Hey guys, Happy Tuesday! Hope you all had a lovely weekend. We spent three full days hanging over at Canterbury with Junk Bonanza soaking in all of the junk and good energy.
If you caught our last post, you know we got a call from Ki, the founder of Junk Bonanza, a few months back asking us to come and speak at their fall market. You guys. I literally screamed for two days straight. One of the most down to earth people we have ever met. And how we didn’t get a picture together, not sure. Probably because we were too busy chatting!
I grew up going to this market when it was called Junk Market, held over in Long Lake. Since then it has rebranded to Junk Bonanza and is held twice a year at the race tracks, Canterbury Park, and we don’t ever miss a show. This is where we find our favorite one of a kind timeless pieces when it comes to styling for our clients.
Some of our clients even showed up this year and got themselves some goodies for our remodels we’re currently working with them on.
Three days packed, Thursday- Sunday, of nonstop adventuring and we were there everyday speaking about renovating for love or money too. It was actually Jamie and I’s first time speaking together in public with a live audience. We’ve done a lot of videos and a couple TV segments together but never have we had a live audience together talking. We were both pretty nervous but luckily, it couldn’t have gone any better… or so we were told. ha!
Our favorite part about these events is that they bring all the creatives together. We adore our readers and our IG community and so many of you showed up. It actually shocked us and almost made me cry. Sometimes we forget people actually ready our blog.
Like these cool cats. We became friends online and now I have to say, they are some of my best today.
Renovating for Love or Money?
When we got asked to talk about renovating for love or money, we couldn’t think of anything more fitting being the biggest questions we get asked from every new client is…
“What finishes can we put in that will be the best ROI when we go to sell?”
Then we ask them what their budget is and when they are planning to sell? And it’s immediately followed by…
“I’m not sure, how much should we spend on our remodel?”
It seems no-one ever knows exactly how much money they should put into their remodel so we wanted to give you the highlights of what we talked about at Junk Bonanza.
First thing we always tell our clients is to get comps from their realtor. If you don’t have a realtor, shoot us an email and we’ll refer you to a few of our favorites. You’re realtor will be able to tell you exactly what things are selling for in the area, and what those homes have and what opportunities they’re missing that buyers would want.
Our rule of thumb is think about your 5 year plan. Are you selling in under 5 years? Or plan to stay a little longer? If you’re planning to sell within 5 years, think smart. If not, do you! Create your space that will make you happy.
< 5 years = Think Smart.
> 5 years= Do YOU.
We gave examples of and talked through a lot of our past projects and what our clients spent on them based on when they were moving, etc. We have a mixture of clients, their budgets vary and so does their style. We always strive to get to know our clients, they way they use their space, their end goal, and give them all the resources and budgets they need to make informed and smart decisions.
We talked through and were asked a lot of other questions that we wanted to share with you guys today too.
What things make the most sense to spend on, and when you should just go ahead and install whatever item just because you love it?
We’re big fans of pushing our clients to install whatever they want. Also think about your lifestyle. Do you cook a lot at home? If not, we would never suggest installing high end luxury appliances. But if you do, then we think it’s a good investment. I’m a fan of spending more on timeless pieces. A quartz countertop, that has lifetime guarantee and you’ll never had to replace in your life. Same goes for handmade tiles, they are a bigger investment but they will stand the test of time. Lighting we usually go less expensive because that is something that is simple to swop out if you get sick of the trend.
Regardless, remodeling is expensive. And it always comes down to the finishing selections that you are putting into a home. So knowing your budget is key. You can pick out tile for .20 cent sq foot or up to over $100 a square foot. Same goes for flooring, countertops, faucets, lighting, you name it. So that’s why we have to know a clients budget in order to give them the best bang for their buck. Then we can help them to create their perfect space and stay within their budget.
What rooms get the best return on resale?
We also talked about what renovations will pay off. Kitchens and bathrooms are one of the biggest ones everyone mentions. We also think basements often get overlooked and that’s the perfect place to finish off for fairly inexpensive and possibly be able to add a bedroom and bath, which is huge for resale.
- Paint entire home neautral color
- Paint front door
- Kitchen- heart of the home (65-80% return on investment). However, it doesn’t always need to be a total overhaul. You can do simple things like reface cabinets, update backsplash, update new lighting.
- Bathrooms- adding in a bath can increase the value of your home. And adding in a powder bath you can do for under $10K.
Whether it is good or bad to be trendy in your decor.
We always urge our clients to create a space that they love. If you are happy in your home, you’ll have happier days. Decor you can swop out easily. And I’m also a fan of buying decor when it’s on sale. I invest in quality furniture pieces, keep those more neutral and timeless and then have fun with the decor adding in new trends, lots of color, etc. But if you’re going for resale it’s another thing. You want to appeal to the masses so that means keeping everything clean, less clutter, light and bright to create a bigger illusion of the space, etc.
Remember trends will always come and go. And even if they come back they always slightly evolve in some way. For example, oak is back in style now. But it’s not the same golden oak that it was, it’s white oak. But there are options that are timeless and these are some of them.
Even clean-lined, contemporary homes can benefit from the texture and design presence that vintage and one-of-a-kinds can add like here at Junk Bonanza.
And that’s about what we talked about in a nutshell. We had so much fun and we’re praying they invite us back! And for all of you who showed up, from the bottom of our hearts. THANK YOU. It meant the world to us.
If you have any other questions about renovating for love or money, drop a comment and we’ll give you our honest feedback.
Have a great week!
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