5 min readI’ve poured a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the last seven years of homeownership. My wife and I bought our first home in 2019, and during the COVID pandemic, we had a lot of time at home to sit and tinker with our house and try out tools and designs. We never intended to become house flippers, and I still don’t really think of myself much of one, but now that we’re working on our fourth home, I’m starting to think we’ve earned that title.
While I’ve been quite proud of (almost) every project I’ve done, these are some I wouldn’t do again, or would do differently. Here’s what I’d advise aspiring house flippers with a DIY streak not to do.
Adding an Accent Wall Where It Doesn’t Make Sense
Look, I love an accent wall as much as the next guy. But there definitely is a time and place for them.
“I've learned that the best rooms feel intentional, not attention-seeking,” says Lauren Jennifer Tolles, founder of Maison Birmingham. “A random accent wall can disrupt the flow of a space, making it feel busier rather than more beautiful. If I'm using contrast, I want it to support the architecture and overall design story—not compete with it. I’ve found that a cohesive design creates a sense of calm and comfort that most people desire in their homes.”
In our first fixer-upper, we added a big, bold plank accent wall. To this day it is one of the most fun projects I’ve ever done, but I think it’s safe to say the accent wall trend might be overused, and maybe even time to be done with entirely. If we were to do another accent wall, it would be more well thought out with how it fits with the rest of the room.
“An accent wall is usually a sign someone got nervous halfway through a decision,” says Lesley Myrick, CEO and principal designer of Lesley Myrick Interior Design. “If color and pattern belong in a room, they belong on more than one quarter of it! Commit to the whole space, or skip it.”
Chasing Every Design Trend You See on Social Media
My wife and I aren’t farmhouse-style people by any stretch of the imagination, but we still fell into the trap of that house design era. One of our first projects as new homeowners was a DIY farmhouse outdoor table, which we loved and used a lot even though it didn’t really fit our style.
We also added a barn door to our bedroom, put shiplap on too many walls, and, for some reason, kept making massive oversized chalkboards to fill up awkward blank spaces in our kitchens. Those didn’t really age well.
“One of the biggest renovation mistakes I see is designing for a trend instead of designing for the home itself,” says Tolles. “Unlike fast fashion, renovations come with real financial consequences, so I always encourage homeowners to prioritize function, architecture, and longevity over whatever is currently dominating their social feeds. Designing your entire kitchen around one image from social media is not sustainable in the long run.”
To this day, I’m thankful my wife encouraged me not to go with my first choice of dark navy for our exterior paint color. Anytime I see that shade on a home, it just feels so 2018 when you couldn’t open Pinterest without seeing it in your feed.
Emily LaMarque, founder and principal of Emily LaMarque Design Studio, says if you’re trying to follow a trend, odds are it’s already on its way out. Instead, stick with timeless elements that are tried and true.
“Think classic white subway tile, walnut casegoods, character moldings, and woven textures,” says LaMarque. “It’s always helpful to reference classic details that have stood the test of time, whether it’s from a 1920s Spanish colonial or a midcentury French pied-à-terre; your eye will start to reference details that transcend trends and will look amazing in any era.”
Designating an Entire Bedroom as a Guest Room
I had an epiphany years ago about how much money I was paying to have an unused guest room in my house, and since then, I’ve never wanted one again. At the time, I had a three-bedroom house, with our guest bedroom accounting for roughly 15 percent of our total home’s square footage. Multiply that by our $2,000 monthly mortgage payment, and in a sense, I was paying nearly $4,000 annually for a room that was only used probably 10 times a year. That’s crazy—and experts agree.
“A guest room sitting empty 350 days a year is some of the most expensive square footage in your house,” says Myrick.
Obviously, this suggestion won’t be relevant to everyone. If you’re an empty nester, host guests most weekends, or have a 10-bedroom house, then you definitely have the space for a designated guest room. Also, if you truly want a guest room, I’m not gonna tell you how to live your life.
For most people, there are easy workarounds that allow you to have a guest space without it being the only function of the room. One of the best projects we’ve found for this is incorporating Murphy beds into the design. Sleeper sofas are also a great option.
“Homes currently need to be multipurpose, fulfilling a wide range of functions, especially as more homes become multigenerational,” says LaMarque. “Integrate a Murphy bed into wall cabinetry or dress up a sofa bed with a throw blanket and decorative pillows, and you can integrate the sleeping function of the room while still having plenty of floor space left over for additional tasks and hobbies.”
From now on, our guest spaces will always be combined with office space, the home gym, or the playroom, depending on our needs for the home.
“Many of our clients have offices, game rooms, or even a small den that can double as a guest bedroom,” says Tolles. “I also ask clients how long they like their guests to stay… as that answer will inform some major guest room decisions.”
Bonus Tip: Always Wait to Start Major Renovations
As soon as you move into a new home, it can be so tempting to just start tearing into walls or diving into big projects. This is especially true if you’ve bought a fixer-upper. But I always recommend waiting at least a few months into living in the home before starting a big renovation.
An example is our current home, where we just finished our kitchen renovation. We had already planned out how we were going to design our new kitchen, but after a few months of mulling it over, we actually decided to go a completely different route and ended up relocating our kitchen to a different room in the house.
It ended up being less complicated than we originally thought and made the flow and function of our home so much better. But this might not be the case for everyone. So when it comes to home renovations, yes, patience is a virtue.
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Alex Shoemaker is a writer and digital content strategist who covers home renovation, DIY projects, and design inspiration. He has written for multiple home improvement magazines and websites, drawing on his own experience renovating homes with his wife to create practical, inspiring content for homeowners and DIY enthusiasts alike.
