After 20 years, it may be time for a home remodel
A few months ago, my good friend Lisa texted me to say, “Guess who's going to be your neighbor?”
Then last week, another friend, Stacy, called to say she and her husband bought the house four doors down (and next to Lisa). If there's a good-neighbor lotto, I'd just won the jackpot.
Having one good friend move into your neighborhood is fortunate. Having two is a sign from the universe, though I'm not sure of what. And here's the bonus! Besides having two fun friends within a stone's throw, I've also gained — and I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this — almost unlimited snooping access to observe their renovations. And they are renovating.
Our community of 28 homes is now more than 20 years old. Until recently, many of the residents were the original owners, and the homes retained their original finishes. But as the neighborhood transitions, so do the homes' interiors. Many have gotten total makeovers.
“Twenty years is about the time when homes need a pretty significant overhaul,” said interior designer Sally Ward, of Winter Park, Florida, who is helping Lisa with her remodel. “Finishes just get dated — even those that are in great shape.”
I am paying close attention because my 20-yearold kitchen fits that description.
As I walked through Lisa's house, a home I remembered as being beautiful and meticulously maintained, I gasped a little when I saw it taken back to the studs.
“Nothing needed to be changed,” Lisa said. “I loved the space from the minute I walked in. At first I thought, I would just give the interior a little refresh, but as I got into it, I wanted to make it mine.”
So what started with a plan to move the fireplace and expand the kitchen evolved into a near total gut, and the three-month project has become closer to eight and counting. Who hasn't been there?
Next door, I walked through Stacy's soon-to-be home, where plans are in place — not for a complete renovation all at once, but a few updates. They're replacing the roof, removing tired wallpaper, painting walls a neutral off-white, and replacing old carpet with new wood flooring upstairs. (The downstairs wood flooring is new, thanks to a plumbing-triggered flood.)
“The major issue is the 20-year-old wallpaper,” Stacy said, as we walked through the house together. I could hardly argue. “I'm going to lighten everything up.”
Future projects will include remodeling the bathrooms, rejiggering some walls, upgrading the kitchen and putting in new landscaping. Because it's
time.
“We all say we want looks that are timeless,” Ward said. “But that's not realistic. Styles change. Technology changes. Looks go from light to dark and back again. There is a 20year cycle. That's about when appliances reach the end of their lifeline. Ideally, you want to make improvements that work for you and that appeal to the current market.”
Then Ward answered a few more questions, which encouraged me — and maybe you — to consider making some needed changes at home.
What if it comes back in style? Yes, sometimes old becomes new again, but if a style does come back, it comes back with a twist. For instance, 25 years ago, polished brass faucets were big. Now brass is back, but it's in a brushed satin finish. In general, outdated features are not worth hanging onto.
What if what's old is still in great shape? If money is not an issue, not liking something or wanting a different style is reason enough to make a change.