Living Through a Renovation - Should You Do It?
No matter how exciting it is to dream about coming home to a fresh new space, there's no getting around the fact that renovations are messy, loud, and disruptive to your life—regardless of the project’s size. As interior designers, one of the most common questions we help our clients navigate is whether living through a renovation is the right choice for them. In this blog post, we’ll explore the pros and cons of staying put during a renovation, when it makes sense to stay, and when it might be better to pack up and find a temporary home.
The Reality of Living Through a Renovation
If you choose to live through your home renovation, it’s important to go into it with clear eyes and a full understanding of what you’ll be facing over the next few weeks or months. Even a small renovation is disruptive in ways that can quickly feel overwhelming—no matter how prepared you think you are.
For starters, expect constant noise. Contractors will be coming and going throughout the day, often at unpredictable times, depending on their schedules. You’ll hear banging, grinding, sawing, and may even feel your house shake, depending on the work being done. Work (and noise) can start early in the morning and carry on for hours at a time.
Dust is another thing to prepare for—and trust me, no matter how ready you think you are, you’re not. Construction creates SO MUCH DUST, and it gets everywhere. Even on a clean job site, a layer of dust will settle on everything. If you’re using areas near the work daily, you’ll be constantly wiping down surfaces, your belongings, and maybe even yourself.
On top of that, you’ll lose access to the part of the home you’re renovating. If it’s your kitchen, for example, be prepared for a makeshift setup and washing dishes in the bathtub (yes, based on a true story). You’ll be eating out, microwaving meals, or using a hot plate for weeks, and without a sink or dishwasher, even simple food prep and cleanup will feel like a chore.
To say there is an emotional toll from all of this is an understatement. You’ll likely get tired having lack of privacy with workers coming in and out of your home at seemingly random times. Construction clutter is stressful to live with, and renovations always look worse before they get better. When your surroundings are chaotic, it’s harder to unwind or find peace in your own home.
It’s hard to live in a home without a functioning kitchen. Kitchen remodels can take 3-6 months for construction before they’re usable, to find out more about the process of a kitchen remodel check out this post: How Long Does a Kitchen Renovation Take?
The Pros & Cons of Living Through a Renovation
PROS:
The biggest incentive to live through a renovation is simply the cost savings. Renovations are already a major investment, and if you can avoid the extra expense of temporary housing on top of that, it can free up more of your budget for material or fixture upgrades. This is especially true for smaller, more contained renovations, such as a single bathroom, where it tends to be easier to stay put.
It’s also easier to stay involved in the process when you choose to stay in your home. Instead of having to drive back and forth to the job site, you’ll be there at all times to monitor progress and check that things are being done as planned. Being on-site also allows for quicker decision-making, if questions or adjustments come up you’ll be there to provide direction in real time. Delayed decisions are the most common reason projects get off schedule and when you’re this intimately involved in the process it can help to keep your project running smoothly.
CONS:
While there are definitely some pros to living through a renovation, for many the cons often outweigh them. Renovations bring daily disruptions that can be difficult to live with. It’s loud—expect banging, sawing, and drilling throughout the day. Dust will settle everywhere, no matter how clean the job site is kept. And you’ll have people coming in and out of your home regularly. If you work from home or have kids, these interruptions can be especially hard to manage. The reality is, this level of disruption doesn’t just last a few days. It’s something you’ll face nearly every day for weeks or even months.
You’ll also lose access to whichever part of the house is being renovated. If it’s your kitchen, for example, you’ll need to rely on a makeshift setup. This often means a fridge, microwave, and maybe a hot plate, but no dishwasher, no oven, and no sink. It’s doable, but it’s far from ideal - expect even basic tasks to take longer than usual. If you’re renovating a bathroom or bedroom, you’ll need to adjust your daily routines to work around the loss of those spaces.
On top of the practical inconveniences, there’s the emotional toll of living on a construction site. The clutter and chaos can very quickly feel overwhelming, and seeing your home in a constant state of disarray is stressful. One of the pros I mentioned earlier is the ability to be on-site to make quicker decisions. However, this also means you’ll see every mistake or hiccup or unexpected issue behind your walls in real-time, even though contractors typically fix these issues as part of the process. If you tend to stress easily, watching the unglamorous side of renovation unfold can be a huge challenge.
While there will be lots of noise and disruption, an often not talked about period during the process are the weeks when nothing seems to be happening. This is because items like cabinets, countertops, or custom pieces are being fabricated off-site. For homeowners this is often the hardest part because it can feel like no progress is being made, even though things are moving forward behind the scenes. This waiting period is especially hard when you’re living in the space and just want to get back to normal.
Living through a renovation means accepting a level of disruption and stress that can wear on you over time. It’s important to weigh these cons carefully when deciding if staying in your home is the right choice for you and your family.
When it makes sense to stay, and when it makes sense to move…
It typically makes sense to stay in your home during a renovation when the project is small and contained. For example, remodeling a fireplace mantle, installing new closet millwork, or adding a custom entertainment center are manageable projects that don’t disrupt daily life much. These types of renovations usually affect only one specific area of the home, making it easier to live around the construction.
Bathroom remodels are another scenario where staying in your home can be reasonable—especially if you have more than one bathroom available. Since these projects are contained to a single room, the mess and disruption stay localized, and everyone can adjust by sharing the other bathroom in the meantime.
On the other hand, moving out becomes the better option for larger-scale projects that impact more of your home. Significant renovations, like replacing flooring throughout the house or tackling a whole-house remodel, often require moving furniture out of the way and create disruptions that are difficult to live with. These types of projects make it challenging not only for you but also for the contractors, as they’ll need to work around your presence, which can slow the timeline and increase costs.
Kitchen remodels fall somewhere in the middle. If you can live without a fully functioning kitchen for a short time and go into it with realistic expectations, staying in your home may be feasible. However, it requires careful planning—it’s best to go into construction having all your selections made so that lead times are planned for and there aren’t added delays due to the inability to choose a specific finish or fixture. This is exactly the type of planning we help our clients with, and we find that it helps renovation projects run much smoother and quicker than going at it alone.
Ultimately, the decision to stay or move out depends on the scale of your renovation and how much disruption your family can handle.
Tips for Surviving a Renovation While Staying in Your Home
If you’ve gotten this far and have chosen to live through your renovation, I commend your resolve. Here are a few tips to help you survive the process:
1. Create a Designated “Safe Zone”
Set aside a space in your home that’s completely separate from the construction area. This should be a place where you can relax, unwind, and escape the dust and noise. Whether it’s a bedroom, a den, or even just a corner of the house, having a clean and quiet space can make all the difference in your ability to weather the construction mess.
2. Set Up Temporary Spaces for Essentials
If your kitchen is under renovation, create a makeshift kitchen with a microwave, mini fridge, and hot plate. Stock up on disposable plates and utensils to make cleanup easier. The more you can simulate the normal functions of your space that’s getting a makeover the easier it will be throughout the process.
3. Stay Organized and Communicate Regularly
Clear communication with your contractor is key. Regular updates on the timeline and progress will help you stay informed and manage your expectations. Keep a calendar of key milestones, deliveries, and decision deadlines. This will help you feel more in control and reduce surprises along the way.
4. Protect Your Belongings
Before construction begins, move valuable or fragile items to a safe place. Cover furniture, close off vents, and use plastic sheeting to minimize dust spread to other parts of the house. The less you have to clean or worry about, the better.
5. Be Flexible and Patient
Renovations rarely go perfectly according to plan. Delays, noise, and the unexpected are part of the process. Maintaining a flexible mindset and remembering the end goal—a beautifully updated home—can help you navigate the ups and downs more smoothly. We tell our clients to pin the renderings of their new space up and look at them to remember the end goal when things feel overwhelming! Remember - you’re doing this for a reason and it will all be worth it.
Renovating your home is an exciting journey, but deciding whether to stay or move out during the process is a personal choice that depends on your project, budget, and tolerance for disruption. By understanding what to expect, weighing the pros and cons, and planning ahead, you can make the best decision for your family and set yourself up for a smoother renovation experience.
If you’re feeling unsure about navigating your renovation or need expert guidance to ensure everything goes seamlessly, we’d love to help! Schedule a complimentary project planning call directly with me (our lead designer) to create a plan that works for you—no matter the size of your project.
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