Remodeling Slip-Ups You'll Regret — and Fix ThemRemodeling for Market Value: What House Hunters Are Really Looking For 31

It started with a shelf. Or maybe not even a shelf — more like the suggestion of one. My girlfriend said we needed “a better place for the keys,” and instead of just using the table, I decided I'd go big. Wall-mounted. Minimalist. Stylish. Or whatever people call it when they're about to make a mess.

I marked the spot beside the door, took one step back and thought, “Simple enough” Ten minutes later I was looking through the soul of the wall, wondering it looked like someone had shoved insulation next to the wiring. The shelf never happened. But somehow the hole got bigger.

That's the thing about renovation — it doesn't stick to the script. 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 spins. You go to the store for anchors and come back with a basket of grout samples. That's how I ended up repainting a perfectly fine wall because the guy at the store said, “People are doing sage now.”

Receipts get longer. You buy that same trowel because you can't remember where the other ones went. Spoiler: they're all click here in the laundry, behind the stack of unopened mail.

It's messy. Not just physically. One night I slept in the lounge because the walls were drying. I also cried over a wonky cabinet hinge. Real tears. Over a hook. I don't know what to tell you.

But you get through it. With YouTube tutorials. You learn things you'd rather not. Like how the bathroom window frame isn't attached to anything.

Eventually, though, things settle into place. Not perfect — nothing is. The tiles by the bin still tilt. But now, I look around and don't sigh. 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 Pinterest-perfect. But it's something real. With all its weird corners and leftover screws.