Garage

Windows, doors and door hardware. Furniture in general. People seem to care most about kitchens and not so much about sofas and curtains.

People care about the "permanent." A sofa is not..........nor are curtains. In the end ? Whatever classic "beef"/ true quality goes into the "bones" will mean fewer $$$$ tarting up a lifeleless piggy. : ) No drywall gazillion square feet can ever make up for, or equal a beautiful "jewel box"

Have less, do better.

For us it's the garage and the backyard shed. Both are a bit of a disaster. We've cleaned up and reorganized the garage a few times over the years, but it quickly becomes a mess again. My theory is that it's too small. Supposed to be a 2-car garage, but it's only possible to keep one small car in it (mine) while hubby's wouldn't fit even if the garage were totally empty otherwise.

Of course there are all sorts of other things there, like shelving units and the 2nd fridge, 3 sets of car tires (since we need to have snow tires from December until mid March) , an air compressor and a large (disorganized) tool cabinet. Plus an assortment of what may be deemed more or less junk, or at least stuff which we have either not had the time (or strength) to move into the house and find a proper place for, or things we've not yet made up our minds whether to dump, such as a large (beautiful) area rug, brought over from my parents' condo after they both passed away, which is too big and heavy to cart to the basement without enlisting help from at least 2 big guys (hubby and son), at their leisure.

Some stuff should go into the shed, but that's at the back of the yard and is itself in dire need of a major cleanup and reorganization with barely enough space for a lawnmower, wheelbarrow and garden tools and an outdoor table and chairs which we only bring out in the summer. But then there are also lengths of wood planks and posts, cement blocks, bricks for the "just in case" situations, quite an obstacle course.

When people paint their house most forget the color of the roof. you can have the best colors for your house but if the roof doesn't go with it could be a third of the color you see that doesn't work.

Emily H I think the people would love some input from Houzz on the recent deletion of a certain account and subsequent removal of posts wherein people discuss the issue.

Thank you for posting this lindsey. I too would very much appreciate input from Houzz and for posts to stop being deleted.

I'm going to throw in an extra similar to generators since I see it all the time. The floors for goodness sake! $1m+ builds where the budget for flooring materials is $6 SQ FT :-O . I wish Sophie was here to comment on that budget for us. :-)

Our bedroom...the storage warehouse for the rest. 2 tall filing cabinets, because storing them in the garage offers inconvenient access. Christmas boxes, wrapping paper (love after C'mas sales), etc., stored under raised Cal King bed...so I get to view them year-round. Computer L-shaped desk filled with monitor, keyboard, printer, tower, wifi, caluculator, pencil holders, stacked letter holder, desk lamp, etc. Puppy's bed. Large armoire that stores overstock of deordorants, shampoos, bandages, medicines, heating pads, et al. Laundry cart. Yeah, Houzz nor House Beautiful will be visiting soon. The bed always looks nice, though! lol

Ceilings in ANY room.

I think closets are the most over looked areas for updating. You can make your home beautiful and comfortable but when you open that closet door or go into that walk in closet and see clothes crammed, shoes strewn everywhere or using the floor as a shelf, then you have neglected the closet areas.. Updating your closet can make your life so much easier. I am not trying to concentrate on just clothing closets but the pantry, the coat closets, and linen closets.

ceilings and lighting.

I know for me it was my deck patio area... in previous houses I just put a table, seating and grill. This house I've taken a little more care to consider it in relation to the indoors and to the yard/view. It's one of our favorite spots here!

Landscaping, patio/backyard, driveway, entryway, laundry room, and the garage.

All of the above.

I'm shocked.... I thought I was going to be pretty much alone with my choice of hallways. I dislike them, especially the long bowling alley type. I always notice hallways in peoples homes to see what clever thing they've done. Mostly nothing, and I feel mostly disappointed especially when the rest of the home is decorator perfect. I think hallways are that area of a home that falls under the catagory of, 'Let's just forget it exists.' It is part of your home and even if the rest of your home is perfectly put together, that one area will change ones view of your decorating skills left unattended. Houzz, let's get some ideas from you.

For hallways, especially long ones, I'd have a lovely colorful runner rug, interesting and effective ceiling lighting and a nice collection of wall art.

I expect such a hallway would have doors into various rooms one one side and the other. Then for some of those doors I'd use top glass panels (clear or frosted), to let some natural light traverse from the room into the hallway.

Hallways are good as galleries as you get to stand close to the artwork/photos or whatever. I find, for a lot of people, lots of time and money may go in a home but people often forget about the outside. I think a lot of people don't "see" plants, if it's green we are good to go. There's probably blind spots for everybody tho.

I have a Oak staircase in my foyer that is a medium brown finish I want to put in new flooring and have a hard time picking out a wood flooring or wood look tile. I'm afraid it will be too much wood. any suggestions?

Because space is usually limited in a hallway, we tend to put whatever fits in that space and call it good. What we don't realize is that if this is the hallway at the front entry to our home, it is the first thing that guests see when they walk into your living space. So we have to think more along the lines of "How do I welcome our guests into our home knowing that what they see first is usually what they remember most?" So spend some time and money making that first impression a good one. Designers are as guilty as anyone about putting this on the "get to if I can" list. It should contain a place to sit, a place to set down purses, etc., close to a closet for hanging coats, and have a piece of artwork and a console that says "you are welcome here in our home." An area rug always lends warmth. And it should look like it is connected to the rest of your entertaining spaces. So pay attention to this small space that often seems neglected!

Kathleen Peterson, Interior Designer

Thank you for the advice. I feel the same way you do and that is why it is taking me so long to make decisions in this area. I currently have deco-tile in a grey color with a black square in the middle. But it is 25 years old and I think it needs updating, however, I've had people come in and say why, it looks great. Either way, everywhere I look they tell me to do wood floors it ups the value of your home. I am having a designer come in at some point in the future just to take a look on how this will flow. Another reason I'd like advice is I do not like dark areas and I feel the wood floor will make it darker and I really want to showcase my staircase. I'll get there eventually. I keep looking for ideas.

For my hallway, although not very long, it is long enough to showcase some lovely framed artwork and although it does have a door leading to the sunroom which is glass paneled, I leave the door open. The wood floors are unadorned, but have a nice gloss to them, so the sunlight, when shining, reflects light some ways up the hallway. The upper part of the hallway gets the remaining light from the kitchen bay window and dining room window. At some point during the winter months I will place runner rugs (not too dark). The hallway is too narrow for any tables.

I'm laughing right now. I thought the question was which room is most under decorated for the Holidays and that is why I voted for the bedroom. Yikes. To answer the original question, I would have to say the hallways are last for me. I have a beautiful hallway that is flanked with windows on both sides so there is tons of light beaming that leads to the garage, guest bedroom and backyard area. It has a bench with a colorful painting over it and a fiddle leaf fig in a large pot and that's all. It's functional with the bench and I love the windows. As for the hallway in the kids space, I only have a few portraits on the wall. One end of the hall leads towards the kids hangout room and the other overlooks the foyer where I have created a nice reading nook. It looks nice and comfy and it's used by the whole family. There are no actual windows in the hall and the only light other than canned lighting comes from whats at the end of the hallway. I wish it was brighter with natural light but it's not. I invisioned a wall full of family photo's framed in a cool collection. I considered a table or bench with chairs on each side and bringing in a lamp for extra lighting. Instead, we keep our folding pingpong table in this area for easy access. LOL!! It's not what I invisioned but it works for us right now. When the kids are gone in a few years I'll consider staging it a little differently. For now it is what it is.

It appears that many agree that hallways are either last or at least are challenging. A hall runner or stair runner not only adds color and interest to the floor - it also mitigates echo and noise in a home since it tends to be a central location. Roll Runner, aka stair runner products generally made in 80 or 100 foot rolls, sold by the linear foot, so can be ordered in a custom length for halls or stairs.

The empty space above the stairwell. It's steep & the walls are not easily reached--it hasn't been re-done since the '80s. And I personally, do not plan on trying to put a ladder on stairs to reach it!

Storm cellar. We don’t have one yet so it’s concerning.

Unfortunately our house doesn't have a usable attic. Not only because it has no solid floor but also because the only access to it is through the ceiling of a closet. Getting up there is a very complicated undertaking: empty out that closet, take out the doors, shelving and rods, bring a ladder and a light and proceed with caution because you can fall right through the gyproc down below. Plus now after so many years we can be sure there are all sorts of bugs and critters making it their home. I shudder to think what may lurk there.

We haven't been up into the attic such as it is for at least 30 years. We (or rather somebody young and nimble) may eventually have to go up to check on the insulation as we've had a leak in the roof and check this: it was AFTER the roof was redone. Most infuriating.

Our roof was perfect but 30 years old so we decided to redo it to avoid future problems. They somehow messed up the seal on the skylight so that's where water comes in during heavy rains and winds from the west. The roofing company did install a new seal when we complained - so they say - but obviously it's not tight as it still leaks. Now they say we need a new skylight - but the type we have is no longer made so a new one is needed, which will mean cutting the roof and god knows what else to fit it. Most annoying. We cannot call them during winter (because of snow and ice) and then we can only call them right after one of those heavy rainfalls which don't happen all that often.

The problem with this situation is that the ceiling around the skylight well is showing signs of wetness and we cannot plaster and paint until this is completely fixed and dried up. Damn incompetent contractors! It was not a cheap under the table job either.

Garage!

Basement & Garage

Hallways are often overlooked.

outdoor space and its connections to interior space is often overlooked and can have the most critical impact on how you live. and can be a simple addition to designing and planning stage.

The laundry room! always on the back burner until you move in and realize it should have been bigger. I am surprised this isn't a more common choice in the poll.

After reading Wiltrack Constructions idea about Laundry rooms, I realize that absolutely and that in designing it is so often that all" support" spaces like a laundry room, a pool equipment room, a storage room for HVAC equipment, and the importance of an excellent mudroom, laundry room, in every home. When you have the chance or are in the process of any renovation it is so important to know that if you look at the overall way you live and use your home. And you can design all spaces to work to make you life better and possibly not add a lot to the budget of the project. It can be the first design meeting, how can we live in the whole home beter.. Having fewer steps or at least having a laundry room on the main level in case someone gets hurt or becomes ill. Small children bring a lot of consideration to all HOUZZ projects and PROS. From Decks, to laundry rooms which are kid critical, and of course safe swimming pool design. I honestly believe no matter what your project is, it is often a really good idea to get a professional who will take into account your entire living space and how it works for you and how you live. Otherwise, you will be finding you laundry room is awful and it could have been an easy addition to a renovation that you just finished. Or as often in Pool Projects, we personally put where the pool equipment is going to be located on the list of first design meeting, however I have not met many homeowners yet who have it on their wish list or know how large it will be etc. So it really is the job of the professional to educate the client and get them the best overall home improvement that their budget will allow for.

GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS in residential projects are always undersized. This is merely a point of advice. If you have flooding or ground water around your home. Redo all gutters and downspouts with the largest size you can get, typical residential homes have 2 in which is technically 1-1/2 or so and is all that is really required for code, but in reality, not enough, so get 4 inch gutters and downspouts and add a few at every low point and corner. The are formulas for the water that a roof needs to drain, but I recommend for residential projects everyone who has water on site or in basement problems go to much larger size, it cant hurt and is not super expensive, and then run a solid PVC pipe underground, sloping from that to day-lighting away from home. Not a design issue but for some people it is critical. I once had a client with a 3 million plus home, had paid an engineering firm a lot to design the reworking of the grading of their entire site for water issues. I came over as a friend and Landscape Architect to just give my opinion of how the site engineering plan would effect his future pool project and after 10 minutes of talking I realized just as a lesson learned in the past, that his giant house with lots of roof pitch and areas, was trying to drain into very few 2 " downspouts and in only a few areas, and then dumping right at the foundation. Lucky for me it was a short conversation, he was a heart surgeon and the clogged artery comparisons came to him quickly. He has never stopped thanking me for saving him from reworking his entire site grading on a home he had lived in for several years and was thrilled to hire a good contractor to start reworking his gutters and downspouts - super sized, or as engineers often call it factor of safety or engineering a little over the point of failure so that is never an option. So from an hour conversation over coffee. It is often the things we all overlook that cause the worst problems and they can be right in plain sight as well. I realize most people are commenting on paint colors and interior decor, however that is not my point, those are critical to a lovely home and healthy living for certain so they are very right, but if you do have issues like these, get them fixed first. Save time and money for a face-lift if you need more expensive life saving surgery...: )

As for the clutter, I highly recommend either watching Marie Kondo on the internet, or reading her book on the Kondo method of tidying up. No one can de-clutter your home for good except you, as Marie can teach you, it has to be you that learns how to organize and live with things that " spark joy".

I think most people overlook the laundry area. It's so often relegated to a closet in the hall way with barely any storage or work space no where to fold or hang or store laundry supplies. That is why so many people end up with baskets of clean clothes that they have to lug to some other location of the house to fold. Laundry and dishes are the two things most people with families spend a good portion of their time working on when at home. I think it's the most overlooked area of the house especially when renovating. If a closet is all you have space for then you need a good planner to help organize the space to make it efficient and work able.

An overlooked area would be a closet.

To get rid of stuff you must first go through all of it and evaluate it and shift things around. It takes time and physical effort.

Laundry and entryways.

Basements are often put on the back burner when it comes to home renovations.