rachieehome
A Modern Minimalist child-friendly home. :)
5 Reno Regrets After 2 Years Of Living In
10621
It’s been over 2 years since we moved into our humble home. Honestly? We still love it. No major regrets, no horror stories, just a few design decisions that we could have done better to save cost and better allocate our budget. Some of these choices made perfect sense 3 plus years ago with a toddler in tow. But after settling in and living with the space day to day, we’ve realised there are things we’d probably do differently if we had the chance. 
1. The Stucco Wall That Didn’t Quite Grow on Us We thought a textured stucco wall in the master bedroom would add warmth and character. But over time, it just felt a little dull and harder to style around. In hindsight, we would’ve preferred to keep it simple, a clean white wall would have made the space feel calmer and more timeless. And we could have saved $1,260. 
2. Master Bathroom Floor Trap That’s Too Small To get that sleek, built-in look in the master bathroom, we chose a concealed shower mixer and built a niche. But that meant compromising on the floor trap size. It turned out smaller than ideal and is now tricky to clean. We have to clear it every few days to prevent water buildup. Something we didn’t foresee but now deal with regularly. 
3. Tiles That Look Dirty Even When They’re Not We went with raw-textured tiles for the bathroom floor, hoping for a natural, spa-like feel. But even after a full-on scrub and clean, they still look dirty and stained because of their uneven finish. It’s not that they’re hard to clean, it’s that they don’t visually reward the effort. If given a chance again, we’d choose tiles that's simpler with less patterns. 
4. A Little Too Much Built-In Carpentry We opted for lots of built-in carpentry to create a child-friendly, cohesive, and low-dust environment, especially since bringing a toddler furniture-hunting wasn’t the most appealing idea. It worked well at the time, and we still love the convenience and clean lines. But now, we find ourselves craving more white walls, more flexibility. Our fluted panels are beautiful, but they feel a little overdone. And the built-in bar top area? We hardly use it. A loose furniture setup might’ve given us more freedom to repurpose the space as our needs evolve. 
5. Vinyl Flooring Without Skirting We love how our vinyl flooring looks. It gives our home a cozy, modern feel. Going without skirting helped achieve a clean, seamless aesthetic and avoided dust traps. But over time, the silicone edge has started to trap dirt and peel slightly in some areas. And while vinyl is said to be scratch-resistant, we’ve spotted a few scuffs. We’re still on the fence about this one, but if we had to reconsider, we might put part of the carpentry budget into tiled flooring that mimics wood, more durable in the long run. 
:( see... 
*sobs* 
No reno is ever perfect and maybe that's the beauty of it. Because homes evolve just like we do. And we’re learning to appreciate every part of ours, imperfections and all. Hope this sharing helps. :) Stay connected through Instagram/Tiktok @rachieehome :)
30 July
