I’m with ya! I prefer renovating for the same reasons (the mature landscaping!) and also because I thrive on the creativity it requires to work within some existing parameters to reimagine an existing space into one that is more functional and aesthetic. I love seeing how you repurpose doors, move walls, windows, cabinets, etc…and just see the potential of the space. Thanks for all the inspiration you give!

Agree with so many of these points- we’ve been living in and renovating our home for 8.5 years now..and I feel like we’ve learned so much ! Buying and renovating a home gives you ideas and perspective you wouldn’t get from basic blueprints/floor plans. Taking a home’s original footprint and turning it into something beautiful that works for your family is so cool! (IMO) love following y’all on this journey!

I’m not in a position to build or renovate right now but if I were I would love to renovate. I just love the idea of taking something outdated or something that doesn’t function as well as it could and breathing new life into it and turning it into something new, better, more functional. There’s just something about an older home that has a history that you don’t get with a brand new build. There’s something about watching the transformation that is so satisfying. Needless to say I’m loving following along with your renovations. Thank you for sharing!

I too choose renovation over building new. In my densely populated city new builds are rare, pushing further and further out from the city center, and are on zero-lot lines. Also as a Realtor I see how the value of older, solidly built homes in established communities with mature landscaping will hold value, and even climb, as the real estate market naturally cycles. Renovating is not for the faint of heart, as I just undertook my biggest personal project yet, which of course went over budget and over time, but SOOO worth it get the finishes you want in an established neighborhood. Love watching your progress Julia, so inspiring!! :)

I’ve done both, and although I would totally build again(I secretly enjoyed the process) it would have to be on property that already had trees. Our house is now 3 yrs old, on acreage, but with teeny tiny trees we just planted. My kids can’t enjoy the property in the summer because there’s no shade. By time the trees would be big enough for them to enjoy, my kids will be all grown up. When I drive around old neighborhoods I drool over the mature trees. Also, older homes have so much more character then new homes. Sometimes it’s the weird shaped rooms or “outdated” wood trim that makes it feel so special. So good call in my opinion!

Years ago when my husband got transferred 4 times in 12 years we always bought new.
We looked at older homes but the ones in our price range needed work that neither of us could do so by the time we paid to have the work done we would have more invested than a brand new build.
Three years ago I moved back to the area I was born in. New construction in my price range consisted of small homes with “boob” lights and builder grade carpeting. Even though the home would not need any maintenance for a long while I chose to buy a 50 year old rancher that has hardwood floors and is bigger and on a nice lot with
nice landscaping and has many trees in the neighborhood. I hear birds singing all day long when the windows are open.
I spent some money on new kitchen counters and a bath vanity and other small updates. Eventually I will need to replace appliances and HVAC……however I would never have found a new build as solid as this house is and with the landscaping. I think a lot depends on the area of country you live in but there are some great older homes for sale that have been lovingly maintained by older people wishing to downsize. If you can just see past the pink,green or blue bathroom tile you can have a nice house you can have updated as you go.

We bought an extreme fixer upper. We disliked almost every aspect of the home, but the location was our dream location and the lot was gorgeous and so mature with huge old trees. We were able to afford an acre of land in an incredible but costly area for 1/3 of the price, and we immediately had a vision for what the home could be. We have babies and only pay for projects with cash so renovations are slow, but still exciting.

We are the same! We get the same questions from family members who live in areas where new builds are more financially accessible. We are on our third house. In our area, new builds on any size lot that we would be ok with cost twice as much AFTER the cost of our home plus our planned renovations. I love al your moody color choices and watching you guys!

I totally agree that a reno is much more fun to ‘watch’ and follow along with on the Blog.

My hubby and I reno’d our first home and then custom built our forever home about 4 years ago. I think living in our first home and renovating was super frustrating to my hubby where nothing was square and ceilings were old. Wires run everywhere lol.

The area we live in is hard to find good ‘middle’ homes – its all tiny old homes or mini-mansions! We wanted a 3000 sf home and couldn’t find it. We built only our main floor with the builder and have a big unfinished basement to reno ourselves in the future. Best of both worlds.

The landscaping was the hardest for us to get over – between the fence, driveway, deck and actual landscaping plants we are in about $50k yikes!

Have had two sets of friends over the years design and build their “dream house”. Because we moved we never got to see the finished houses but both families Sold their dream house within ga year after finishing. I don’t know the Whys of that but it feels significant.
I too, enjoy watching the Reno process. Sometimes I do wonder about people—why buy that house in the first place if you dislike so much about it, but that’s a subjective thing.
Having a good location and mature landscaping can’t be overrated really. And since you guys are supporting your family via Instagram and your renovations it makes sense you might not even have viewers if you bought a house you truly loved from the get-go. Nothing to do but decorate. So that is a consideration too.
We’ve learned a lot from our last few houses. The one were in has had more renovations than any of the others and it’s the smallest house of the bunch. Crazy. The one we had built was a great design by a very good builder and every single option we paid for felt like a good investment all the 4 yrs we lived in it. {patio sliders instead of windows, extra lighting everywhere offered, and extra cabinets }. All the items we passed on that seemed so popular with other buyers we never had a moments regret…{one of the 4 (included) granite choices instead of fancy granite, an open office space instead of extra bedroom, basic tile instead of trendy tile and mosaics, etc.)
And one more space comment. A Huge No for this smaller house was the rally small galley kitchen. Almost a deal-breaker. But with some added cabinets, paint, better appliances, and a little tweaking of the function of the space, I’m finding it a great kitchen to work in. So surprising.

I learned from watching my parents build a home that it was not something I was interested in for myself. My husband and I are big DIYers and we bought an older home in our area for reasons very similar to yours. To build the house we bought would’ve been a lot more than we wanted to spend! And while we want to change a lot, there’s a lot we liked about it! The charm of an older house can be very hard (and expensive) to capture in a newer build.

I know it’s probably not the same in Idaho, but out here in the northeast, things are pretty congested and building is becoming less and less of an option. Besides that, there are so many “almost” homes just waiting to be saved. I am very cranky about the trend out here to knock down an older home with tons of potential in order to build several big, ostentatious homes on the same lot, with no site or landscape planning whatsoever. It just brings everyone’s property value down when a town supports that kind of building. *soap box rant over* All this to say that I fully support your choice to renovate. :-)

We bought a house 9 years ago and there isn’t one thing that is the same in it. Literally. Nothing. We moved walls, tore down walls, filled in sunken rooms. We bought it for the location and size of the lot.

I’m on the same page as you – I think renovating > building. You can change things as much as you want when you renovate, plus you can’t buy charm. Charm only comes from buildings with a history (in my opinion).

This blog post is so good! My husband and I are about to become empty nesters. So we have lots of options (luckily) of whether to stay in our current home; move to the country & build; renovate; etc. We have been going back and forth on whether to find a pre existing house & renovate or buy land & build. Building makes me super excited but also very scared! We have always bought in a neighborhood and picked the finishes (jewelry) of the home. Buying land and building would be a dream but we have no experience.
You have brought up some interesting points. I agree…landscaping is worth its value especially in Texas with the heat!