Hey y’all, long time no see! It has been crazy town in the workroom these past couple weeks, but it’s been even crazier in my home. Why? We’ve been renovating and redesigning all over the place!

I can’t wait to show you the reveal of some renovations at the Corey House, and to do it, let’s start with the 7 things you should know about a renovation. Because let me tell y’all, renovating a 1960s home is no joke!

Whether your home was built in the 1960s or not, if you have an older home on your hands, here are 7 things you can probably expect…

Custom pillows, treatments, bed skirt, and upholstered headboard — made with love in our workroom!

1. There’s a high chance walls will be moving

Older homes are notorious for small, dark spaces. Think small bathrooms, closed-off kitchens, and walls everywhere. (Sound familiar?) Ours was no exception, which is why our teeny tiny and sorta scary guest bathroom was the first to get a much-needed makeover.

We borrowed some space from a nearby closet to make the bathroom larger, which meant moving walls. A lot of our clients in this situation will also see walls disappearing completely, especially in the kitchen. (Hello, open concept!)

In any case, it’s important to know this going in, as any structural changes will naturally cost more and require more experienced hands.

2. Go where there’s a return on your investment

The more that renovating costs, the more you probably want to make sure your home value is going up enough to give you a long-term return on your investment, even if you’ll be staying in the home for years and years.

Where’s the money? It’s in the kitchen, basement, and attic. It’s true that we started on our bathroom, mostly because we didn’t want our guests to be terrified anymore, but our basement was the second project we tackled. (Photos to come soon!) And stay tuned on the kitchen… it’s underway but will take a few years!

More custom pillows and window treatments made in our workroom! Would you expect anything less? 😉

3. Expect plenty of surprises, like these…

It’s no secret, older homes come with surprises. The type of surprises will depend on the year your home was built. For the 1960s crowd, here’s what we uncovered. Literally.

For our bathroom renovation, we knew we’d have to replace the pipes. But guess where the pipes were located? Yep, 3 feet under floor level and buried under concrete… Surprise! And yes, we sure did dig it all up to get to those pipes.

We also weren’t expecting that all of our floors needed to be demoed, but hey, that happened, too! Which brings me to my next point…

Modern with fun details (like the cabinet hardware) and the bright, fresh look we were missing.

4. Get experienced renovating professionals on your side

When it came to digging up concrete and replacing floors, we were SO grateful that we’d recruited experienced professionals well in advance. If we had gotten someone inexperienced, they might not have taken the time to get the flooring all set in properly.

And trust me, for a project of this size and investment, you definitely want it done right the first time.

5. Balance traditional architecture with fresh design

The design and decor of your home is a personal choice, but when designing ANY home, you have to take the architecture into consideration. If you have a traditional Southern home and you fill it will 100% modern pieces, it’s going to look a little off.

The solution is to fuse the design you like with touches of design that reflect the home’s unique character.

For us, we kept the upstairs much more traditional due to existing furniture, and I tried to bring in some fun and modern elements in the rooms downstairs. We did use my husband’s existing bedroom furniture that he grew up with, in traditional style, but the fun wallpaper makes it much more modern!

Custom pillows we designed and stitched with love in our workroom!

6. Choose classic materials for long-term value

In addition to renovating in ways that increase your home value, you’ll probably also want to make sure you invest in classic materials, especially for fixed elements. As for adding your unique flair, that’s where decorating comes in!

As you’ll see in the photos next month, we used subway tile in our bathroom tub. We didn’t have a tub before, and I wanted one for bathing grandbabies one day. (No pressure!)

Traditional meets modern, old meets new, color meets neutrals!

7. What everyone says about renovating is true…

What you’ll hear everyone say, including me, is that your project will end up requiring more money and time than you can ever expect. Our little project started in February and here we are in October/November and just now finishing it all up.

It should not have taken this long, but it did. You have to have patience.

Also, make sure that when you get a quote you understand exactly what it entails. Do they add on the finishes after the first quote? There are no stupid questions. Ask as many as you can think of, and when you run out of questions, call us and we’ll give you a few more to ask them. 😉

Love this combination of happy yet soothing colors!

As you can see, renovating a 1960s home takes some courage and resilience, but the destination is worth every second.

Not only do we love our home and it feels like new, but we’ve already hosted multiple guests and been proud to have them over! So if you’re considering a renovation, I suggest you start planning it now and feel free to ask us questions. 

And if your space needs a little pick-me-up before holiday guests arrive, contact us. We’d be happy to come in, give you a design consultation, and decorate. Whatever you and your VIPs need to love your home this season.

To you and yours,
Sheri