As we tackle our largest and most expensive project to date, this week’s episode walks through how we plan and manage spending during any major renovation or upgrade. We share the system we use to budget, prioritize, and keep costs from spiraling — plus a handful of practical money-saving tips we’ve learned along the way. We also tell the story of a friend whose modest updates brought big returns, debate why you never touch someone else’s toilet paper, and practice the correct pronunciation of “hygge.” And yes — there’s a lively conversation about marigolds.
If you prefer audio, you can download the episode from your favorite podcast service or listen directly on the show. Use the episode notes on this page to follow links, view photos we referenced, and get additional resources mentioned in the conversation. (If you’re reading in an RSS reader, click through to the post to see any embedded player.)
What’s New
- We’ve updated the photo set of the beach house to show the current state of framing — nearly finished at about 98% — which means we’re about to move into plumbing, HVAC, electrical, insulation, and drywall. The plywood that was protecting the front door is down, letting us capture this clear view from the front porch.
- There’s a lot of new framing upstairs as well. It’s still a little hard to read the details while the walls are open, but once the walls go back up the space will feel like a completely different house.
- You can also see how much more secure the structure feels compared with earlier shots of the upstairs. The new framing helped eliminate the termite rot and gives the house a much more solid appearance.
- Among the changes: we now have a hallway. This image shows the hallway as viewed from the master bedroom. We modeled it after our current home’s 43″ hallway so it feels roomy without taking too much space from the adjacent rooms.
- The master bedroom is getting double pocket doors; the tracks are installed above the back staircase. Imagine two colorful doors with frosted glass panes in the top half so natural light still filters through.
- The downstairs layout hasn’t changed dramatically, but we’ve started marking out the island and cabinetry locations to plan lighting needs and electrical placement.
- If you missed the before-and-after photos of our neighbor’s staged home from last week’s notes, check those out for inspiration — staging made a big difference and their house sold quickly.
Updates
- We referenced a previous episode where we talked about hygge and the book that sparked our interest, The Little Book of Hygge. It’s a cozy read that helped shape how we think about comfort at home.
- We also revisited an earlier episode about the unsuccessful attempt to designate marigolds as a national flower — a quirky bit of garden history we enjoy revisiting.
- If you want to practice your hygge pronunciation, we played a short pronunciation clip during the show to help listeners get the sound right.
What’s Not
- During the episode we mentioned a “hands off” list detailing items you should never touch in someone else’s home — a helpful reminder for guest etiquette and respecting personal space.
Listener Question: Budgeting
- The main focus of this episode is our approach to budgeting for the beach house renovation. Below are some evergreen posts and topics we’ve drawn from over the years that explain how we prioritize spending, where we splurge versus save, and everyday strategies to keep costs down:
- What we choose to splurge on versus what we save on in a home
- Practical ways we cut costs in daily life (21 ideas we use regularly)
- How simplifying possessions and routines can save money and reduce stress
- Strategies to save on clothing purchases
- Tips for saving on children’s clothes
- Advice for saving on baby items without sacrificing safety or quality
- We’ve published many other posts over the years that fall into our Money Saving category; explore those if you’d like a deeper dive into specific tactics and examples.
We’re Digging
- Sherry found a pair of large-scale lamps that we love for the dining room, and she selected a complementary shade to complete the look. We’re excited about how much presence oversized lighting gives a space — it instantly raises the scale and drama.
- We also rounded up several other big lamps we’re currently considering. Oversized fixtures (many two feet tall or larger) are trending for good reason: they anchor a room and create a bold focal point without needing too many accessories.
- We mentioned NPR’s #TryPod initiative and encouraged listeners to introduce a friend to podcasts by sharing a favorite show or our Getting Started With Podcasts guide — podcast listening is a great way to discover new stories and ideas.
- We’re also exploring a few high-quality narrative and economics podcasts this week, including a popular investigative series and Planet Money for its smart, accessible takes on economic topics like entrepreneurship, burnout, and corporate scandals.
If you’re trying to track down something we featured in a past episode but don’t remember which show notes to open, we keep a master list of everything we’ve been digging from past episodes for easy reference.
To learn more about the nursery furniture giveaway mentioned in the podcast and to discover smart furniture features, check the show notes for more details on how to enter to win up to $5000 in nursery furniture.