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Love It or List It? The Case for Decision-Making Renos

November 4, 2016 By Lena 30 Comments

Next July, we will have been in our home for 10 years.

Our home was supposed to be a “starter home”. The first real estate purchase as an entry point into the market; a tidy semi-detached house in the suburbs that would be a stepping stone to a more expansive property down the road.

Except, while we were unpacking boxes and re-stocking kitchen cabinets, I was running to the bathroom with bouts of sickness.

Folks, I am a statistic. We conceived a honeymoon baby.

Suddenly, the dark hardwood we had selected for our main floor was doomed to show scratches from children’s toys. The expensive, hand-woven berber carpet on the second floor would no doubt be victim to spills and stains. The money we had spent on builder upgrades – oh, all the upgrades! – should have been spent on strollers and diapers. However, we had no choice but to plough ahead, effectively turning our starter home into our “TBD” home.
img_1343It didn’t make sense to move. The boys were growing and the house grew old with them. As predicted, the hardwood floors became scuffed and the carpet bore stains. But, we also put a lot of love into the home, finishing the basement, landscaping the front and updating the back with a stamped concrete patio.

And every so often, we got the itch to move. 

Our first Love it or List it moment came before we finished the basement. Our second, just before we updated our backyard. And just like clockwork, we’re back to that feeling of “should we or shouldn’t we move”… which means it’s time for a home renovation.

Replacing the berber carpet with hardwood flooring has long been on our to do list, but we’ve always had one thing or another holding us back. First, we decided it would be good to let the boys crawl around on soft carpet vs. hard flooring. Then, when they became so curious and clumsy, we thought it was best to ride out the toddler years. Finally, we wanted the boys to be mature enough not to scratch (read: destroy) the flooring.

And just like that… in the fall of 2016… it was the perfect time to make the change. With the help of The Home Depot Canada, we made it happen.
cvjmhppwcaekl8jSettling on the perfect hardwood flooring – even when you’re simply matching one floor to the next – is not a quick and simple process. There are many variables that can influence the colour, type and price of the flooring you choose. Once we decided to go full speed ahead, we immediately realized that there were several factors that needed to be considered. Stay tuned, as I’ll be back to share my Top Five Factors When Selecting Hardwood Flooring.

hdHas renovating your house postponed your decision to move? Have you ever been on the brink of listing your home… but just couldn’t pull the trigger? Let me know in the comments.

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot Canada. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words.

Filed Under: Decor Tagged With: #HDBlogSquad, engineered harwood, hardwood installation, The Home Depot Canada

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Comments

  1. kathy downey

    November 4, 2016 at 9:45 am

    Good luck with the flooring,we have hardwood right through our home except the Bathrooms and laundry room and we just redone them all over the summer a big job but well worth the time.

    Reply
  2. Judy Cowan

    November 4, 2016 at 10:19 am

    I am still in my first place, we have thought about moving a few times but life always throws a curve ball and we end up staying. Have done several renovations over the years.

    Reply
  3. Cheryl

    November 4, 2016 at 11:54 am

    I get the idea of renovating to move but I plan to stay in a house and hopefully pass it down to my children and grandchildren, although it doesn’t work like this always

    Reply
  4. kristen visser

    November 4, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    our last house we only lived there for 2 years before we put it up for sale. we bought the house when there was only one baby and as soon as the second one came it just made sense. we were living in the country and although we were in a 4 bedroom home, 2 were upstairs and 2 in the basement…and they were small rooms…no renovating would have done it. Now in our current home there is lots of space and we love it here but definitely cant wait to do some updating

    Reply
  5. Lynda Cook

    November 4, 2016 at 4:45 pm

    I am still in my first home and we did have it up for sale once, but couldn’t find anything we liked, so down came the sign and we are still here

    Reply
  6. Leslie Crosbie

    November 4, 2016 at 9:29 pm

    I wish that I could start Flipping houses, great job!

    Reply
  7. Debbie Bashford

    November 5, 2016 at 8:34 am

    I have been in this home for 20 years now, and finally all that’s left is the cosmetics of the interior. Thank goodness. It’s like a new house as the outside is completely different, so no need to move now lol

    Reply
  8. Donna Wilson

    November 6, 2016 at 6:49 am

    The old farm house where I now live was renovated by my parents before I moved in. :)

    Reply
  9. Debbie White Beattie

    November 7, 2016 at 11:12 pm

    The housing market is outrageously expensive right now, so I’d Love it if I was you and especially since you’ve done so many things to customize it for your taste

    Reply
  10. Darrah Bailey

    November 8, 2016 at 1:27 pm

    Always so many finds and curve balls thrown during renos.. I love it though

    Reply
  11. Susan Hanley

    November 8, 2016 at 1:53 pm

    I love flooring better than carpet. The only place we have carpet is in the basement. If you are happy with and in your home and can make some changes or upgrades to better suit yourselves than I think you should stay.

    Reply
  12. Suzanne Rudge

    November 8, 2016 at 2:58 pm

    We have been wanting to put in hardwood for a long time. Our nasty carpet could tell you some tales – it is over 18 years old! I can’t want to see what your new floors look like Lena. I bet they gorgeous!

    Reply
  13. lori galbraith

    November 8, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    Doing renos is a case of both love and hate in my house.

    Reply
  14. Chandra O'Connor

    November 9, 2016 at 6:22 am

    I’m renting now so I don’t have to worry about renovating.

    Reply
  15. Debbie Bashford

    November 9, 2016 at 7:28 am

    how does one go about finding a designer to help

    Reply
  16. Susan T.

    November 10, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    Hardwood floors are definitely a reno. that is worth the money. I’m a renter but I always look for hardwood when I choose a place to rent.

    Reply
  17. Stephanie LaPlante

    November 12, 2016 at 3:43 pm

    It’s definitely hard to move when you become attached to your memories. Sometimes renovations make it feel new.

    Reply
  18. Chandra O'Connor

    November 12, 2016 at 8:10 pm

    When my house sold we were really lucky only thing new was a shed, and I painted a bedroom. We moved so much I can stage like a pro. If things weren’t diff I would have liked hardwood in bedrooms,

    Reply
  19. mrdisco

    November 19, 2016 at 4:44 pm

    there’s nothing like a nice hardwood floor to make a room pop

    Reply
  20. Jane Reid

    December 4, 2016 at 5:34 pm

    In the process of moving right now Lena!
    Oh the horrors of preparingand staging for listing and now the endless wait until closing . We have 4 full storage units and the house is still packed to the rafters .
    So looking forward to getting creative in the new home though , I’m going to go Moulding and wallpaper crazy .
    Can’t wait to get back to connecting with you and all the lovely Tweethearts on social media @MushypeaJane and sharing pics and fun .
    Moving has taken over every waking hour for about 3 months !
    I’m sure I spotted a tweet saying you had bought a new home Lena or was I dreaming? Xxx

    Reply
  21. Julie Hartwig

    January 27, 2017 at 11:52 am

    We’ve lived in 4 different houses over 17 years and I never know whether we should be moving or renovating, we’ve done plenty of both, lol.

    Reply
  22. Rosanne Robinson

    February 18, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    We installed hardwood floors in our home and they looked awesome. Enjoy Lena!

    Reply
  23. kathy downey

    March 5, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    I love the finally look of renovations but i sure hate the mess it makes right through the home !

    Reply
  24. Kristi

    June 5, 2017 at 9:55 pm

    Our house has had a few upgrades in the last few years but we will decide to move on to something with a bigger kitchen when the time is right.

    Reply
  25. Treen Goodwin

    June 6, 2017 at 9:08 am

    I am still in my first home , we have redone all the floors downstairs and did renos in the kitchen bathroom and a bedroom upstairs , still needs a lot of updates through out , but one day we will get it the way we want it :)

    Reply
  26. kathy downey

    August 24, 2017 at 4:27 pm

    We are still in our first home and plan to stay till we retire to a nursing home/cottage we built it ourselves and it serves us perfect a little big now since the kids have moved on!

    Reply
  27. Donna L.

    August 31, 2017 at 1:03 am

    Hardwood is beautiful and so much easier to clean.

    Reply
  28. Wanda Tracey

    September 16, 2017 at 11:57 pm

    We have listed our home after living here for years but could never find anything to replace it so we stayed.We keep doing renovations along the way.

    Reply
  29. Josie Tusa

    October 7, 2017 at 11:24 pm

    I am still living in the first place I purchases. I would like to move one day and I need to do renovations on this home as well.

    Reply
  30. Peter Tusa

    October 14, 2017 at 11:45 pm

    I would love to put hardwood flooring into my condo. Hopefully I’ll be able to make that dream come true one day soon.

    Reply

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Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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