The Renovation, Honestly Told
Most renovation content stops at the reveal. Ours starts there and works backward — what actually got specified, what changed in week eight, what broke, what cost more than the estimate, and what the homeowner would do differently. The kind of renovation coverage you’d want before you started.
A Nine-Month Brownstone Renovation, Annotated Honestly
The kitchen came in 22% over budget. The primary bath stayed exactly on spec. A single beam discovery in week six added six weeks to the schedule. The homeowners and their GC walked us through every decision, every overrun, and every regret — and then let us publish the honest version.
Read the Full StoryFour Renovation Streams
Kitchen Remodels
The hardest room to renovate and the most expensive to redo twice. Case studies, cost ranges, contractor notes, and the decisions pros wish you’d make in week one.
See kitchen remodelsBathroom Remodels
Small room, big variables. Plumbing rough-in. Waterproofing. Tile selection. Cost per square foot by scope. Real projects, with real numbers.
See bathroom remodelsAdditions & Expansions
Bump-outs. Second stories. Rear additions. ADUs. The renovation type that changes the whole house — and the decisions that make or break the structural and permitting timeline.
See additionsBefore & After
Full-house renovations, unrushed. Each one walks through the project brief, the design direction, the construction reality, the final numbers, and the before/after side-by-side.
See before & afterWhy Our Renovation Coverage Is Different
We publish the numbers. We publish the screw-ups. We publish the decisions that got abandoned in week four. We do this because pretending renovations go smoothly makes readers take on projects they’re not ready for, and then blame themselves when reality hits. An honest report is the most valuable thing a home design publication can offer. It’s what we try to offer.
The Renovation Planner.
Our 24-page Renovation Planner covers budgeting, GC vetting, timeline realities, decision sequencing, and the five contracts you need before anyone swings a hammer. Free for subscribers.
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