Making changes following full Reno….

[Heyhoherewegoagain]

We did a full house reno last year, and the cost was absolutely eye watering!

There literally wasn’t a surface untouched, along with several walls removed and other reconfigurations.

I was left to make every decision solo-dh thought he was doing me a favour by leaving it all up to me-there’s no blame attached to this-but having lived with it “finished” for 6 months or so, there are some decisions I’d have made differently. The major one that’s bugging me just now is the choice of hallway flooring, it’s LVT, which is fine, but I hate the colour…it’s a kind of variegated dark grey, and it just looks SO cold…

would it be unreasonable to just suck up the cost (hahaha there’s no money left!) and cover it over with something else after only 6 months?

Can you put a huge runner down until you can replace?

I'd have to live with it, it's only 6 months old. I have a similar situation where we have had new flooring but we were constrained in our choices as it was an insurance claim- I don't much like our new flooring now I've lived with it, but I'm going to get a large rug to cover it. I'd do what @Wendyspotatopeeler said and get a large runner instead.

That’s what I’ve done, but like a lot of hallways it’s a bit of a weird L shape with offshoots so there’s a huge amount I can’t cover.

Im having a real battle with myself as we’ve always bought things like flooring for longevity and we don’t chop and change things very regularly on a whim, but this is really bugging me (and I’m kicking myself for getting it so wrong)

Ah I know how you feel

We did a similar back to brick renovation and there were a number of things I regretted afterwards. Never did anything about them. 4 years later, the small things don’t bother me at all, the only ones that still bug me would be far too expensive to fix. In short, I think you should live with it at least for now.

La Redoute has nice runners in warm colours.

Cross posted. Would a lamp help warm it up?

It would be silly and wasteful to replace it. It can't be that much outside your taste if you chose it. Just live with it for now. I think it's more likely that having done a huge project you are in the mindset of fixing your house. You need to just live with it if it's all been done and not become one of those people who is always decorating. If something is good quality and does the job, make it work.

@minipie got the lamp, with a warm bulb! It’s interesting what you say about these things not bugging you a couple of years later though…it would be into next year before I could do anything for financial reasons…I’m probably being a bit of a brat about it, I know I got about 95% of what I did right, and though I say it myself, it’s stunning….I probably need to get off Instagram and get a better hobby!

Take it up and replace it. If it's wrong, it's wrong and time isn't going to change that. I don't think anything can make a room look right if the flooring isn't.

Actually I tell a lie, there are a couple of smaller things that still bug me and I do still plan to replace them. However I’ll get them done probably next year along with some other general maintenance/repairs that have built up - 5 years post project - so will feel like I’ve at least got some value from the things being replaced iyswim! How about that as a middle option… ?

I would probably save up for a new floor.

Could you recoup some of the costs by selling off the grey planks once they're lifted?

@JustWimpy I think you’re hitting the nail on the head…the walls are the perfect colour, the woodwork’s perfect (black)but the floor just looks so damn cold…I’ve now made the mistake of using an online visualisation thing and it just looks so much better and softer with a wood finish….I think I’d better get saving!

@Stephisaur I hadn’t thought of that, but depending on how it lifts, it’s definitely a good idea-so thank you!

If you are not having to be very careful with your money, I'd redo it. If you pick a good quality flooring it will last many years, what's the point suffering from a mistake for years just because you paid for it? In a big reno, you're bound to get something wrong. I had to paint my hallway three times. I was raging about it, as colour is my job and I'd never got anything so wrong before, but sometimes you have to cut your losses and redo a job. I was NOT living with a greeny yellow hallway when I needed a dusky pink to go with the rather odd existing carpets. (Long story but due to some complicated chemical stuff and the light.)
But do be absolutely sure you get it right this time. Work out exactly what's wrong with it, for starters. And samples are your friend.

It's probably all still so fresh for you, but in a year or so you'll not notice I bet. At least you're pleased with 95%, well done you for making all the decisions. We are putting plans in for reno/ extension on an old house. Getting worried now about costs...were materials or labour more expensive, or both?

Until you can afford to replace it, I think you need to introduce some warmer colours. Change the woodwork from black to oak, get some paintings hung with colour. Live with it for a while and decide what the primary problem is before splashing out.

@KievLoverTwo i won’t be repainting as the colour scheme ties in with the rest of the house and we really like it, it really is just the flooring that’s wrong.
Ill be honest when I was looking at that flooring, I was really struggling with what to go for, We have the lot on the kitchen, and it’s absolutely right in there, and it was a case of “II might as well get it for the hall too” rather than a conscious thought process about it being right for the space. This is clearly not the right decision making process!

@Sandals12 unfortunately it was both labour and materials we were hit with, but labour prices were horrific-and I’m in Scotland so not daft south east pricing. Going forward it’s made me a lot more confident in my own skills!

I would plan to replace it as soon as I could afford to. It's a shame and a waste, but you made a mistake and it will probably continue to annoy you. If you find that you grow to love it in the period between now and when you have saved enough money, then great. But start looking at samples now so you give yourself long enough to get it right this time.

Does the hall lead into the kitchen btw? If so you'll need to either replace it in the kitchen too, or be very sure that the new flooring doesn't look wrong against the existing one.

Firstly I think you deserve a massive well done for getting 95% of things right in such a major renovation. You're right that the enemy of good decision making is time pressure and I've certainly made mistakes or done things I wouldn't do the same again in the renovations I've done.

Fortunately the ones I've done haven't been long term homes for us so I've sucked it up and learnt from it. However, our next house will be a lot more long term so am already planning but when I inevitably do make a mistake I will redo it as soon as I can afford to and not worry about it. The quicker you replace it the more value you'll get out of the right one is how I see it. It's a crap feeling to have every time you come into your house especially if you don't have to.

@ClematisBlue49 fortunately the kitchen doesn’t adjoin the hall-and you’re right about the time I take to save giving me time to confirm the decision and choices…I just need to put up with dh rolling his eyes 😂

@SollaSollew this is a long term house (I don’t want to say forever but it’s quite likely) if that wasn’t the case, I’d be likely to do as you’ve done and suck it up