Reply to How to convince spouse home renovations make financial sense

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would not expect to get a lot of return on 15 year old renovations [/quote]

Selling a house 15 years from now with original 1980s everything or with 2023 updates are the options.

Which is better?

I think we will need to heavily discount a home with 1980s fixtures. I think we can rather easily maintain a renovated house (particularly since we no longer have very young children). [b]And we could enjoy our home rather than be embarrassed by it.[/b] [/quote]

You'd be a lot happier in life if you could let go of the shame and guilt, because I'm assuming you think that way for everything: cars, clothes, vacations, college, what people do for a living, etc. Insecurity is poisoning your life.

I empathize if you bought a house with fixtures you don't like, but come on. The immense majority of people in this world live in houses that are not catalog worthy! I live in a very old and tiny house in Bethesda: we could only afford to redo the ground floor. None of the upstairs doors can close, even the bathroom door. The bathroom window frame is falling apart. The floor is uneven. We have the same gutter problem and the garage is so dilapidated it's a miracle it's still standing.

And yet I love my house. I bought it because it had good bones and lots of light coming from all sides. We have a fun garden with plants we took some effort to find online.

You can all the renovations you want, but it's your mind you've got to fix. Don't be embarrassed by old, worn things. Find value in at least some of them. Don't waste your time thinking for one second what the neighbors think.
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I hear ya, but you are wrong when it comes to me. I’m not insecure and I don’t try to keep up with the Joneses. As I said, we drive old cars. I still wear clothes I bought in college. I’m not materialistic at all.

The 1980s kitchen and bathrooms didn’t really bother me when we bought our home in the early 2000s, but 20 years later they are really starting to fall apart. I don’t think I’m being ridiculous by wanting to renovate. I mean, you renovated your first floor, so presumably you have a nice kitchen, etc. [/quote]

OK. It’s just the way you phrased things made it sound cosmetic instead of functional.

[/quote]

Try living with 1980s bathrooms and kitchen and then you’ll realize it’s a functional need and not merely cosmetic.

My family room furniture was purchased in 2000. Anyone else have a sofa and coffee table from the year 2000? Ditto for my kitchen table.

[/quote]

Sorry, but I have to jump in here. My family home in Europe was built in the 18th century. I was put in an antique crib, and much of the fixtures and furniture are from the previous century or earlier. You'd probably die if you saw the kitchen: it's not pretty, but we make great meals in it (the 20th century kitchen, not the original kitchens which are in the basements and have huge fireplaces).

Here in the US I go to estate sales and purchase old, period-looking furniture, on purpose, because it looks well in my 1920s house. You should get a new sofa if it's been damaged over the years, but tables?!? Tables can last for years.

You seem to be under the delusion that these things are disposable. Only a very few people in this world just throw out their interiors every few years and buy new. The rest just replace pieces as they age and live with aging furniture and decor, because it's normal.

You are free to spend your money as you wish, [b]OP. But for goodness sake stop thinking you are somehow owed new decor[/b].

[/quote]

I've been following and this is what has been bothering me about OP's attitude. She comes across as she feels she is entitled to home renovations and new furniture just because things are old and/or falling apart. That is just not how it works. I honestly wish it did but that is not how life is. You either can afford things or you do without. This is such a basic tenet of life yet OP does not seem to understand. Her husband does not seem to think they can afford all she wants done. Because she comes across as, frankly, immature and entitled I find myself finding her husband's stance way more credible.[/quote]

Whatever.

The reality is of course we can afford to renovate and redecorate our family room, as an example. My spouse just thinks shelling out cash to replace tattered furniture isn’t necessary. We are coming up on 24 years with the furniture. It’s not high quality antique furniture. It’s a basic set from Macys. I’m shocked it’s lasted this long. [b]If I get new furniture, I’ll need to paint. And I might as well tackle the floor (which is literally coming apart) and lighting. That’s not entitled; that’s just commonsense.
[/b]
Obviously gutting a kitchen isn’t cheap. But at some point it will be necessary. Why wait until everything is broken? Ditto for the bathrooms. Anyone else have a home built in the first part of the 1980s? How is your plumbing holding up? Should we just wait until something explodes? We have upgraded all toilets, but we’ve had a lot of drain issues lately. Not surprising given the old plumbing.

I think it’s silly to call me entitled. An entitled person wouldn’t tolerate what I have for decades. [/quote]

Okay, no. Talking about it in this way is not helping you, OP!  Replacing furniture is not "necessary". You don't get to tell your spouse what's "reality". You don't "need to" paint just because you got furniture. And it's not "just commonsense". It's a difference of opinion. Try to be more respectful of your DH if you want to reach a workable compromise! The way you talk, I don't blame him for thinking it's a slippery slope and if he gives you an inch you'll take a mile. FWIW I totally agree with you on the value of updating things and doing maintenance and I think what you propose sounds reasonable. But you really, really need to understand how your attitude and your langauge is not helping you get what you want.[/quote]

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