Nothing ever goes entirely according to plan in life or in design. For even the most established designers, mistakes are made and lessons are learned. For this week’s Good to Know, Marianne is sharing three things she wishes she had done differently when building her own home, in hopes to help others who find themselves in similar situations. We also hope this post can shed some authenticity into the design world. Not everything works exactly how we dreamed it to be - don’t feel bad if you find yourself making decisions you regret.

Thankfully, I don’t have too many regrets about my home. I absolutely love it, but there are a few things I wish I had done differently. The overall lesson I learned after completing my new build was knowing when to invest in what I knew I really wanted. For my exterior, we initially had more affordable rain gutters installed. They were bright white and made out of thin aluminum which ended up denting quickly and easily. The gutters felt like an eyesore to me and really stood out against the rest of the home. I knew from the beginning that I really wanted copper gutters. After living with the white aluminum gutters for a few months, I knew it was a detail that would continue to bother me. I ended up replacing them within the first year for copper. I wish I would have done what I knew I actually wanted in the beginning - I would have saved money, in the end, had I not paid for two sets of gutters.

The second thing I wish I would have done differently was a mistake I didn’t have too much control over. I got two different bids from plumbers and we went with the lower bid and I paid for it in the quality of the work. I’ve had a few plumbing issues and my bathroom fixtures still aren’t 100% working. Lesson learned, don’t always go with the lowest bid for subs. Make sure you find someone who can fully perform their job, with great reviews to back them up. 

The last thing I wish I had done differently has, thankfully, an easy solution but I still regret not doing it from the get-go. I have never personally loved an all-white bedroom. Something about an all-white bedroom feels stark and not as inviting as I would like my bedroom feel. My own room is painted white and I wish I would have wallpapered the walls with a pretty grass cloth. I’m deciding between a few different options. And for 2 of my girls’ bedrooms, I really want to paint the walls. For one room I’m thinking a dusty pink and for the other a nice gray/blue color. There is something calming and relaxing about being surrounded by texture or color that really helps create a mood for the bedroom.

Below you can see how I mocked-up the rooms in photoshop to help me decide which wallpaper and wall color would look best with everything else in the rooms. What do you guys think?

This option is a grasscloth from Philip Jefferies in the shade 3443 Linen

Hopefully you found this post helpful and maybe a little relatable. For anyone in the middle of a new build or remodel, good luck - you’ve got this. Don’t be fooled or intimidated by anyone on the internet or television portraying a perfect process - almost nothing ever goes completely according to plan in construction and design.