Most of us have experienced a less than desirable living situation. Maybe your idealistic side convinced you that you could flip a house HGTV-style in seconds flat, or maybe you were broke and living in the best home you could afford, or maybe you just didn't have a clue about the horrors lurking beneath the surface of a decent-looking home. Having been in those scenarios more recently than not, I know that feeling stuck in a new home that is hideously ugly or offensively unclean is no fun. Here's how to deal...
• Track Your Progress. You may think that you will not care to remember the way your home looked when you moved in, but taking "before pictures" can be an excellent pick-me-up when you've been slaving away and still feeling like you're getting nowhere. Looking back at the before pictures from our previous home makes me feel like a superhero...which is exactly the way I needed to feel while we went about turning a trashed former meth lab into a family home. Plus, who doesn't like a good laugh?
• Purge, Clean, Prep, Paint, Unpack, and then Buy — in that order!
Being very visual and very impatient, my instinct is always to paint first, buy second, and then eventually get around to purging and cleaning. I always do it, it's always a big mistake — don't do it! The only variation that I consider fail-safe is switching the order of the unpacking and painting. I've found it easier to wait to unpack until all the walls are painted, but others may find it helpful to unpack first so that they can see how their belongings look in a room before committing to a color for the walls.
PURGING No matter how meticulous we thought we were being when packing up our boxes, we always hold on to more than we think. Spare yourself a future headache, and purge whatever you don't need before it finds a spot in our new home.
CLEANINGStart with the bathroom, the kitchen, and the bedroom. A clean shower is a luxury, and you'll be needing just that after a day of slaving away on the new home. The faster I have a functional kitchen, the faster I feel at home. In my own experience, it's easy to neglect the bedroom. It's where we end up stashing unpacked boxes and piles of tools while we focus on other areas of the home like the living room. However, a decent night sleep is priceless, especially if you're hoping to avoid a burn out. Spend enough time scrubbing down your room and setting up the basics (a bed!). The other rooms can wait while you prepare these key spaces.
PAINTING You weren't born yesterday, so you know the transformative power of paint, but before you set about meticulously bringing new life to your walls make sure you test the paint color in all possible lights. The green that looks earthy and serene in daylight might look garish and institutional under artificial lighting at night. I like to test in a 2'x2' patch near each source of light (a window, next to a floor lamp, etc.) and live with it for at least a day to make sure I really like it.
BUYING Don't be afraid to live sparsely for as long as it takes to find pieces that you really love not that just fill up space. In my experience, buying is actually the step that makes the least amount of impact in transforming the house from hell into a dream home. It isn't always easy, but it pays to take your time!
• Make a List of What you Need to Purchase. This seems way too obvious, but for those overwhelmed with the process of setting up a new home — particularly one that's in disrepair — it's easy to go out and buy the first new, shiny decor item you see. In the long run, it will most likely only add to your problems. First, make a detailed list of what you think you need for the home. Then look it over, and put a check next to the things that you actually need now to differentiate them from those items that can wait. Sure you want it all and you want it all now, but would you really rather have a bed to sleep on or a new TV?
What has helped you through your new home nightmares?
(Images: 1,2 Leah Moss, 3 via Isuwannee)
this is perfect! we're moving into our newly remodeled home next weekend...and it's still pretty "rough" in some spots.
view the big d's profile
I definitely agree to take the "before" pictures -- I didn't, and don't have a single photo of how drab, disgusting and dirty the bathroom and pantry were before the remodel.
Our experience buying our 100 year old house also made me vow next time to hire professional cleaners to deep clean the entire unit before I even start rehabbing or move my stuff inside. If money is too tight for pros, plan to spend a solid weekend doing nothing but cleaning -- with tunes and wine.
Also, the process of developing a plan, timeline and budget really helps to put projects in perspective. A tiny, ugly kitchen is much more easy to deal with if you know that you only have to suck it up for eight months. Conversely, if lots of serious projects are looming, it might make sense to spend a week or two on a quick, 'frivolous' project like a bedroom make-over, so that one room is lovely and complete, even if the rest of the joint is a construction site.
view jojouc's profile
Having had to buy everything by 'remote-control' for an apartment on an almost-shoestring budget when my husband moved across the country but I didn't, I'd say I was helped most by his reluctance to buy stuff:) Seriously!
Two things that have helped me:
#1 Making sure only one person was masterminding the whole thing, or, people with the same goals and mutually satisfactory methods.
#2 Accepting what's not possible. At the same time, if a space makes me unhappy or depressed, something's got to change.
I did detailed floor plans with permutations and combinations, looked a lot at what I liked or didn't right here on AT (thanks, folks!), tried never to buy anything that I or hubby wouldn't want to wake up with on a blue day, and wasn't afraid to push for what I wanted:D. Started early, browsed a lot, compared prices on a Excel sheet (yeah, I still keep it for updates and changes), and became thoroughly familiar with what's available and what's possible both at the stores and at our bank. Glad to say we now have maybe 3 items total in the house that neither of us wants for long.
view FigurativeSketches's profile
So true about the photos! I treasure my "before" pics and look at them fondly. Even at the end of one day, a digital pic of the morning's condition can really encourage you!
view tam-tbag's profile
My husband and I are closing on our first house next weekend! I already told him about all the before and after photos that we will take! It's such a great way to stay motivated, especially if your blog/post on flickr and can stay positive through all the nice comments you receive!
view Erin Lang Norris/Yellow Canoe's profile
wow, that sponge painting the first photo MIGHT be worse than that in a townhouse I used to live in: it was mint, rose, harvest gold and rust. IT's actually kind of cool to have something that awful to paint over because it looks SOOO much better when you do.
view ec05's profile
definitely before pictures - but i vote for "in the process" pics, too.
view maike's profile
Agreed on the "in process" pics, one of my favorite photos is of my late father gaping at the now cinderblock wall and exposed beams in the ceiling (not the kind you keep viewable, everything had to be ripped down to the foundation) of the room we were remodeling back in the day. His expression is priceless!
view Minyuette's profile
My current house was really filthy when I bought it. A friend helped me with the initial scrub-down. (But she used a bit of coercion - make me help out at a girl scout event first.)
My highest priority after that was the kitchen appliances. I simply decided not to open the oven at all, and I blew some money hiring a cleaning team to do the cooktop and the refrigerator until I could buy and install new appliances. It was worth it.
I took some pictures the day I closed on the house - wish I had taken a lot more.
view JoanneM's profile
I agree...taking before, during and after pictures are important for motivation and reminders. My husband and I still have so much to do with our apartment (we closed on it over 1.5 years ago). Although renovation is complete, we still have a ton to do and we have an ever-evolving list:
- window dressing (currently have blinds that we love, but would like to add drapes or curtains)
- kitchen window seat cushion
- table(s) for kitchen window seat
- stools for kitchen counter
- blank wall in kitchen for our TBD art project (who knows what it'll be)
- landing strip
- dining table
- pendant light for dining table (looking for industrial)
- a couple more dining chairs
- bookcases (books are downstairs in storage)
- couple of comfy chairs, ottoman, and small table to go with the bookcases that we haven't gotten yet for the "library" nook
- a nook in the wall near the entrance we have no idea what to do with
- replace sofa
- replace media console
- replace bed
- re-configure office (2nd bedroom)
Ummm...we have a lot of work to do...:)
www.donkeehouse.com
view bitdot's profile
My husband and I are in the process of buying right now, and we know for what we can pay it will be something to fix up, but that is exciting for us, because it is our first home and we're young and idealists; however, when antiquing last weekend, he was all disappointed because we didn't find everything we were looking for, I'm nervous he won't be able to wait for the "just right" items, but will want to buy and complete too quickly.
Any suggestions on how to slow down my over anxious hubby?
view CKBH's profile
CKBH: when your husband sees something that he loves, have him write down descriptive words for it, and search craigslist as often as you can. You will find something similar or the same for a lot cheaper!
view stellamarbella's profile
Great Article!
I've renod several places and have learned every one of those lessons the hard way.
view lori5458's profile
When I first started work on my place, the mantra was
"Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen" Anything that wasn't one of those 3 rooms was going to have to wait. It took a couple of weeks to get the bedroom fixed. Another month for the bathroom (duct tape caulking is NOT cool) and 2 more months to get the kitchen installed.
view MLH's profile
If you think you're close to buying a really ugly house, bring a camera to the home inspection. Take lots of photos of the house, decorated and painted in its ugly truth.
The "before" photos I have of my house with the previous owners' actual hideous furnishings on top of the hideous wallpaper, curtains, and rugs are a JOY for me to look at now. I feel like an amazing magician when I look at the difference - far more than I do when I look at the empty "before" pictures, which didn't quite capture the essential tackiness of what I had to undo. :)
view Mary B C's profile
A friend of mine framed a piece of the horrible rug he pulled up. He found a beautiful hardwood underneath, and keeps the fragment of muppet colored, 2 inch shag to show guests. He's not the only one to survive that... I have at least three friends who pulled up muppet colored shag rugs!
view Bee T.'s profile