The Hidden Price Tag of Overhauling Your Entire HomeTop 5 Remodeling Projects That Instantly Boost Your Home's First Impression 32

It was supposed to be a shelf project. Or maybe not even a shelf — more like the offhand comment of one. My partner said we needed “a better place for the keys,” and instead of buying a bowl, I decided I'd go big. Wall-mounted. Minimalist. Elegant. Or whatever people call it when they're about to drill blindly.

I marked the spot above the radiator, took one step back and thought, “Easy” Ten minutes later I was staring into the guts of the wall, wondering it looked like someone had left a mystery next to the wiring. The shelf never happened. But somehow the drywall crumbled more than expected.

That's the thing about projects like this — it doesn't stay put. You start with one thing, and the next thing you know, your hallway looks like a crime scene. I just wanted a shelf. By the end of the week, I had a dust mask permanently stuck in my jacket pocket.

There's no clear moment when it all flips. It just unfolds. You go to the store for anchors and come back with a basket of grout samples. That's how I ended up repainting a perfectly fine wall because the guy at the store said, “People are cosyhomepro.com doing sage now.”

Receipts get longer. You buy a third roller because you can't remember where the other ones went. Spoiler: they're all in the laundry, behind the stack of unopened mail.

It's messy. Not just physically. One night I slept in the lounge because the walls were drying. I also cried over a nail that wouldn't stay in. Real tears. Over a hook. I don't know what to tell you.

But you get through it. With forums full of questionable advice. You learn things you'd rather not. Like how the hallway paint was hiding mold.

Eventually, though, things start to look better. Not perfect — nothing is. The tiles by the bin still look suspicious. But now, I step into that space and don't trip. That's progress.

The shelf? Never built it. We use a bowl now. Same one we always had, sitting on a chipped sideboard. But the wall's patched. Mostly.

And that's renovation, isn't it? Not polished. But it's lived-in. With all its cracks and leftover screws.