Renovation Masterclass: Elevating Your Home

When reviewing a renovation process, several approaches can be found. The most minimal is a young couple's makeover, where they buy a dilapidated apartment and prepare it for living.

Naturally, this type of renovation aims to save on every non-essential expense, covering just enough for the coming years. The assumption is the apartment will last about a decade, and, with a growing family, a bigger home will be in order.

In this review, we're raising the bar to explore a more comprehensive and indulgent renovation — one for a significant life stage. With older children and varied needs, the home truly becomes a family hub.

The house is a full-fledged home, with less visiting grandparents and more as your place becomes the preferred destination. It's worth planning hosting possibilities strategically, perhaps even enticing the future daughters-in-law to prefer visiting you...

Approaching such a renovation means you're more mature about your desires and dreams. Budgets are better organized, and investing in planning, specifications, and design becomes crucial as this renovation is here to stay.

In the long run, paying more up front often translates to savings. But for utilities that reflect on your monthly bills, such as heating and cooling, it's immediately measurable. Investing in quality up front can lead to savings down the line.

For those working extensively on computers, investing in a comfortable chair is essential; otherwise, the money will eventually go toward orthopedic treatments.

For other items, calculate based on lifespan. Investing in flooring that lasts twenty years is smarter than going for cheap alternatives that might break after two.

Never forget: quality of life has its price. I always calculate — if spreading the cost over 20 years clearly shows it's worth spending an extra $5 a month on a sofa that brings peace at day's end.

Ultimately, our money should yield worthwhile returns; everyone must determine the return that makes the most sense for them.

To perfectly review such a renovation, we'll follow a standard family's apartment renovation, full of kids.

We'll go step by step, covering details absent from our previous review, like underfloor heating, VRF systems, smart electricity, window types, electric shutters, opening balcony succahs, high-end kitchens, and elegantly designed wood libraries.

Tammy Rotenberg is an architect and interior designer. For questions and feedback: TammyRotenberg@Gmail.com