11 HOME UPGRADES YOU’LL REGRET NOT DOING DURING DEMO

Raise your hand if you’ve ever remodeled a home! Now raise your hand if you regret any decisions you made during said remodel! (Both hands raised over here!) Man, if only there was one simple step by step playbook listing everything you needed to know for a remodel. There’s just too many things to take into consideration and unfortunately questionable decisions are bound to be made.

I’ve heard so many stories of people saying, “We were trying to save a few bucks during the remodel, but I wish so badly we would’ve done ____.” Or “I had no idea I would need ____ so much! Wish I would’ve known that when we remodeled the room.” So today I’m listing a handful of home upgrades we wish we would’ve done during our own home remodel as well as a few that other people have shared with me. Let’s dive in…

1. OUTLET IN KITCHEN ISLAND

I royally underestimated how often we would use our island. I mean, I knew we would love the extra counter space but I didn’t expect us to eat every meal on it, set up our cooking stations there, and work from the island with our laptops. I can’t tell you how many times we have been sitting at the island wishing we could plug in our phones, laptops, blender, mixer, etc. Fortunately, we can still install an outlet, but it will be significantly more work to run the electrical now after the island is built in. If only we would’ve known how useful and handy an outlet would have been when we were building the island!

2. HEATED BATHROOM FLOORS

I have heard countless times from random people that they couldn’t live without their heated floors in the bathroom. Tile is cold on your feet and I can say first hand how annoying it is to have freezing cold floors in the bathroom. We have yet to remodel our bathroom but I think it’s safe to say we’ll be installing a heating system under the tile floors.

3. ADDING MORE WINDOWS/MOVING WINDOWS TO A BETTER LOCATION

Natural light is so valuable in your home and the more you can add, the better it is! There’s nothing better than walking into a room that is filled with windows and sun beams; so adding or expanding your windows is often a really good idea! In our case, we had a decent amount of natural light coming into our guest bedroom but the window placement was awkward. We couldn’t put a bed frame in the room without covering up half of the window and I’m way too much of a perfectionist to let that slide. During our guest room demo, we decided to replace the oddly placed window with two more naturally positioned windows that allowed for a bed to fit comfortably without obstructing any views or light. Best decision ever! Since the room was already down to studs it was really quite simple to make that adjustment and I’m so glad we did!

4. LOTS OF LIGHT FIXTURES & DIMMER SWITCHES

Chris and I are both a little weird about lighting. I like a home to feel super bright (as if the sun was in the room with us) and Chris is all about accent lighting. One thing I see a lot in homes is a lack of light. Whether that be too few windows or just one recessed light in the ceiling that is supposed to light up a whole room. I prefer to install a handful of recessed lights (enough to make the room feel pretty bright) and then we use our dimmer switches to adjust the brightness throughout the day. I would way rather have it be too bright than not bright enough and you can always dim your lights down to fit your mood. Any by the way, installing dimmer switches during demo (when the electrical is exposed) is SO MUCH easier than after your drywall and trim are installed. It can be done but it’s certainly more work for your electrician.

5. GARBAGE DISPOSAL

We forgot to install a garbage disposal in our kitchen…(wah wah wah) We even had one sitting around but we totally spaced on that and completely forgot to install it until the pipes, electrical, and cabinets were in. Sad day in the Gadeken household. It’s not the end of the world but it would be super convenient to have that installed so we’re not constantly trying to dig food particles out of the drain. Oh well, you live and you learn.

6. COUNTER DEPTH FRIDGE

Get a counter depth fridge…I repeat…GET A COUNTER DEPTH FRIDGE! Once again, we somehow didn’t realize what we were buying in the moment until we installed the fridge and realized it was deeper than the counter! (A personal pet peeve of mine) I just love when the appliances are seamless with the cabinetry and having a fridge that sticks out is a bit awkward. We have since implemented a new saying in our house, “Measure 7 times and then once more before moving forward.”

7. PLENTY OF OUTLETS

Don’t be shy about those outlets. It is so inconvenient to have only a couple outlets in a room and it’s not difficult to have your electrician install more when your electrical is already exposed. Most states/cities have regulations when it comes to outlets and how many you need per room so talk to your electrician and follow those guidelines.

8. DOUBLE VANITY IN THE MASTER BATH

Here’s the truth, we have one small bathroom in our house which means Chris and I share a vanity (and three tiny drawers that hold all our toiletries). A double vanity is certainly not a necessity but it is an upgrade that I’m sure you wouldn’t regret. Sometimes it’s nice having your own sink and set of drawers and we have every intention of installing a double vanity when we remodel/build our master bathroom.

9. SWAP OUT THE STANDARD SILVER DOOR HINGES WITH BLACK OR BRASS

This upgrade may not be major, but I prefer to swap out the standard silver door hinges with something that matches the aesthetic of the space. In our home we have all matte black accents, so we installed black hinges that match the door handles. Again, it’s not a major change (in fact it’s pretty cheap to make this upgrade) but it helps your door blend seamlessly with the rest of your home.

10. INSTALLING A WATER SOFTENER

There’s nothing worse than finishing a beautiful remodel and then noticing that your hard water is staining all your stunning faucets and surfaces. (We finally got one installed because the hard water was ruining our new b
lack sink and faucet in our kitchen) The monthly rate is reasonable and worth every dollar if you ask me!

11. UNDERGROUND SPRINKLERS IN THE YARD

This one is for sure a luxury that is certainly not a necessity. But if you are particular about your grass and you live in an area where it’s hot or you don’t get a lot of rain, it is significantly easier to install underground water sprinklers when your yard is already torn up from construction. Not to mention that it is much less of a hassle to turn on the underground sprinklers than it is to run hoses and set up a sprinkler system every summer. Just something to consider whether it would be worth it in the long run.

That’s all I have for now! If you have any home upgrade regrets that you wish you would’ve done during demo, share them in the comments below so all of us readers can learn a thing or two from you!