Q: How do you balance between getting what you need and what you want?

A: Make a list of everything then decide where to save and where to splurge.

It's super easy to have big bright eyes when planning a renovation, wanting all the new & shiny things, but once you're in the thick of it, you may find that the funds you allocated don't stretch in the way you thought they would. With renovations, especially in a older home, unexpected expenses can quickly total up or, just in the waiting period of getting things started, prices can change.

In our case, many of what would've been the pricier elements of our renovation, were part of my brand partnerships, came with the house, and/or weren't part of our scope of work. When renovating a kitchen, large chunks of the budget tend to go to —

• moving electrical and plumbing

• upgrading appliances

• flooring and tiling

• cabinetry and millwork

...just to name a few. This will, of course, vary with the scope of each individual project.

How do you decide when to save or splurge?

Deciding if to save or splurge is going to be a very personal decision because "save" and "splurge" are subjective. Looking back on our kitchen reno, we weighed different choices up against one another based on how they'd improve our quality of life, how they'd make us feel, and how (in the long run) they'd enhance our home.

Moving Electrical and Plumbing

Our Decision: SAVE

Moving electrical and/or plumbing is almost always a costly decision, and this being an older home, we didn't want to find out what that price tag would look like. Even before living in the home, we saw no need to move and of the existing electrical or plumbing, short of maybe relocating an outlet or two. There was nothing wrong with the existing placement and was actually perfectly suited for our needs.

And if it wasn't?

We would've made it work because, short of it hindering our day to day, the inconvenience wouldn't have been worse the potential cost.

Upgrading Appliances

Our Decision: BOTH

When we bought the house, we saw that all of the marquee kitchen appliances — refrigerator, stove, dishwasher — were new. This saved us hundreds, if not thousands, on brand new appliances... which allowed us to SPLURGE on new appliance upgrades/additions — range hood, built in microwave oven, wine fridge. There was an existing over-the-stove microwave, which we didn't love; not having to buy those larger appliances gave us the financial breathing room to get a range hood and microwave oven that we did love...and throw in for a wine fridge, because why not.

Flooring and Tiling

Our Decision: SAVE

We had no intention of changing out flooring, so we originally planned on splurging for our backsplash time. Then we found out (1) our first backsplash tile choice was backordered and (2) we had to redo all of our kitchen flooring. This left us we a few quick decisions to make, so in the interest of time AND money, we decided to save.

For the flooring, we made an 11th hour decision to pick the most inexpensive option that resembled what we had, especially since we needed to move forward within the hour. Our tiles were sponsored by The Tile Shop, but I still had to think in costs. I reselected an option that was not only ready to shop but also at a lower price point than my original selection. This left me room to also get all of our supplies from The Tile Shop — mortar, grout, tile spacers, caulk, tile trim, wet saw... just to name a few.

Cabinetry and Millwork

Our Decision: BOTH

"Save" versus "splurge" is relative, but this was especially the case with our cabinets. When it comes to cabinets, the ultimate save is to paint them. That wasn't an option for us since we wanted a new layout, so we splurged. We decided not to salvage any parts of the previous cabinetry and go with brand new cabinets from BOXI by Semihandmade. You can read all about my cabinet design process here.

Mill work, on the other hand, wasn't a huge part of the design so we gave it very little consideration. We had one wall that needed updated wall paneling so we used our leftover wall planks from our old bedroom makeover and painted over it for a fresh new look. This was a total save because the alternative would've been buying new materials and paying for the upgrade. Thanks, but no thanks.

And then there were the individual items...

While a large portion of the kitchen renovation was done with brand partners, I still looked at the numbers determining which items would be worth the higher price tag... or what to keep/repurpose versus get brand new...

HARDWARE: SPLURGED on leather pulls for the drawers & doors from Rejuvenation*

LIGHTING: SAVED on slim recessed lighting from Globe Electric that we installed ourselves

ELECTRICAL: SPLURGED on replacing all of the light switches & outlet receptacles from Leviton

PLUMBING: SPLURGED on apron sink & commercial style faucet from Kraus*

SHELVING: SPLURGED on slatted & solid walnut shelving + brass brackets from Rejuvenation

* denotes sponsored item(s)

So back to the original question...

How do you balance between getting what you need and what you want?

While on the surface it may come down to dollars and cents, you have to first prioritize — what are you willing to sacrifice or trade off? For us, for example, big dazzle dazzle lighting would've been nice to have but it wasn't a priority... not as much as a new wine fridge.

That's the balance.

At the end of it all, even with the many pivots we had to make throughout the renovation, we got everything we wanted — down to the smallest detail — and nothing looks or feels like a compromise.

I can't wait to share the final complete kitchen with y'all so y'all can also see how it came together!