Time to Add-On or Move-On?
Do you love your home, but worry it no longer fits your family?
One of the biggest client conversations we have had over the years has centered around this one question: should we add on, remodel, or sell and move to a different home entirely?
Overwhelming right?
Several times, Green Couch Design has been hired to help clients sift through these big picture questions.
Does our home function like we need it to? Can we afford the updates we want? How much are we willing to do ourselves? What updates need to be hired out?
The good news, you’d be surprised how often you can make your current home work for you! More than ever, we are all learning about what it means to live at home and truly make it work for us, not against us!
Lets break it down into three main areas of focus; Stuff, Space, Finances, and define what areas you need to tweak, and what you have outgrown.
Stuff
Are you busting at the seams?
Start in the place you never want to go. Where do you hide things? What is the place you don’t want people to see?
Do you need to declutter, re-organize, or move around the existing furniture to work better?
Take us for example; Cale and I slowly outgrew our 1,000 square foot farmhouse, but it took us twelve years! When it was just the two of us, it was a great size and we even had a guest room. Over the years we added three children to the mix and we found ourselves every six months or so having to re-do and re-work how our house functioned. Because the boys needs (and shoe sizes) were ever growing, it was important that our home was able to expand with us.
Question to ask yourself; What are the pain points when it comes to my stuff?
Can I solve them by purging, or have I minimized so much that I regret the things I’ve discarded?
Or, have I downsized so much that it makes my life more stressful?
Space
One time after watching a documentary about minimalism, I proceeded to purge my already small farmhouse kitchen of anything unnecessary. I convinced myself that we didn’t need a crock-pot. Note to self (and all of you)…a family of five NEEDS a crock-pot!
Let’s be honest, while you can continue to sift and minimize your belongings, at some point there is only so much downsizing, reorganizing, and purging you can do. At some point x amount of people requires a certain amount of space.
Another example; In our farmhouse our entire family shared one bathroom. A normal morning looked like one in the shower, two brushing their teeth, momma fixing her hair, and the littlest one sitting on the pot stinking it up! We had to learn how to make it work, but the stress of ALL of us getting ready at the same time made it not worth it anymore.
Momma was ready for her own bit of counter space. It was time for an upgrade!
Question to ask yourself; What are my pain points when it comes to my space?
Can I solve them by moving or getting rid of furniture, tearing out a wall, or adding on?
Is adding on cheaper than moving?
Or, is finding a better location going to serve us better in the long run?
Finances
The decision to add-on or move-on always comes down to cost. There is nothing wrong with that. We just want to make sure you’ve looked at the whole picture and are comfortable with what that cost means to you.
If you currently own a home, what percentage of your home loan is going towards paying off your actual mortgage? With your current income, how long is it going to take you to pay it off? Would an update put you upside down on your mortgage? Sure, right now you might have some extra play money every month, but are you okay with allocating that money to an addition or a larger mortgage? Maybe it’s time to simplify so you can financially position yourselves to make bigger moves in the future. Or, maybe your home value has increased to the point that you can take out a home equity loan to pay for your remodel?
Ultimately, how does the cost align with your values?
As your design team, we know it might sound strange, but we actually care about your financial picture. Obviously, we are not accountants, or realtors, but we want to make sure we design a space and recommend updates that you can actually afford, add value to your home, and help you live and support your best life (long after trends fade).
Question to ask yourself; What are my pain points when it comes to my finances?
Can you talk to a local real-estate agent to get an idea on current comps (other homes to compare your home to) in your area?
What are the current interest rates?
How quickly could you pay off a loan based on your current income?
Where would that additional expense come out of your monthly paycheck?
Setup a meeting with your local bank about what it would look like to get a loan for a remodel (it never hurts to ask).
Book a one-hour site visit (OKC Area) or thirty-minute virtual meeting with us and review your options.
When you think about your home, your stuff, your space, and your finances, how do all of those elements work together to create a place you love?
How do all of those pieces begin to serve and uplift your families values for years to come?
For twelve years Cale and I lived in a 1,000 sq ft 1910 farmhouse. There were several times we'd ask ourselves; “Do we move-on or add-on?” For us, we kept coming back to the cost. And the cost of moving was always WAY more than staying and making it work with what we had. Because we were renting adding-on wasn't an option. In that season just buying a new rug, re-organizing, or updating the curtains went a long way!!
Still unsure of where to start? We've created a couple of FREE resources to help you.
Legacy Guide // Define your top three core values and get a birds eye view of the life you really want.
Tackle the Hassle Worksheet // Do you need to declutter, re-organize, or remodel? Define your home's biggest pain point and design a solution.
Get it Done! Worksheet // Organize your weekend home projects one step at a time.
You can do it! With you in the process.
About the Author
Megan is a Co-Owner and Principal Designer at Green Couch Design, a boutique architecture firm located in Oklahoma. Megan writes in her spare time about all things interior design, intentional living, marketing and branding, business ownership, and a dose of motherhood.
