Custom Remodeling: Ideas For Different Stages of Life

Your home is most likely the biggest investment you will make in your lifetime–financially, and in some ways, emotionally. It’s the place you will spend the most time, invite family and friends into, and experience many of the highlights of life.

As your life situations change, often times what you need from your home will change as well. Custom remodeling takes into account your needs today and what your needs may be in the future to help your Tallahassee home grow with you through all life stages.

The stages we describe below are not always so cut and dry… there are many variations… but hopefully you can glean some insight that will help you plan for your home updates a little better.

Custom Remodeling For First Time Home Buyers

Often single people, life partners or newly married couples are buying their first home. In this stage, you’re probably investing in a starter home, one you plan to live in for three to five years and then updgrade once you’ve built up some equity.

Ideally you want to buy something that does not need any major remodeling but the best deals are usually the ones that do. “Buy the cheapest house in the nicest neighborhood” is a great way to make sure your home equity will grow, especially if you can make some smart updates on your own.

Buying a home is expensive, especailly if you’re not selling a home at the same time to fund the new purchase. A lot of your savings will go toward the deposit and then you have moving expenses, realtor fees, taxes etc.. If it’s your first home you probably also don’t own things like a lawnmower or basic tools so you will need to invest in those things as well.

So budget is often the driving factor for first time homebuyers thinking about custom remodeling. If you have time and are good with tools you can DIY quite a few things like painting or replacing light fixtures.

What to Watch Out For

Where people often go wrong at this stage of home ownership is hiring the least expensive contractor, doing cheap updates or not researching solutions before making a decsion.  This often leads to regrets or even more expensive repairs down the road.

While a kitchen or bath upgrade is a lot more fun, pay attention to making sure the main systems of the house are in good shape first, namely your roof, HVAC, electric and plumbing systems.

Build Relationships and Learn

Try to develop relationships with quality contractors early on and keep those realtionships over time. Quality contractors and designers will take the time to educate you on options and make smart decisions. They are well worth the extra cost in the long run.

Doing fewer high qualtiy projects is better than doing a bunch of low quality ones both for the value of your home and your enjoyment of it.

Since this will most likely not be your “forever home” look for what upgrades will give you the best return on your investment (ROI). Read this blog post for ideas. You also may have the time to spend on DIYs. Now is a great time to learn basic home maintenance, and doing DIYs (with the help of YouTube when necessary) can be a great way to get comfortable working on your home.

The First Big Custom Remodeling Project: Growing Your Family

The first big lifestyle change for many people is when they grow their family. This changes your priorities pretty quickly and usually inspires the first big custom remodeling project.

Remodeling before adding to your family is a good idea if you can. Trying to remodel with young children definitely adds an extra layer of challenge to the process.

What we see most often is people who remodel before children or after the children grown. In between there are a lot of other priorities (and expenses).

Kid’s-Eye View

Consider your home from a kid’s-eye view to gain perspective on the areas that you can make more suitable for them. For example, seating at the kitchen island is often too high for a young child. Typically, counter heights range from 36-42 inches. Consider designing a section of the island that is lower, or using seating that is adjustable or climbable for small kids. Think about lowering mirror heights in bathrooms, or using built-in cabinet stools that slide out of the vanity and back in when not in use. Small details like these can make your home perfect for a child.

Lots of Storage

With kids comes…stuff. Lots of it. As your family grows and your children get older, the amount of stuff they have grows, too. The more storage you can build into your home remodel, the better. Consider the following ideas:

• built-in bookshelves in the playroom to hold baskets full of toys. Pretty and practical.
• a bench with storage in the foyer to corral shoes.
• a cubby system in the garage–one or more cubbies for each child–to hold sports gear and school backpacks.
• a great custom storage system in each closet that can grow with your children.
• custom loft beds that can give you a lot of extra space in crowded bedrooms.

Make sure there’s “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Talk to your contractor about other custom storage options that would be a good fit for your specific home. The more storage you have, the better organized you can be, making everything in your home flow more smoothly.

Kid-Friendly Materials

When remodeling for a family, you want materials that are both durable and safe. High-quality wall paint with a slightly glossy finish, like eggshell or satin, will be easier to clean. Durable and easy-to-maintain quartz or sturdy laminate countertops might suit your needs better than, say, wood which can chip easily and needs regular maintenance.

Luxury vinyl plank (LVP), like Mohawk’s SolidTech line, or Happy Feet’s beautiful options, might be perfect for your new home. LVP looks just like real wood but is much more durable and easy to maintain. It is waterproof, stain-resistant, and scratch-resistant, and easier on your feet than tile or other flooring options.

Custom Remodeling For “Empty Nesters”

Another big life change is when the kids are grown. After an adjsutment period to your new found freedom a lot of people start to focus on to personlize the home for themselves and start to think more about aging in place features, hosting family gatherings and creating a place to relax. 

Generally, empty nesters have more resources available to invest in their home, and this means you can make it exactly what you want it to be. It’s time to remodel your kitchen and upgrade to that beautiful island with the waterfall edge, or make your bathroom feel like a spa with a freestanding tub. You can also upgrade the less sexy but still important parts of your home like the HVAC system or the roof. Making your home eco-friendly and energy-efficient is a great remodeling goal for this stage of life.

Multi-Generational Family

While your active child-rearing years might be behind you, the multi-generational family home may still be part of your life. Whether for financial reasons, caretaking, or the joy of being together, multigenerational households are on the rise. In fact, the number of people living in a multigenerational home has quadrupled in the last fifty years and continues to rise. Sometimes this means adult children returning home after college, and other times older relatives move in so they don’t have to live alone. Whatever the reason, good remodeling planning at the empty nest stage of life means considering the possibility of needing a multigenerational home.

• Consider options that give the adult child or relative their own entrance and exit. A garage turned into an apartment, for example, or a bedroom on the main floor with a door leading outside. 
• Another option would be an ADU or Accessory Dwelling Unit–a small home in the backyard like a tiny house or a shed converted into a guest house.
• Make sure the living space has its own bathroom.
• A small kitchen set-up (even just a mini fridge, sink, and small stove) is a great addition.

Your Forever Home

If you believe the home you’re in now is the one you’ll stay in forever, it makes sense to renovate it so it’s the best it can be. You can customize it however you want without having to put a lot of thought into ROI or what future buyers might prefer. You can also choose nicer materials and finishes, knowing that you’re the one who will benefit from the upgrades.

Remodeling for Retirement and Beyond

More people than ever before are remodeling their homes intending to age in place. This term means that you plan to stay in your home into your golden years and beyond. Remodeling at this stage of life means setting up your space so that it serves you well. Making your home accessible is also great if you have older relatives or people with disabilities living with you or staying with you. 

Overall Accessibility

To make a home accessible and make aging in place possible, it’s important to

• ensure there’s a bedroom and bathroom on the main floor
• widen doorways if necessary to a minimum of 32 inches
• have a solution for stairs, if another floor needs to be accessed. For example, add a chair lift or even an elevator. At a minimum, make sure no-slip treads are used, install good lighting, and make the railing sturdy.

Kitchen Design

Make sure countertops are low enough to be accessed by someone who is seated or needs to sit often. Install drawers instead of lower cabinets–it’s easier to lift things out of drawers. Use pull-down cabinets. Make sure there is enough clearance to navigate around the island and appliances.

Bathroom Design

You’ll want a curbless shower and grab bars in the shower and by the toilet. Lights should be bright and easy to reach. And no-slip tile is a must–in showers and on the floor as well. Have toilets with raised seats or chair-height toilets installed, and consider adding a bidet as well. See this blog post for a more thorough discussion of remodeling your home to support aging in place.

We Can Help

No matter what stage of life you’re in or what you’re preparing for in your future, remodeling your home to support your goals is vital. At McManus Kitchen and Bath, we specialize in designing and remodeling Tallahassee homes to make them the best they can be. We use all our expertise to bring your vision for your home to life. Contact us today and let’s talk about your stage of life and how we can help your home support you in it.