Do-It-Yourself vs. Contractor-Based Renovations: What's Smarter?Must-Know Remodeling Styles Each Property Owner Should Follow in the Coming Year 31

Do-It-Yourself vs. Contractor-Based Renovations: What's Smarter?Must-Know Remodeling Styles Each Property Owner Should Follow in the Coming Year 31

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It was supposed to be a shelf project. Or maybe not even a shelf — more like the feeling of one. My husband said we needed “a better place for the keys,” and instead of doing the obvious, I decided I'd make a statement. Wall-mounted. Minimalist. Stylish. Or whatever people call it when they're about to drill blindly.

I marked the spot above the radiator, took one step back and thought, “How hard can this be?” Ten minutes later I was eyeballing the soul of the wall, wondering it looked like someone had stuffed an old sock next to the wiring. The shelf never happened. But somehow the hole got bigger.

That's the thing about renovation — it doesn't stay put. You start with one thing, and the next thing you know, you're repainting. I just wanted a shelf. By the end of the week, I had new plasterboard.

There's no clear moment when it all flips. It just unfolds. You go to the store for anchors and come back with a bag of stuff you didn't know you needed. That's how I ended up repainting a perfectly fine wall because the guy at the store said, “People are doing sage now.”

Supplies multiply. You buy the same sanding block because you can't remember where the other ones went. Spoiler: they're all in the laundry, behind the ironing board.

It's messy. Not here just physically. One night I slept in the lounge because the dust was everywhere. I also cried over a crooked towel hook. Real tears. Over a hook. I don't know what to tell you.

But you get through it. With forums full of questionable advice. You learn things you'd rather not. Like how the hallway paint was hiding mold.

Eventually, though, things feel right again. Not perfect — nothing is. The tiles by the bin still look suspicious. But now, I step into that space and don't trip. That's progress.

The shelf? Never built it. We use a bowl now. Same one we always had, sitting on a crooked sideboard. But the wall's patched. Mostly.

And that's renovation, isn't it? Not what you expected. But it's something real. With all its weird corners and accidental charm.