Budget Breakdown: The Biggest Saves and Splurges of 2021

When it comes to creating that dream home, there are those things you can live with, and others you just can’t live without.

Dec 22, 2021 - 18:00
Budget Breakdown: The Biggest Saves and Splurges of 2021

When it comes to creating that dream home, there are those things you can live with, and others you just can’t live without.

Thanks to an existing functional layout and adequate size, there wasn't much need to change the plan of the kitchen and the placement of appliances and plumbing.

With new home builds and renovations, where you skimp and where you spend depends a lot on where priorities lie: Do you plan on utilizing the kitchen day in and day out? Is optimizing indoor/outdoor living a must? What can you achieve by sourcing materials secondhand? Below, see where homeowners found the biggest savings—and where they bet big—in creating the homes of their dreams this year.

Save: Cedar Siding on a $134K Laneway House in Toronto

Price: $3,359

"You go through periods of time where you’re more patient and times when you’re less patient," says Blair of tackling a major renovation. "When you’re patient, you make good financial decisions—and then sometimes, you just need to keep the ball rolling. And you pay for that."

Though Toronto couple Nicole Spiteri and Blair Johnson were content with their newly renovated downtown condo, the duo stumbled across an old Victorian "with laneway potential" that was too good to pass up. After buying the home, they went about knocking down a detached garage and in its place built this new laneway unit, putting their DIY skills to the test. Part of the impetus for being so hands-on was to stay within budget. "We identified what we were capable of doing, and just didn’t hire people to do those parts," says Blair. In the case of the siding, for example, pre-stained cedar was just too pricey, so they stocked up on cedar from the lumber yard and got to work on it with Home Depot paint themselves.

Photo by Riley Snelling

The first phase of the remodel enlarged the footprint in the main bathroom, which pairs marble hex tile on the floor with Fireclay tile on the walls. The mirrors were $506 from Rejuvenation, and the sconces are by Nino Shea Design ($660 for three).

For homeowner Alli Devlin, splurging on wish list items proved to be absolutely worth it when she and her husband renovated their 1978 home in North Bend, Washington, with the help of her cousin, architect Sarah Merriman of SarMerr Design. Case in point: the main bathroom, which features inky, handmade Fireclay tile on the walls, waterproof cement plaster wall coating from Milestone, and a custom walnut vanity topped with quartz by North Coast Modern. "The design turned out even better than what I had in mind," says Alli. "So, I had no regrets on the expense. No regrets."

Photo by Alli Devlin

Thanks to an existing functional layout and adequate size, there wasn't much need to change the plan of the kitchen and the placement of appliances and plumbing.

When renovating this 1959 Los Angeles home designed by midcentury architect Charles Du Bois (known for his A-frames in Palm Springs), interior designer and homeowner Leonora Mahle used simple slab doors for the kitchen cabinets to save on costs, since she and her family still needed to reallocate funds for asbestos abatement, new sewer and gas lines, and a new roof with solar panels. The pool, which is visible from most rooms in the house, inspired the cabinets’ light blue hue. Leonora and her husband decided to keep the taller cabinets and fridge panels white to avoid overwhelming with the color. 

Photo by Ryan Garvin

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: The Biggest Saves and Splurges of 2021

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