Going from a one-bedroom apartment to a five-bedroom house sounds like a dream… until you realize that means a lot more furniture, a lot more space to design, and a lot more decisions. Thrilling? Absolutely. Panic-inducing? Oh, 100%.
When I first walked into my Victorian fixer-upper, my brain ping-ponged between excitement and full-on existential dread. Can I actually do this? Am I capable? Can I live in a construction mess without pulling my hair out? Am I crazy?? (Spoiler: the jury is still out on that last one.)
Design has always been a huge part of my daily happiness—my surroundings directly affect my mood—so the idea of living in total chaos? No bueno. But here’s the kicker: not only was I living in a house under renovation, but it was during COVID, which meant I was stuck there with nowhere else to escape. No coffee shops, no spontaneous weekend getaways—just me, the sawdust, and my increasingly frayed nerves.
I knew I needed a game plan, and fast.
The solution? One room at a time. I decided to start upstairs, tackling the TV room and primary bedroom first. Add in the bathroom and the occasional kitchen trip downstairs, and I basically accidentally recreated an apartment for myself on the second floor. Looking back, it makes total sense—after years in an apartment, that cozy, self-contained space was my comfort zone. And when the rest of the house was mid-renovation disaster, I desperately needed a retreat that didn’t feel like a construction site.
So, if you ever find yourself staring at a massive home project, overwhelmed and questioning your sanity, my advice? Create a refuge. Pick one space to finish first—somewhere that feels like you—so when the dust (literally) starts flying, you have a place to breathe. Trust me, your future self will thank you.