do it right. the first time.

:: DAY 3 ::
We spent many months designing what we thought would be our dream home, which we were planning to break ground on in late January of 2013...God had different plans and allowed us to use many of those design ideas in the renovation of the Farmhouse.  

Having already made our priority lists for, let's call it house #1, we were actually much further along than most when we sat down to plan the reno, thankfully! After we returned home from our initial walk through of the FH, our minds were spinning. I had so many ideas that had to be prioritized and worked into a budget, but when it came down to it, some were non-negotiables.

Our motto for the renovation became "Do it Right. The First Time."

Now our "right" is probably not your "right" and that is ok. The items we prioritized might not even be important to you. Just decide, "What are the items that you aren't willing to compromise on?" This sometimes means they cost more, but not always, as you will see! For us, doing it right came down to quality.  We wanted to make changes to the FH once, not twice.

There were some items at the top of our priority list that we were willing to pay more for, if necessary, so that we were completely satisfied and knew they would last and we wouldn't be shelling out more money a few years down the road to re-do the reno. A couple of our non-negotiables were, (1) solid wood flooring and (2) impactful lighting fixtures.

Let's begin with #1.
Solid wood flooring is something that I have wanted throughout our house, since the day after we had carpet installed in our first house 5 years ago - ha! Now, living in a place where lots of dirt will make it inside on little and big feet alike, I wanted floors that would clean up easily & look like new after a good cleaning. 
We received 3 or 4 estimates for wood floors, it was interesting what a large range fell between the lowest and the highest bids. The lowest bid, which came from the a highly recommended flooring company was the only one that actually included solid wood floors upstairs. See, top quality doesn't have to be more expensive! You just have to search to find the best company with the best price.  Here are the floors before and after.  Love the impact the floors make! Just ignore the scarcity of the room...We had just moved in.

Now for #2. 
A little over a year ago, some friends and I toured a Southern Living Idea House in town, and the design detail that made the most impact on me throughout the house was the light fixtures that they chose. We decided that using quality, impressive lighting fixtures throughout the FH would make a huge impact, so spending a more on a few of them would definitely be worth it in the end. And it has been! Don't think all of my fixtures were top of the line designers!  In most cases, I found a style that I liked, and then found a less expensive look-a-like, of close if not equal quality. 

A great thing about lighting is that you can save and change it out over time. It's not something that has to be purchased to meet a contractor's deadline. Set your budget, purchase fixtures that "WOW" you, and then continue to save up for the other ones on your wish list. Below are a few of my favs, one is designer and two are from Overstock...but they look like designer lights which had a much higher price tag! 

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Have you renovated or remodeled lately and made your own list of non-negotiables? If you plan to in the future, what would some of yours be? I would love to know! 
Remember, it doesn't have to cost more to be the best quality with the greatest look!