“WWND” Home Q&A

I collected a lot of questions I get frequently via social media, text, phone, etc…to answer them here and publicly!

Someone sent me a photo of countertop options and asked “what would Nohea do?” so I decided to call this series WWND!

Question: How do you know you’re going to get your investment back (in renovation costs) when you sell your house?

Answer: Ya don’t! To me, the investment is in your happiness. There is so much research and evidence out there that shows just how much your home environment effects your mood, productivity, and general well-being.

You are in your house a LOT. It’s your sanctuary. If you’re going to be spending a lot of your time in one place for the next 5-or-so years…don’t you want to enjoy it?

Now, that’s not to say that there are some decisions that I would totally steer clear of. Painting your exterior lime green or making your kitchen completely cabinet-less, might not be the best investment if you’re looking to sell down the line.

As long as you have the budget for it and it makes you happy I say GO FOR IT!

Question: Do you think it’s worth it to hire out the labor instead of DIY?

Answer: on some things, totally. But it takes trial and error to see what you’re going to be good at!

We learned some things the hard way doing things ourselves that we should have hired out (like ripping out 1,300 sq ft of tile and mortar) BUT we probably wouldn’t have appreciated the cost of the labor if we hadn’t done it ourselves.

And some things are definitely worth the quality of a professional. If you’re not a good woodworker and you’ve already given yourself a decent shot…you probably shouldn’t be making your own dining table. If you don’t know squat about moving plumbing lines…hire out a plumber.

But you won’t know until you try! If you start a project and end up hating it, it’s never too late to hire a professional.

Question: How do you stick to one theme?

Answer: you don’t have to. But yes, there are some themes that do NOT belong together (i.e. glam and boho). And it’s hard to keep things consistent.

My formula for decorating to your style:

First, figure out your top 3 styles

Pinterest the crap out of every style! Decide which styles are your numbers 1, 2 and 3.

Work on percentages

• 60%: Your first fave style should make up the biggest pieces as well as architectural features. This would mean incorporating a textured wall, flooring, paint color, and your big furniture like a couch or dining table.
• 30%: Your second favorite style will be all the smaller furniture like accent chairs, dining chairs, coffee table, end tables…as well as larger statement pieces like lamps and wall decor.
• 10%: Your third favorite style can be incorporated in the smaller accents like throw pillows and small decor such as plants and vases.

This is the general formula I give people to make sure they stay on track and don’t make their spaces a complete sh*tshow.

Also remember: just because you like something at the store, doesn’t mean it belongs in your house!

Question: How do you decide on budget for different projects?

Every month at the beginning of the month, I look at our finances and decide what our home budget for the upcoming month can be. I then compare it to my home “wish list” and see what I want to do the most that fits within our budget.

Hope this answers the question!

Question: How to do you prioritize projects?

I pretty much answered that in the question above, but to expand: I keep a running “wish list” of things I would love to do. At the top is the most realistic, least time consuming, and most budget friendly. The bottom consists of things in our house that don’t bother me too much, aren’t really very necessary, or are pretty expensive. To be honest…those are the ones that are the real wish list and we might not even get to those before we move!

Question: Goals for 2020?

I’m assuming this question is asking what we want to do in our home this year, so I’ll answer it that way.

Last year, I posted our 7 big projects of 2019 here and now that I look back, we barely did half of them! Our priorities definitely shifted last year and some of them are still on the list for this year like entry cove and garage organization. I’m constantly working on our garden, but some things just took a back seat like the patio posts and finishing the guest room!

Some things I would love to work on this year:

• Organization in-home and in the garage
• Finishing our window trim inside and out
• Finalizing furniture pieces and finishing touches
• Art for our breakfast nook
• Entryway
• Some other top-secret projects 🙂

Question: How do you have a white couch with a dog?!

Ha! Well, the main way is by having removable, machine-washable cushion covers.

I actually like white the most because you can bleach out any stains. You can’t do that with grey or any other color! I also love white because you can see when it gets dirty so you know when it’s time to clean it. I’m a clean freak so if I had a dark couch I would drive myself nuts thinking of what dirt is on the couch and would be constantly washing it.

I actually have a post coming on how I keep ALL my white linens white, but my biggest lifesaver for our couch and rug is Folex! It’s cleaned red wine from our couch, and puppy puke from our rug like a dream. You can find it here.

Question: Does the stress of DIY ever bring tension to your relationship? How do you resolve?

Well…neither yes nor no lol. Does Danny like making our home better and saving money doing it? Yes. Does he also think I’m insane sometimes with how much I want to do? Also yes.

I actually asked Danny his take on if he actually enjoys this stuff and he says: “Not really, but I’m just lazy. But it’s fun having projects because it gives you something to do and it pays off in the end. ”

Danny is obviously not as passionate about home projects as I am. But he is actually really good at it and it blows my mind. He’s really good with doing things with his hands and engineering things so it compliments my crazy ideas well. 

Some of it he does because he would rather do it than pay someone to do it. And the other projects that he thinks aren’t totally necessary (like our bar)…he does it because he knows I love it and I ask him nicely for his expert help in doing it. 

But tension? I really don’t think it should bring tension.

I would just make sure to remember that your partner might not always be on the same page as you and that’s ok. For women we typically care a LOT more about the home environment than men, so we have to understand to balance it out. 

I know Danny doesn’t want to be doing projects every weekend (and neither do I!), so I always make sure to take a season off every now and again so we can just relax and not stress about projects. 

Also, I handle the majority of the projects because I know I’m the one pushing for it usually. I’ll handing the planning and ordering, and just ask Danny for help here and there – like if I need man strength or building something tricky like our farm table or bar shelves. 

Just take it slow, don’t stress, make it fun, and have a beer in the process! 

Hope this helps!