This Isn’t My Forever Home

I find quite often that a lot of the interior design decisions for my home hinge on the fact that this is not our “Forever Home”. We do not plan to live here for the rest of our lives or even the majority of our lives. Originally when we bought our house, the plan was to live here for about 4 years until my stepdaughter finished high school. Since that deadline is closely looming (almost a year away!!!), I’m starting to be a bit more realistic and understanding of the fact that we’ll be here longer than planned. I’m totally okay with that, but the question of just how long really does creep into many of my plans for this house.

• Should we rip off the back of the house to expand the kitchen and possibly add another bedroom?
• Should we rip off the roof to expand the master bedroom and add a bathroom while we’re at it?
• Should we try to lower the basement floor in order to get a family room with higher ceilings?

The answers to those questions are glaring NOs for me, unless a few things happen….we decide to stay here for at least 20 more years OR we win the lottery. You know, whichever comes first.

A few months back, my husband & I got an estimate on renovating our ONLY full bathroom. The price was reasonable. However, we know it will be a huge upheaval and a big disruption to our normal lives. With that being said, we decided on a much cheaper update…installing all new doors {wonk, wonk}. Not as glamorous as a shiny, new bathroom, but much more cost effective and practical since we’re really not sure that we want to invest a lot of money into a house we’re not staying in for the long haul. We still haven’t made the final call on that one because we haven’t narrowed down our future plans. The bathroom functions just fine right now, and it probably might be smarter to turn the powder room into a full bathroom before tackling the main one anyway. A house with 2 full bathrooms is certainly better than a house with 1.5 bathrooms, no?

Which brings me to resale value! Many buyers, myself included, would rather have 2 full bathrooms than just 1.5. I really try hard not to think of resale value when making design decisions because I realize I must LOVE the place I live, and if I love it, the right buyer will love it, too. But my background in real estate always whispers that sneaky 2-letter word in my ear. It’s a reality every homeowner must face. We must all decide if that metallic, velvet wallpaper from 1972 is really a good choice. The answer will be ‘absolutely not’ for any new buyers, and it will dissuade anyone not open to renovating from even considering purchasing your house. Sad but very true. But I digress…

I’ve come up with a strategy to manage these decisions of whether (and how much) to invest in a home I won’t be in forever.

• If the love I have for this item/change supersedes the disappointment I will feel if future buyers reject my home because of it, I will move forward with the purchase. If the joy this item/change brings me is life-changing, I’m going for it. Because I have to love where I live – simple as that.
• If the price of this item/change is a large expenditure and I feel we will not get the chance to experience its true intrinsic value, it’s not a go. For example, if a new deck costs $27,000 and we will only get to use it over 4 summers (due to weather constraints), it just doesn’t seem worth it to me to invest $6,750 for each season of use here in the North East. A better option might be to have the current pilings reinforced and add a small paver patio area for a total of $10K.

Get it?

I’m sure this system will work well for me, and I’m certain there a number of caveats my two criteria do not cover, but it’s a good jumping off point for me.

Any other homeowners dealing with these same decisions?

All of these amazing photos are from the HGTV 2013 Dream Home.