Having lived in our current house for nearly a quarter of a century, we’ve reached a point where we need a full-scale renovation. From top to bottom—starting with paint, tiles, flooring, windows, blinds, trims, bathrooms, kitchen—you name it, it likely needs renovation.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, and assuming time and money aren’t an issue, you’d consult several home renovation contractors, get the best quote, sign the papers, and agree on a timeline. After enduring the dust, dirt, and waiting, you’d have a virtually new house. Not only that, but your home’s value would likely increase threefold compared to what you paid for the renovation—a solid investment, after all.
But not everyone has the money or time for a full-scale home renovation. While we live in a relatively small townhouse, some may have even larger homes, which would cost significantly more to renovate and take longer. That’s assuming you can even find a reliable contractor who stays on budget and meets the agreed-upon timeline.
In fact, this has been my experience. Since I haven’t considered full-scale renovations, I’ve been tackling them one project at a time. For example, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began, we landscaped our backyard, removing the lawn and replacing it with interlocking pavers. In 2022, we renovated our master bedroom, followed by the bathroom the next year. In 2024, we painted the entire house and installed marble countertops in the kitchen—on top of various small-to-medium-sized renovation projects we’ve completed over the years.
This approach has worked well for us for several reasons. For one, these individual renovations take less time, create less mess, and, of course, cost less. The idea is to renovate what needs to be done rather than committing to a full house renovation, giving you time to save and budget for your next project. This strategy has worked well for us, and we’ve rarely felt any financial strain or the stress and inconvenience that come with a full renovation project.
A friend of mine had to undergo full renovations on his house back in 2023, including the main floor, second floor, and a complete reconfiguration of the basement. The work was long overdue, as they had done virtually no renovation on their 20+ year-old house. The project dragged on for months, went way over budget, and ultimately became so stressful that they regretted doing it.
One drawback of this approach is that things may not stay in sync. Some elements may need replacing before others, but that might not be such a bad thing after all. It could also mean dealing with multiple contractors instead of relying on one to handle everything.