When we talk about if 2020 is going to be the year you remodel, let’s start with WHY. Because my answer is that if you have good reasons for wanting to tweak your house to better suit your lifestyle …
… you ARE ready.
In today’s episode you’ll hear …
- The story of Joe and Jane First Time Homeowner – how they can make a really big mistake before they even start a remodel – and how you can be so much smarter! [1:30]
- What we can learn from Derek Zoolander [3:00]
- Four ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE REASONS to plan a remodel based on common wisdom from the home improvement industry. Here’s a hint: if you are renovating your house as an investment in its resale value, you’re doing homeownership wrong. [4:30]
- How to flip that advice on its head and choose to remodel for the right reasons – because the spirit moves you, because you want to make your house a home and take care of it, because you want your house to better suit your lifestyle, and because you want to add to its character. [6:30]
- The shortest possible answer to the question of whether you are ready to remodel in 2020 [11:15]
Listen now on:
Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher
Resources mentioned in this episode
- Find all the episodes from Season 1 … here
- Check out the MID-CENTURY SOLUTIONS PACKAGE
- Why you should NOT paint your mid-century brick
- Find some philosophy on dealing with trendy remodels here
- Find me on Instagram:@midmodmidwest
Before I get started, a little note about what’s coming next! Season TWO of Mid Mod Remodel is going to be all about getting ready to remodel. New years are about new beginnings, and a new decade – even more so. There are so many fun and vital elements to planning a remodel that start before you ever look at a floor plan or even assemble a Pinterest board.
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be talking about what a difference good planning can make, and how you can feel empowered to make great choices for yourself and your home as you contemplate a mid-century update.

So is 2020 the year you remodel your house … are you even ready to remodel?
Why did you want to remodel in the first place?
This is the big driver of everything you do. You want to make sure you’re taking on a remodel for the right reasons …. and those are probably not the reasons you’ll commonly see recommended online or on home improvement industry websites.
You’ll often hear these reasons to take on a remodel: You have the money, it will be an investment in the resale value of your home, you need more space, or your home is tired and dated.
THIS DRIVES ME NUTS!!! These are bad reasons to spend money and the world’s resources, stress yourself out, and dive into a huge project.
There are some grains of truth there of course. Remodeling costs money, it CAN improve the value of your home, and sometimes you do need extra space.
Let’s reframe.
Think about taking on a remodel process if: your home doesn’t align with what you need, and what makes you happy. Another great reason is that it needs some maintenance and care, which – if it’s a mid-century house that hasn’t gotten a lot of work done in the last 70 years – is probably the case. You might even take on a mid-century remodel because someone ELSE needlessly “updated” it back in the 80’s and you’d like to restore some of its original MCM glory.

So are you ready to remodel?
I’m actually going to spend very little time on the question I posed at the top of the post …
That is, are you ready to remodel in 2020?
Because my answer is very simple.
You are – if you want to be.
Ready can mean a lot of different things to different people. You might be ready to rustle up a bank loan or write a check. You’ll order up total overhaul of your home involving a design team and an army of contractors or subs. Or you might be ready to start figuring out what tiny tweaks you could make with laser focus. You can tailor your house to your lifestyle using recycled materials from your local Habitat for Humanity Restore and skills you learn from YouTube videos. Or something in between.

Take a deep breath. You’ve got this. Stay tuned for more help on the question of how to PRE-plan your remodel in the next few weeks!