Renovation exhaustion
I’ve spent the last 20 years of my life renovating, so I decided my first journal (blog) entry would start at the very end of the renovation process. This is for anyone who is currently renovating, thinking about it, or wants to solidify their feelings from when they burnt out during a renovation project.
Let’s paint the picture for those that haven’t gone through this emotional experience. Imagine if you were planning a big fancy party but you only had control over who the chef would be (this is your General Contractor or Builder), who the decorator would be (this is either your designer or yourself), the guest list (these are your trades) and all the rental furniture (this is your material). Nothing else would be in your control. Once you hire those individuals the only job left for you is to make six gazillion decisions alongside everyone listed above and hope nothing gets lost in translation.
The catch here is that even though you planned your party on a particular date you will postpone the party at least 5-10 times. The party was set for June but its actual date becomes November if you’re lucky. On and on you’ll experience days, maybe weeks, no one shows up, wrong items arrive, major delays, sicknesses, mistakes, and change orders. The human brain can only handle so much before we just feel a sense of enough is enough. In renovation, that is usually towards the end of the project. However, the end of the project is also the most exciting time because everything is being finished and the construction site is finally becoming your home again. Now is also the time you’ll be preparing to move in, pack, and move out of your rental (or your Inlaws, in which case YOU ARE DONE) and so the fight might not be worth it anymore.
The fight for fixing something, if it wasn’t done correctly, or if the replacement material hasn’t arrived, you start to settle on what was the original vision. The paint color you thought you loved but now you hate it. The stress of all the decision-making sets in. The budget has likely dried up at this point too and you are officially over it. This is all normal and what we call renovation exhaustion.
I have some tips on how to fight the exhaustion, get over that hump and stay focused on the end result.
Before | Staying on Heights Kitchen project
After | Staying on Heights Kitchen project
Tips to fight Renovation Exhaustion:
1) Look at your inspiration photos; remind yourself of what you were dreaming about.
2) Look back on early demo photos when you didn’t even have walls. Look how far you’ve come.
3) Write down the pros / cons of addressing the mistakes.
4) Practice having the confrontation or discussion with the Trade(s) or GC directly with friends and family. Ask their opinions.
5) Now ask yourself these 2 questions:
- If I don’t fix this issue now will I want to fix it a) never b) I’ll hate this every time I see it c) it might be ok, I don’t think I care that much.
-Was this issue the fault of something I did or was this a Trade (or GC) error?
If you’ll hate this every time you see it AND it was a trades error, for whatever reason, you owe it to your future self to hit pause, get uncomfortable with the conversations and fix it. If you don’t you will regret it.
However, if you think you can live with it and it was your fault, just move on and address after you move in.
Lastly, if it was your fault but you are trying to convince yourself you’ll grow to like it or you won’t care when you move in, chances are you will and you will regret it. If the budget doesn’t allow to correct the issue try having an honest conversation, during the punch list negotiations, to see if you can forgo smaller punch items to have this other thing corrected.
Jenn’s 1923 Tudor kitchen