty Pictures
If there’s one thing that is overlooked more than anything else, it’s truly having people think through how they live versus how they expect it to look in pictures down the line. That white kitchen may look good but if you’re a family with children who make smoothies every day? Probably not.
That open shelving may feel great but if you’re someone who likes to put things away to maintain order? Different story.
There are plenty of considerations that come from Pinterest boards that help guide renovations but thinking about maintenance and livability over time creates quality appeal. All those tiny details that get omitted from Pinterest boards—the ones that allow for proper lighting and sufficient storage—create successful spaces versus ones you love working within without regret you’re forced to live with only because you didn’t take time during the initial planning stages because you thought time was money in your pocket instead.
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