How Do You Design So Freely Without Worry of Resale?

I got this fantastic question recently…..How do you design so freely and take risks without worrying about resale?

I LOVE this because I have strong feelings about it.  If you’ve been around awhile you know that a few years ago we actually did put our house up for sale.  My husband had accepted a job offer out in the Washington DC area and we were planning a huge move.

Long story short we ended up deciding to stick around.  At that time the kitchen was dark grey stained cabinets, there was almost no wallpaper in the house and the only color came from furnishings.

When we made the decision to stay I decided to let go of my fears of “what about resale?!”  My thought, don’t be afraid to live in your home and don’t waste time worrying about someday when or if you sell it.  Enjoy it!  You live there so make it yours.

That kitchen cabinet color, I HATED it.  It was suffocating and stifling and made the space feel tiny.  I hated being in there.  As far as other spaces, I was ready to really have some fun and inject some serious personality.

I lived with those grey stained cabinets because I was worried about resale.  (Colorful homes isn’t really a thing in these parts)  After painting them pale pink and adding that bold mural I loved it so much I regretted not doing it years ago during the initial renovation.   What a terrible shame to have wasted time hating it!

You can see the post of this full reveal along with all of the how to’s here!

We finally did something with this blank boring wall after years of it being an eyesore.  We installed a pale pink Stikwood in a herringbone pattern which beautifully accents the fireplace without being overbearing.   It’s also a lovely backdrop for any type and style of art!

You can check out how we did that here

I added bold jungalicious wallpaper to our main powder room along with a vintage pink sink.  It’s no longer like peeing in a cave now.  And who doesn’t love a fun pink sink?

See the sources and how we diy’d the pink sink base here!

We just finished a massive project of our master bathroom and bedroom renovation.  This was a project that was long overdue from a former sea of brown everything. (Brown is my LEAST fave color)

More on that here

I want to mention that many of the things I have done can be “undone”.  Most of the wallpaper (including the ceiling murals) is peel and stick so it’s super simple to remove and paint is always an easy fix.  So if you want to have some fun with your home but you are worried about resale, just select things that you feel wouldn’t be difficult to change if need be.

You guessed it!  Peel and stick mural (peep info here)

The jewel box bedroom has a mural on the ceiling.

Yep, this one is peel and stick too!

And the basement makeover where we stained the concrete, this could easily be covered with carpet, etc if necessary.  (The old carpet was SO bad)

Peep this transformation here!

These are just a few of the changes we’ve made over the years and I love every single one.  I am mentally and emotionally affected by my surroundings, hence my love of and journey with exploring color and design.

Which brings me back to: you live in your home so make it work for you!   From being bold to dipping in your toes it can be easy changes like peel and stick wallpaper or having fun with paint.  Both of which won’t affect your resale value since you can quickly and cost effectively change them.  Or keep it super simple with art, furnishings and accessories while keeping the main aspects, like the walls, floors and ceilings, neutral.

If you really want to go for it because you know you’re not going anywhere or resale doesn’t concern you, YAS go for it!

Or you can be like me and find a happy medium of both elements, some permanent choices and some not so permanent choices.

Regardless your home should be your happy place so don’t let the fear of someday moving (unless it’s in the very near future) stop you from enjoying it.

How do you approach the resale vs design issue?  I always love to hear from ya so hit me up in the comments!

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