All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I think @Aaron K. is right. Fear is a huge factor right now. Not only when it comes to people not wanting to spend money, but also when it comes to going back out and participating in everyday life. I think most people will be scared just to go out to eat for awhile, let alone air travel or going on vacation. I think we are going to see some pretty bad numbers in the vacation, cruise, resort, etc, industries both because of unemployment and financial reasons, but also because of people's general fear that they could still catch the virus. 

@Jaime Elkins I appreciate that you try to stay true to the style and era of the homes you rehab. Trends are great, but sometimes people make the mistake of sacrificing the character of the home by replacing everything with what will fit into a modern momentary trend. To this day, I regret changes we made to a 1865 Victorian home a few years ago. We stripped much of the original interior (including all the wallpaper - even though it wasn't in bad shape), and replaced it with modern paint colors, etc. because we were told that's what buyers "wanted." The house sold pretty quickly, so that's the one positive, but I do wonder if we could have sold it just as quickly and also kept more of the charming character intact. 

I'm curious to hear what others have to say, because I've been thinking about this recently. I agree with farmhouse chic being overdone. I'd be happy to never see that style again (or at least for a long long while). Rustic industrial (or industrial chic) also seem overdone, but I do think we will continue to see certain elements, such as metals and light fixtures, continued to be used from this trend. 

I think we are going to continue to see an increase in playfulness and individuality expressed within the home. A big part of this is picking and choosing various unique colors/patterns/textures/and designs from different eras, and blending them together. 

One way I am seeing this is with wall paper. Vintage-inspired, brightly colored (or softly muted colors), floral designs (or birds, elephants, etc.) taking over one room in a house. A "safe" way people are making use of the wall paper trend is by just using it in a bathroom, versus an entire living room. 

I also see an emphasis on natural design elements (clay, linen, wood, terracotta, ), and lots of plants. Succulents and other indoor plants are already used a lot, but I'm seeing an increase in plants as a more permanent fixture in a home. Hanging wall gardens (whether indoors or on a deck or patio) are increasingly practical in terms of maximizing space, and also incorporating the natural element that so many city-dwellers desire.

I've learned a lot of what not to do reading through all these posts! I definitely agree with not hiring cheap contractors. We've had some not-so-good experiences with that. However, we actually have a friend (which I know some people say is a no-no) who has done an amazing job. I prefer personally knowing someone if they do a good job (not quite the same sentiment if they do a bad job...).

Our biggest fail so far has been in repairing a deck. Soon after we purchased this house, we realized that the way the deck was attached to the second floor was allowing rain water to seep into the walls of the bedroom one level below. We hired someone to fix it, and that did not turn out well. We purchased a heat sensor to try to figure out where the water was coming in, and then spent hours tearing up the deck where it connected to the house, patching things up ourselves, and then putting it all back together. 

We were incredibly relieved when it was all done, and several rainstorms came and went with no additional water damage. A few weeks later though, we were shocked to see just as much water damage in the walls and ceiling after a particularly bad storm. After dozens upon dozens of hours that went to waste, we finally hired someone else, and they did a fantastic job. We've had some bad storms, and still no water damage! We still have to repair some holes in the ceiling and wall of that room where we had to cut out drywall to repair the leaks, but at this point I'm just relieved we've prevented further water damage.