To Splurge Or Not To Splurge

Summary

Dear Alice | Interior Design

Episode: "To Splurge Or Not To Splurge"

Hosts: Jessica Bennett (A), Suzanne Hall (B), and Corey (C)
Date: December 4, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode is dedicated to the eternal interior design question: which home updates are worth a splurge, and where can you save? In response to a listener question from Lauren Zhao, Jessica, Suzanne, and Corey share deeply personal and professional insights, offering actionable advice for listeners tackling remodels or special projects. Their lively discussion moves through key areas of the home—countertops, flooring, finishes, lighting, furnishings—debating when to spend, when to wait, and how to be creative with any budget. The episode is rich with anecdotes from their own homes, practical shopping tips, and signature wit.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Splurge-or-Save Dilemma in Home Design

• Topic Introduction [00:00-02:25]
  The hosts highlight that deciding where to spend is highly individual—not just personal taste, but often a negotiation with a partner or client.

  “This is how we would discern our money and say: this is worth splurging on, this is maybe something to hold.” — Jessica (A) [01:03]

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2. Countertops & Slabs: When to Go All-In

• Kitchen and Primary Baths Are Worth It [02:28-08:26]

  • Splurge On: Kitchen and primary bath countertops; real marble, quartzite, and unique natural stones.
  • Save: Kid baths, secondary baths, small “powder rooms” where a creative, smaller slab or even a special sink will do.

  “When you walk in and it’s just like... all the air goes out of the helium balloon... there's just no debtor giveaway. And the coloring isn’t quite natural either—looks like printed cellulite.” — Jessica (A) [04:12]

  Pro Tips:

  • Check for natural stone remnants or “boneyard” options with your fabricator for smaller areas (powder rooms, vanities).
  • Be open to unique or unusual stones—colored, veined, or less mainstream can be a showstopper and often cost less.
  • Building your room around a bold slab can define the whole space.

  “Every time someone sees that bathroom, they’re just like, what on earth is your countertop made of?” — Suzanne (B) [07:34]

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3. Flooring: Wood, Stone, and What to Avoid

• Engineered Hardwood vs. Solid Wood vs. LVT [09:28-15:15]

  • Splurge On: High-quality engineered or solid wood floors in major living areas; real stone in entryways and main baths.
  • Save: Avoid replacing floors with “fake” materials (LVT, laminate vinyl) if possible—even painted subfloor is better!

  "LVT is not an option at all for me. I would rather live like you are—painted subfloor—than live with a LVT.” — Jessica (A) [12:20]

  Stone Tile:

  • For entries/baths, use real stone—even if it means a smaller area or simple cuts.
  • For secondary spaces (mudrooms, laundry, kids’ baths), budget porcelain tile in a creative pattern is an “acceptable” save.

  “If it’s going to be real stone versus a fake stone, do real stone... It’s that first impression.” — Suzanne (B) [16:06]

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4. Millwork, Trim & Walls: Where to Wait

• Millwork is the Icing—Save It for Later [19:55-25:39]
  • Focus budget elsewhere during initial remodel; add wall paneling, crown molding, or special trim later.
  • Avoid boring, “flat stock” trim.
  • When you do update trim, choose interesting profiles, even if simple.

  “You give a mouse a cookie, and pretty soon you've got to finish worker going and you keep having more ideas...” — Jessica (A) [24:30]

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5. Lighting: Art or Afterthought?

• Splurge in Key Spaces, Wait for the Right Moment [25:41-31:18]

  • Splurge: Decorative fixtures are transformative—can define a space if chosen thoughtfully.
  • It’s okay to "roll over and play dead" in secondary areas (bare bulbs, minimal fixtures) until the budget allows.
  • Prioritize fixed parts (countertops, flooring) first, then lighting in phases.

  “Lighting is art... there’s artistry in every single one of these topics ... it’s what you value.” — Suzanne (B) [29:04]

  Memorable Moment:

  • Jessica recalls her brother saying her new home didn't even need furniture since the lighting alone gave the rooms so much soul. [28:22]

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6. Paint & Tile: Don’t Skimp on Quality

• Paint: Buy the best; labor can be DIY if needed [31:26-34:31]

  • Name brand matters for coverage and color.
  • Don’t try to “color match” designer paint brands with cheaper paint bases—results will disappoint.

  “If you take a Benjamin Moore color into Home Depot or Lowe’s and you say, can you color match? ...Bare paint is rooted in blue—no longer off-white, it was like, icy blue.” — Corey (C) [33:44]

• Tile:

  • Invest in statement tile or creative layouts for visual interest (backsplashes, powder rooms, niche spaces).
  • Save by using budget tile in creative patterns for less prominent spaces.

  “The tile patterns and how you lay it... that’s just such a key giveaway to someone that really cares about a space.” — Suzanne (B) [35:03]

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7. Furniture & Decor: Invest in Comfort & Longevity

• Splurge on: Large upholstery—sofa, bed, main seating.

  • Filling, fabric, and frames are not created equal; investing here means comfort and durability.

  “Recovering an old sofa costs the same as buying brand new, if not more.” — Jessica (A) [36:38]

  • Accessories, tables, lamps: mix in vintage or thrifted to save; layer them in over time for personality.

  “You don’t have to do everything right this second. Just build it over time and it feels more curated...” — Corey (C) [37:58]

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8. General Principles & Mindset

• Define Your Area of Focus [39:25-40:28]

  • Don’t spread the budget thin—focus on one project or area at a time for best results and satisfaction.
  • Everyone is on a budget, even in high design—learn to play the “high-low” game.

  “We all have the designer budget, like Corey was saying. We’re all building our dreams, little by little.” — Jessica (A) [40:34]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Designer taste on a designer budget. So this is us trying to figure that out.” — Corey (C) [01:24]
• “This is the dead eyes in the home. If you have quartz countertops... like all the air goes out of the helium balloon.” — Jessica (A) [04:12]
• “You can assume everything great about this house and the people who made the decisions before you if you’re buying a remodel.” — Jessica (A) [05:23]
• “LVT is not an option at all for me... I would rather live like you are than with LVT.” — Jessica (A) [12:17]
• “Don’t cheap out on [paint]. It never works out. Name brand matters.” — Corey (C) [34:33]
• “Focus on the sit. Invest in the sofa and bed, and collect the accessories as you go.” — Corey (C) [37:54]
• “Everybody’s on a budget, even when we’re doing full homes... you have to play the high-low game.” — Suzanne (B) [38:09]
• “We’re all building our dreams, little by little.” — Jessica (A) [40:36]

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Quick-Reference: Splurge/Saves by Category

| Category | Splurge | Save / Hold | |------------------|------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Countertops | Kitchen, primary bath slabs (natural) | Secondary baths, powder room alternatives | | Flooring | Engineered/sand & finish hardwood, stone | LVT/laminate = NO; creative with subfloor | | Stone tile | Entry, main baths, feature spots | Laundry/mudrooms: budget porcelain tiles | | Millwork/Trim | Wait for budget, do it right later | Don’t rush or do boring, basic flat stock | | Lighting | Decorative fixtures in main areas | Plain bulbs elsewhere until ready | | Paint | High-quality, name brand paint | DIY labor if needed, but never cheap paint | | Tile (decorative)| Feature/niche spaces for big impact | Standard tile in non-feature spaces | | Furniture | Large upholstery, beds | Accessorize over time, thrift unique pieces |

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Engaging Takeaways

• Start with what matters for foundation and resale—counters, flooring, structure.
• Embrace “phased” updates; it’s okay to wait and invest in special details later.
• Be creative with slab and tile shopping; remnants and unusual pieces create one-of-a-kind spaces.
• Your home should reflect your values—splurge in the categories that matter most to you.

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Useful Timestamps

• Countertops: [02:28–08:26]
• Flooring: [09:28–15:15]
• Stone Tile: [15:15–18:57]
• Millwork/Trim: [19:55–25:39]
• Lighting: [25:41–31:18]
• Paint & Tile: [31:26–35:45]
• Furniture & Decor: [35:47–39:25]
• Mindset & Strategy: [39:25–End]

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Conclusion

This episode is an invaluable, honest guide to approaching the ever-challenging question of where to spend in home design. Filled with sharp wit, tactical advice, and real-life stories from seasoned designers, listeners walk away ready to tackle their own splurge-or-save dilemmas—armed with clear priorities, creative ideas, and the reassurance that “we’re all building our dreams, little by little.”

Transcript

[A]

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice. Today we are going to be answering one of your questions so in depth that we need to do an entire podcast on it. And that is to splurge or not to splurge, which is so juicy.

[B]

Juicy topic.

[A]

Because I feel like what we value is all different from each other and obviously from maybe a client you're taking through this process, or maybe. Maybe you're trying to do this process with a partner who feels the opposite than you do, which is. Which is usually, like, what I run into in my household, and I know so many others. And so this is a really hard thing to answer, but we're going to give you our answers on what we would splurge on and kind of collectively agree on some of these things as we've taken clients through. Through remodels. Yeah. Yep. I mean, this applies also to the build, but we particularly were like, this really applies if you're just taking on special projects in your home and need to do an emergency remodel on a bathroom fair.

[C]

Right?

[B]

Fair. Fair. Yeah.

[A]

We've all experienced this.

[B]

Exactly. And I think with our projects, you know, we have different scales of projects, and some of them are a little bit more fancy, some of them are not. But really, I think it really hit hard when we saw this question come in. We're like, this is like, how we would, like, I don't know, discern our money and say, like, this is worth splurging on. This is maybe something to hold. So, anyway, I'm excited. It's going to be a good one.

[A]

It is going to be a good one.

[C]

Yeah. This question reminds me of a quote that you said, is that we have designer taste on a designer budget. So this is our us trying to figure that out.

[B]

So you're amongst friends, everyone. Yeah.

[A]

Yes, you definitely are. Well, really quick, I wanted to say there is still time to get a gift from Alice Lane if you want. This holiday season. The postman gives us a date every year, and he's saying December. He, she. We don't know what they are. They're telling us December 16th is the cutoff from when they can guarantee delivery for all gifts in time for Christmas. So if you celebrate Christmas, and that's important to you, December 16th, so you still have time. So make sure and check out alicelanehome. Com. We've got some really great gift guides for you there that are live and. Yeah, happy shopping.

[C]

So today's question came in from Lauren Zhao, and she wrote in it, said, such a great series. Just found this quick question. When it comes to the remodel of the house, are there suggestions of what to splurge on and when to save? Depending upon the room that.

[A]

Thank you for the question, Lauren. Let's jump in.

[B]

Okay. Like I said, I'm like, this is gonna be. It's gonna get personal, y'.

[A]

All.

[B]

So first up, countertops, slabs, splurge or not to splurge?

[A]

I'm a splurge on this. You just don't wanna have to replace your countertops. Again, we've seen it when people do not splurge. I. I'm particularly thinking about this in our main living areas, your kitchens. Right.

[C]

Maybe your primary bath.

[A]

Primary bath, exactly. I would say you don't have to splurge in your secondary baths or kid baths. Generally, people want to go for it in a powder bath. Or maybe your powder bath is petite and you're just going to do a pedestal sink that's made out of porcelain, and then you don't have slabs in there. But when you are using material in the kitchen, where everybody's coming together or in that primary bath, those are the places like realtors are. Are really looking at. This is going to bring up the value of your home and give it a more sophisticated look. So I think this is a really important place, especially in those primary spaces, to go for it.

[B]

It just reminded me, you know, back in the day would be like, these are solid granite countertops. These are solid granite countertops.

[C]

This is the.

[B]

The phrase is changing. These are real marble countertops. These are real quartzite. These. I don't know, these takeaways. And people are being more educated. And so, again, I think especially for resale, like, that's definitely something to, like, be quickened to. Like, you should 100% do real marble countertops. You should do the quartzite because, like, it's the look everyone is. So we're getting so much information, so many beautiful images on all of our algorithms that, like, we know it's not real, we know when it's fake, and that's a quick dead giveaway.

[A]

You know how when you're getting your picture taken or a family photo taken and somebody in the image has dead eyes?

[C]

Oh, yeah. Every time.

[A]

This is the dead eyes in the home. If you have the quartz countertops, you know what I mean? You just. You walk in and it's just like. Like all the air goes out of the helium balloon and there's something is dead in the room. There's nothing living about it. These veins are manufactured and they're repeated, and there's just no debtor giveaway. And. And the coloring isn't quite natural either. And it just kind of looks like printed cellulite.

[B]

Yeah, a little bit.

[A]

It's not good. And then. And then you start questioning everything about the whole house. You question its integrity. You question what this thing is all about.

[B]

You're stomping on the floor. I'm like, is this going to fall through? Yeah.

[A]

You're pulling on the knobs, and you're like, this isn't even a quality cabinet. Like, it just absolutely kills the whole vibe.

[B]

Totally house. I absolutely agree.

[A]

And nothing is solid anymore. There's no solid granite. There's no solid cabinetry. Yeah. And you just. You got to find the back door and get out of that house.

[B]

But if it's real, you assume that everything is everything solid.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, that is real brass on that hardware.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

Maybe you saved on that one. Who knows? But, yeah, you can. Countertops.

[A]

You can assume everything great about this house and the people who made the decisions before you if you're buying a remodel. So this is why we want to just really choose something with great integrity.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

On the slabs, in good taste. And we. You know what?

[B]

We.

[A]

There's ways to get a deal. Sue, tell them your tips on how to get a good deal on a countertop. You've done this. You had two emergency remodels.

[B]

You betcha. Okay. I think not every slab manufacturer has, like, a remnant yard or, like, a boneyard, but between, like, the fabricators, that's usually where the slabs, like, go. And they're the ones manufacturing it. And so they're the ones that have, like, the remnants. And so I think a really hot tip is, too, when you have your fabricator to say, hey, would you have anything that's hanging out, especially if you're doing, like, a powder room or a smaller secondary bath? Like, that's a great time to, like, take advantage of the remnant in the boneyard. Okay. And. And you'll get real life, like, beautiful stones, typically, because that's someone that. A selection that someone else also made of a beautiful lifestone or, like, your kitchen or spaces where you need a lot more square footage of, like, natural slab. I've gone to our people in their slab yards and said, okay, I'm on a budget. Show me. Show me what's possible in this amount per square foot, this allowance that the builder gave me to stay on budget. Okay, I like those. I like them. Okay, now show me something that no one else show me something that the owner wants to move. Like, is there anything that's red or pink or green or something that, like, not everyone's going to understand, but I. I want to know what that is because I want to know the stuff that nobody's getting because that's something that I could probably do something with because I'm creative. And we were.

[A]

We want the.

[B]

We all love designer.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Designer things. And so therefore, I think that we. I don't know, like, give me a challenge. Yeah, sure. But you'll get usually a lower square footage price when you go after it that way.

[A]

Yeah. What did you get for your primary bathroom from the boneyard?

[B]

I was going to bring that up. It's like a jade quartzite. And I didn't. I didn't even think. I knew that I wanted, like, a colored stone. And so I went in there and when I saw it, I was just like. It just, like, stopped me in my tracks. I remember sending you a picture and I'm like, I think I found her. Yeah, I think I found. I'm gonna bring her home and.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I will tell you, every time someone sees that bathroom, they're just like, what on earth is your countertop made of? But that is the first thing that they cue into. And it's the first thing that I see when I go into a kitchen. And if it's boring again, it's a wah, wah. Like, you kind of, like, bypass it and you don't really start to stare at the details. But when you can look and, like, at a beautiful live countertop that was, like, quarried from the earth. Right. You just, you. You assume that everything else around it is, like, equally fascinating and done equally well. So I think it's honestly one of the biggest, like, splurges that, like, will take you through the rest of your remodel.

[C]

Totally agree.

[A]

And I think championing the weird stuff is a really good idea, especially today.

[B]

Make people stop. Yeah.

[A]

And like, build your whole. Your whole room around that. Let that be the. The fine art in the room or the part. The party starter, you know? Yeah, go for it.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Splurge on your slabs.

[C]

I agree. And couldn't. I mean, I've. You gave me those same exact. Same exact device when we were building our home, and that was. If I could tell anybody one or two things from that, that's what I would say. Go slab shopping. Go to the fabricator and see if you could. I found all of the countertops for our primary suite and that it was just Fall off from a previous job from our fabricator. So. And it was leather, Taj Mahal Quartzite.

[A]

Amazing.

[C]

So it was awesome.

[B]

I will say two creatives, all of y'. All. Everyone here is creative. So when you're putting together your home remodel, even if your fabricator has several remnants of the same batch or whatever, who does? Who doesn't like a creative seam? Cute. Kelly Werstler. Throwing it the proper. You know, like, you could do something with it. So I'm saying that you could even get really creative with all those remnants.

[C]

Totally. So maybe have, like, an island. That's. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

You could do something different on your island, depending on your finish. But anyway, be inspired by the slab. Go slab shopping first, because that is somewhere you're going to want to splurge.

[A]

Amen.

[B]

Let's talk.

[C]

Let's talk flooring next.

[A]

Let's do it.

[C]

This is. I feel like this is a dicey one, maybe between us, because we all have different opinions.

[A]

I'm. I'm going to say that, Coach. I mean, you started it when you said quality flooring. You didn't just say flooring.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

So, yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say sport, because this is running under everything.

[C]

That's. That's a good point.

[A]

Oftentimes when we go into people's remodels, they're not sure if they want to replace the floor or not. Because when you unearth the floor, anything standing on that foundation has to be taken up. So you're really opening a can.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

With this. But I generally think the home is going to look brand new if you're going to do new flooring. Now, I don't know what the existing floors are. You might have something really charming. Underneath the linoleum, you'll find hardwood floors. This happened to Suzanne hall in an attic.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Matchstick wood floors. So I do think, getting curious about what's under there. If this is a remodel that you're taking on, that's interesting. But I just really think and believe in the floor because so much of it's foundational and sits on top of it. If you have something that's offensive, then fixing it would be really, really great.

[C]

I. I'm an engineered wood fan, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna say that I like. I like that it is laminated together, so you're going to get less movement from it. You're. You still are just. Wood expands, it contracts. It's the way it is. So you're gonna get less movement from it the moisture barrier that like they've come out with in the last 10 ish years is so much better than it used to be. It's actually in one now where it's an adhesive down to your subfloor and a moisture barrier all in one, which I think is great. And you can get engineered hardwood floors that have a thick enough, I think it's 3 millimeters the minimum that you need to in order to be able to re sand that and refinish it at some point in time. I, so I love all of that. I mean, to me that's, it's, it's a cheaper option than sand and finish. If I, if money wasn't a thing, sand to finish all day long for sure. But I like the option of engineered flooring for those reasons.

[A]

Okay, yeah.

[B]

Engineer flooring you have.

[A]

I have sand and finish at my house. I also built 11 years ago though, and engineered flooring wasn't quite where it was. Today you can get a really, really beautiful product. There's some really high end makers. We use a lot of engineered floors on our projects.

[B]

Majority of them. That is somewhere you can save a little bit per square foot. Y still, it's still wood.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, it's not like we're doing like an LVT or a laminate or anything like that. And so in that case of like splurge, LVT versus an engineered wood floor and sand and finish for sure. Splurge? Yeah, all day long. And then now it's just between the two.

[A]

LVT for me is not an option. No, I just, I, I, I would.

[B]

Do you hear that everyone? Say that again, Jess.

[A]

LVT is not an option at all for me. I would do what sue hall did in her house, which sue bought. A 1970s ranch style home had never been remodeled since it was built in 1971. So Suzanne bought this house in 2020. Do the math. 50 years later, you pulled out all of the rigamarole, got rid of the wood floors and you just painted your subfloor white. And it feels like a museum. And it's beautiful. And whenever you're ready to. You'll put flooring in.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

I would rather live like you are than live with a lvt.

[B]

High five.

[C]

Yeah, I've had them both. And yeah, I'm not a fan of a laminate vinyl product at all.

[A]

Just really quick for my mom, will you tell her what an LVT is?

[C]

So it's just, it's basically it's a plastic hardwood Floor. Vinyl. Yeah. Floor that they just put on a thin little mdf.

[B]

It's a sticker.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. And then.

[A]

And it's pretending to be what, wood?

[C]

Yeah, yeah. So it's, it's loud, it's cold.

[A]

I remember what they used to make alarm clocks out of in the old days.

I said simulated walnut grain. There was a sticker that said that. Or the wood paneling in your basement on the walls. In the 70s they're making hardwood floors like that. They are not wood. They're not made out of wood. They are plastic.

[C]

It's clickety clacky. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

And when you walk over you it sounds like a gymnasium all the time. And it never sounds like home.

[C]

It's never soft, it's hollow. Yeah.

[A]

It never looks like wood. It's a liar.

[C]

And it, the repeat in it is like every other board. So it's like when you see.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You got the same knots everywhere.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

And generally if you're walking into a new starter home community or something, they're always employing the lvt. It is so popular today. It's probably driven the price up. And probably we're just saying like just don't do it. Don't even do it. Just keep whatever you have in your old floor. Do not go down the road of replacing what you've got with. With plastic.

[C]

So if, if that is your save. Splurge. Yeah, splurge on that.

[B]

Builder says that's going to be X amount over. Go ahead and pause.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So you just want the subfloor.

[A]

Yeah, let's.

[C]

You'll do it. Paint that stuff.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, besides. So you have lots of flooring options. Right. Besides hardwood, which generally is going to take up, I would say, let's just call it 80 of the home. Right. You're going to use stone in your entry generally. Unless you're a super casual person. We love to always start an entrance with some sort of stone motif. And then we'll use stone in bathrooms, floors to make those wet rated or waterproof. Same thing with entry because you can come in with wet boots. There might be a cause for a formal dining where you might use stone. I'm not sure, but mostly you're dealing with hardwood when we are dealing with stone. Are you going to splurge on stone floors or are you going to use porcelain tiles? What are you going to do?

[B]

So you know how I feel about you. Y' all know how I feel I about tile. That looks like wood. Gross. Gross. Okay. No, I'm Going to do real stone. I think this is, again, this is like when it comes to like real live nav, we're like terrible at the splurge, not splurge game. We're splurging. Okay. So but for a tile, it's the same thing. I mean, you're gonna like, get weird repeats too. If you're gonna do like a printed porcelain or something at that point, just do a colored ceramic or. Or something like that, you know, but that's like more in like a kid's bath for your entry and for those spaces where you want to have like, if it's going to be real stone versus a fake stone, do real stone and just get it in like the cuts that it comes in. If it's offered in 12 by 12, you're going to get that 12 by 12 and you're going to cut it in like a really simple, with only straight cuts pattern that like, you're going to get a really cool pattern. And usually they're not huge areas, but, like, having the real stone is everything. It's again, it's a dead giveaway. It's usually especially like thinking entry right now, like House of Kennedy and things. That's the first thing you feel. That's the first thing you step on likely when you're hitting the entry. And so again, it's like, it's that first impression, us, real stone. So, yep, all day long.

[A]

If the budget doesn't allow you to do that everywhere, then your mud halls, that could be a place where you don't use real stone. Maybe kids baths. If not, I don't know. There's. There's. Obviously we're just saying that entryway, crown jewel moment, that powder bath, primary bath. Those are the spaces that for sure we would say use real stone. We would say use it everywhere because you'll, you'll love the look of it everywhere. You'll get used to seeing it, and then your eyes will be let down on some of those secondary spaces. But we get that not everything can be a splurge. So maybe those laundry rooms, maybe those mud halls, you give way to the budget and come in lower on that. But is there a way when you go tile shopping to get a good deal on a real stone? What do you. What are the words that you see say to Angie when you walk in the door?

[B]

And she's my girl. You say, I'm looking for like a live. A live marble for, you know, the primary bath. What one can I get? I want to do a large format because it's a big space. So which ones do you have in, like 12 by 24 kind of understand, like, that's when I'm talking large format. Like, you're talking 12 by 24 is usually, like, a really safe one to start with when you're talking about marbles. And so I would start. I would start with that or just say, what is the one that has the most amount of sizes for the best cost? Or you can even just start with, like, I want Livestone. What one is, like, going to be my best deal so I don't have to go porcelain. So that's great. I mean, just like all those keywords, just.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Just become friends, be nice to people, and they'll help you out. I'll say that for sure.

[A]

If you call people by name, that goes a long way. Yeah.

[B]

And I was gonna say at a lot of these places at Contempo, just like, these even tile bar, they'll have these, like, different. I think one of them's called, like, keystones, and it's like where you can do like, kind of the London mosaics, where they have it in several different sizes and different patterns. And you can even show them, like, I want this pattern. And they have really inexpensive, like, colored porcelain tiles that they'll be like, yes, we can do that. And like, here's your color options. Anyway, then you get, like, this, like, really charming look for a lot less than a live stone. So I would rather do that if I couldn't afford, like, natural stone tile, you know, and like all my kids, my laundry, my mud room, I would totally do, like, a little London mosaic situation. But do it on, you know, a budget, you know, and use keystones. We do that all the time. If you look at our, like, Manchester house, we did that in a lot of the different, like, kids bathrooms that you'll see on there. So anyway, it's a great, great tip when you're just trying to make sure that your penny can be stretched as far as possible.

[C]

Suze, have you ever given a gift that felt more like an experience rather than a product?

[B]

At the end of the day, all I want. If showered, the kids are in bed. I'm gonna go to my sofa and I'm gonna grab my bubble cuddle blanket, because that's all I want. At the end of a good or a bad day, you just wanna wrap yourself up in a blanket. And no one does it better than Cozy Earth. The bubble cuddle is my absolute favorite.

[C]

You can get that bubble cuddle blanket risk free. Because it comes with a hundred night sleep trial and a 10 year warranty. Give the gift of everyday luxury. This holiday season, head to cozyearth.com and use our code Dear Alice for up to 40% off. Just be sure to place your order by December 12th for the guaranteed Christmas delivery. Listening after the 12th, don't worry. Our Code Dear Alice stillworks year round for 20% off. And if you get a post purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Give the gift of comfort that lasts beyond the holidays and carries you into a cozy new year.

[A]

Okay, let's move on. Let's talk about millwork, trim and walls.

[B]

Oh, man.

[A]

Yeah. This is one where I will say you don't have to do millwork trimmer walls. I mean, you might have to do the trim if you pull up the flooring, you might have to reset and do new base molds, right?

[B]

Yep.

[A]

But you don't absolutely have to get the wall paneling and you don't have to do the big crown molds and all that. That you can wait. You know, you could live in your house for years and then eventually add the icing on the cake. So it depends on what you're trying to accomplish in this remodel. Let's just say that you're trying to accomplish the whole main level, that you're buying a home and you're like, we've got to update. You know, like, sue, you kind of took this on when you guys purchased your home in 2020. Like, we've got to just update some things ASAP, right. And so you made some general moves throughout the home. Ripped out flooring, you know, was number one and got that painted white. You painted everything. So you didn't have to do any millwork, trim or walls. And you didn't, I mean, walls, you painted, but you didn't do anything, right?

[B]

No.

[A]

You haven't yet.

[B]

No. And I think, and I think I will eventually. But like, it's again, I kept my focus on things that I like, could, like, wanted to spend the money on. At that point I'm just like, you know what, that's. And I know the game of give a mouse a cookie. You know, once you start somewhere, you touch everything. It's not just, you know, your baseboards, but it's your window casing, it's your seals, it's. It touches your thresholds, everything. And so I was just like, hey, that is a move that, like, I'm going to do it when I can do the whole thing.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because I'm like, I could have gone and, like, maybe you could afford to do, like, a flat stock that's taller than your current baseboard. But that's so lame. I'd rather just, like, wait until I could get a profile that is interesting that I want. And so I would. I would hold honestly on, like, doing a lot of millwork if you are like, I'm going to do my new baseboards, but we're not going to do paneling. I've. You know, you've always loved paneling. You want to do it in your dining room. And these key spaces. That's always something that you can add on while you're just trying to, like, hit that first layer, get an interesting baseboard. Like, when you're just like, doing it all, just find an inch. And it doesn't need to be, like, super complicated. But make sure it has something than just completely flat. Make sure I'd rather have it tall. Majority of it's, you know, can be, like, simple and flat, but then it has, like, a little interesting detail at the top. That's interesting because then we can build off of that. When you want to add paneling later.

[C]

Later, exactly.

[B]

So. And it doesn't have to be ridiculously expensive, but just don't make it. Don't just, like, call it in and just like, go flat stock. Cause that's what your guy's really good at. Like, it's really boring. Don't do it.

[C]

Like, flat stock is not a thing anymore.

[B]

No, it's not.

[C]

Yeah, that's craftsman.

[B]

I'm sorry.

[A]

Yeah, that went away with, like, the. The crafts. What was the. Was that the style that they did with the. All the shaker? I feel like the early aughts, the early 2000s, everybody was doing shaker everything, and flat stock just got out of bounds. That's flat stock. Tell my mom what flat stock is.

[C]

Doesn't have any detail to it. So it literally is just like a small bullnose on either side. And to be honest, the reason that it. It was popular is because it was. It's easy to do. And they can just knock it out. And it's like, that should never be the reason that something becomes popular. That's just a worst.

[A]

With no profile slammed up on the wall. They call it a baseboard. They do it around the windows, they.

[C]

Everything casings for doors.

[A]

Yeah, Nothing had a profile or a detail to it. And then. Same thing with the kitchen cabinet door styles. Was just the frame shaker. Yeah, the shaker around the edge. So it's actually a quite a hard ledge just for dust to sit and collect on.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's not that interesting. You know, when you look back, like those homes built at that time, they need details added to it. And maybe you, maybe you're. Maybe you purchased a home at that point and you can add an additional profile on top of the flat stock to give yourself a more interesting molding. Because generally molding, that's a good way to save, actually. I like that there are a couple different pieces put together in the crowns and whatnot. So this is all very personal, you guys. We all find value in different things. So we're just saying on some things in a remodel, we all live within budgets. On some things to save might mean just roll over and play dead. Don't even touch it. Because like sue said, you give a mouse a cookie and pretty soon you've got to finish worker going and you keep having more ideas and oh, could you just add a little. And it's so fun. It is. The finish work is the icing on the cake. And you can spend a great majority of your budget just detailing in all these things and then not be able to afford a sofa to sit on. So is just like, if you have a decent sized budget, then get into it. We're all about it. We love the finished work. We're doing this on our clients homes. We're just in recording this podcast. We're like, let's just talk about how we're solving the problems in our own home because we have real life budgets where we have to figure out what to save on. And Suze has recently been going through this and you're like, I'm not even touching finish work. I'm. You've been in this house for five years.

[B]

Star @ it. Don't look at.

[C]

It. You're an art collector. Anyway, so you're like, I, I feel like you have like, more like interesting things to put on your.

[B]

Wall. My focus is at eye level. No one's looking down.

[C]

There.

[A]

Yeah. Also let me say this. The moldings and the framework are your finish work in your house. And I would dare say, like the, the custom framing that you do, it's the price of finish work, you.

[B]

Know? Absolutely.

[A]

Sure. Yeah. But you, your house is. Reads like a museum. You know, it's just fantastic art and there's so much detail. You actually don't want to give up any more space to crown molds and base molds. You have so much art. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. So again, I Like what you said, it's what you value. What do you value? What do you want to make room for and focus on that and then kind of work backwards from.

[A]

There.

[B]

Yeah. So I love that.

[A]

Okay. Okay, great. Let's move into.

[B]

Lighting. Oh.

[A]

Jesse. Well, you guys tell me how you feel about.

[B]

Lighting.

[C]

Okay. You want to go first? I mean, I.

[A]

Think. Yeah, let's just call it this. Let's just talk decorative.

[B]

Fixtures. Decorative fixtures. We do this all day long. We see all the most beautiful light, so it's really hard to go to a cheaper light. I will say that there's a difference in scale, there's a difference in materiality. And so this is something that I. I will splurge on if you do not have the budget there. Again, I think you and I agree on this, that, like, if I had to put money towards my lighting or real countertops, like real slab cart, quartzite countertops, whatever, I'm going to put my money first and then into something that's going to be fixed to the house 100%. It's going to go, like, into that, and then I will get to the lighting when I can. So, like, for my house, I was just like, a bulb is better. A hanging bulb is better than what they had up. Get that ish off my ceiling. Take it away. And then I've just like, slowly been replacing light by light by light as I can afford it. But I have jade quartzite countertops in my bathroom. That's.

[A]

Cool.

[B]

Yeah. And then, like, it's just. Again, it's just like Christmas every time I get to put a new great light up. So anyway, lightings I'm a splurge on. But give yourself grace. As far as it's.

[A]

Timing. I'll say, though, you rolled over and played dead on lighting for.

[B]

Years. Oh, yeah.

[A]

Girl. Yeah. And you just have. You just have bulbs. Like, you have one bulb hanging in your stairwell. It actually looks really.

[B]

Cool. I know. I'm like, you've got great art.

[A]

And great rugs, and it feels very intentional and gallery like. And you can just kind of look the way. Look away on it. And then you've been able to splurge on other.

[B]

Things. People. I'm totally doing that on purpose. They installed that so.

[C]

Hard. Yeah.

[A]

Exactly. Exactly. Now, I, on the other hand, did a new build in about 2015, and I went for it on my lighting. And I remember my brother walking in to see my house for the first time. It was like we just gotten approval to move in. No furniture had come yet. And he was like, oh, I want to do. I want to see it on your final walkthrough. And he was like, whoa, Jess, the lighting in this house is so beautiful. I feel like you don't even need furniture. Like, if your house feels done, like, it feel. It gave the house so much personality and soul, and I never thought about it that way. You know how sometimes, like, you almost have to receive a compliment to see it in a new light? I just was like, oh, that's. That's so kind. And I really like today still. I was like, we were looking at, you know, we've manufactured some new designs, new lights, and as I look at what I chose, I'm like, I still really love what I have in my house. And I brought in a lot of soft shapes because all of the walls are square or pitch. There's a lot of straight lines with ceilings. And so this really brings a lot of softness and sculpture into a.

[B]

Room.

[A]

And. And it was one of the things that I splurged on for my house was, like, just doing beautiful fixtures, and it just made the room. Even though my furniture was a little sparse and not quite all the way dialed in, it really gave me, like, a focal point in each room, and it just. It almost gave the room a grander purpose that I had this beautiful North Star. And so lighting was really grounding for me. But again, like, we all find value in different things, and this was a new build, and so I had to have lighting, you know, like, I had to make these choices, and I just can't say enough what lighting does for a.

[B]

Project. Yeah.

[A]

Art. It is.

[B]

Art. You know, just like I.

[A]

Value. Like, you value art? Yeah. Original.

[B]

Again. And if you think about the lighting is art. Like, there's artistry in every single one of these topics in countertops and all those things. So it's what you value, you know, from the get go. And then we were all collecting the other.

[A]

Things.

[B]

Yes. As we.

[A]

Can. And I do think that, like, much like you, because you're doing a remodel, and I kind of think, is this podcast as a remodel, what are. What am I splurging on? What am I saving on? It's almost like you're just gonna accomplish, like on these two emergency bath remodels. You did. You just bought the lighting for those.

[B]

Bathrooms.

[A]

Yeah. You didn't need to buy lighting for the entire.

[B]

House.

[A]

Discipline. You were like, let me just check the boxes on where I need to. And then when I go on and do a kitchen remodel at that point. I'll buy the kitchen lighting at that point. And maybe that's a good way for you to think about splurging and saving is just get it for the rooms that you're actually working on so you can complete that.

[B]

Room. Yep. Such a good.

[A]

Takeaway. Yeah.

[B]

Anybody? Give yourself. Give yourself a stopping.

[A]

Point. You have to, because you can bleed out so easy on. On a remodel and making updates, and it's so addicting. Like when you say, give a mouse a cookie, like, you really. It's like you get momentum as you're going, and you want to touch it all, because you're learning a lot, and you're learning a lot about yourself. Right. Ooh, I know where I could use this. And you're in the tile show. Oh, I'll use that in my. In my other thing. And you're grabbing the samples, and you're in the motion of doing it. It's so.

[B]

Easy. Your algorithm keeps feeding it to you every time a tourniquet.

Gotta.

[C]

Clot. That especially because budgets always. I mean, they tend to always just go crazy if you're doing a remodel or a new build. I think in both situations in a remodel, you're gonna, you know, take off some drywall, and you're gonna find something that you have to fix. So that's gonna eat into your budget. So, yeah, I would say just creating those stopping points. Like, first, I did that when remodeling my home and in Orem, and I was like, okay, we're just gonna do this area. This I can manage right now. And even then, stuff went, like, you know, outside of my budget, but I had to kind of just, like, pivot as I needed to. But, yeah, I think that was probably the best thing for my budget, is to confine, like, where I was going to do it and set those parameters.

[B]

First. So.

[A]

Smart. And then when you do do the lighting, just get the best thing you can for your budget, because there's a lot of really, really bad lighting that will just kill your.

[C]

Game.

[A]

Totally. Yeah. So I dare say when you do finally get to that work on that one bathroom, just splurge on that.

[B]

Light.

[A]

Agreed. Yeah, man. Tile and paint. Splurge on tile and paint. I know this. I just recently did. I painted the exterior of my house. It had been a decade. I had real cedar shakes that needed to be painted. My front door needed to be painted, and my painter actually just barely repainted living room as well. Both painters. I had to be Using somebody different from the exterior than the interior. They both said you splurge on paint, you get the best paint you can. You get. I know that there's a special Ben More paint that he used on my front door that's like extra coated and great for exteriors and it has these special qualities to it. And you actually use the name brand. If you're going to use an off brand one, you don't know how it's going to cover. You don't know how many coats you're going to use. It's going to be a lot more labor. It's never going to look as good. If you use the right stuff, you can usually get it in in just a few coats and it looks so much better. I didn't know that. I didn't know that because generally we'll specify a paint and then we're not telling them. Make sure and use the name brand. It's the painter's job to know what type of stuff he likes to work in. But because we're talking about the splurge versus save paint is one of those things that you can do yourself. This is something that you can figure out how to do. You can watch a YouTube video. This can be an area where you don't have to splurge because you can maybe do the labor for free. But what you don't want is to get a low quality paint because now all of a sudden you're the painter and you're trying to save, you make sure and invest in the right quality.

[C]

Paint. Yeah, coverage is, I mean, not a lie. When a paint is more expensive and it's like, oh, like, you know, double the coverage. That means even if you don't want to, if you're doing yourself, you don't want to spend as much time, you'll have to do one less coat. Yeah, exactly. The other thing is if you take a, a Benjamin Moore color and you take it into Home Depot or Lowe's or any big box stores and you say, can you color match this? They're going to tell you yes. Here's what I learned the hard way is that I had a painter come to do it. I hate painting. That's something I'll never do myself. That's just my personal opinion on.

[B]

It. That's that they didn't know that.

[C]

About, yeah, okay, don't like it. Hired a guy to do it. And I was like, this is a Sherwin Williams color. Gave it to him. He went in and to Home Depot, got all the paint. It Was bare. It was the bare base. So bare paint. Their base is rooted low.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yes. Is rooted in blue. So when they took my off white color and put it in that base. No longer off white, like, it was, like, icy blue. And they painted, and there was a hard. Just stop. Like, on a corner. And you could see, like, this was warm and this was, like. It felt like an igloo. It was. And I had to have a conversation with a guy. I was like, man, the reason I specified Sherwin Williams, because that's where I wanted you to buy that.

[A]

Paint.

[C]

Yeah. It was a whole thing. And I had to have some hard conversations, and I had to pay a little bit more because it was half my fault, you know? So don't. Don't cheap out on that. It never works out like bare paint and Home Depot, Lowe's, all the big box stores. No dice on color.

[B]

Matching. Name, brand.

[C]

Matters. Yes. Name brand matters. Don't necessarily splurge on that. The way to splurge on that, like Jess said, is just do the labor.

[A]

Yourself. We have tile on here. You have. We have a note. Splurge on special tile for niche areas or backsplash accents. Thoughts on that.

[B]

Suzanne? Yeah, I. I just think. And this is one of those things. I mentioned it before when I was talking about the flooring, like getting the keystones and the London mosaics, is that this is a part that can become so charming in a house. Like, the tile. The way in which you, like, do your patterns and you lay it like that is just such a key giveaway to someone that, like, really cares about space and cares about what's supposed to happen in this space. If you do pay attention and do so. Even if you find, like, a less expensive tile, say you save a little bit there, put it up in a creative way, you know, which might you spend a little bit more on the actual installation. But it gives so much back to the room, and it almost feels historic or artistic or. No, no. It just has, like, all the speaking points to the fashion house that we're all trying to create in our own lives. So I will say I'm like, I'm. I'm a splurge on the tile and. Or the tile fabrication. Doing that in a creative.

[A]

Way.

[B]

Love. So, yeah, that's.

[A]

Great. Okay, let's move on to furniture and.

[B]

Decor. Oh.

[A]

Shoot. Our favorite part, Dressing the.

[B]

House.

[A]

Okay. We have this one down as a splurge. Yeah. I mean, there are ways to save, obviously. I just think it's really important to spend the money on your large pieces of upholstery where you're going to sit. Now, I'm sure you can find lots of charming ways to thrift or get, you know, estate sales or use old pieces in some of your side tables and lamps and whatnot. But I am a big fan of getting something that is really built today on a sofa, a really great sofa. You want to be comfortable. You want to sit and stay for a while. It's going to make you feel like you're.

[C]

Home. You want it to last, too. I mean, the fill of it. Like, fills are not created equal. Fabrics are not created equal.

[A]

Unfortunately. So, yeah, I think recovering an old sofa costs the same as buying a brand new, if not more, if not.

[C]

More.

[A]

Yeah. If this episode is all about splurge versus save, then you might as well just get a brand new piece with brand new springs and foams and feathers and, you know, a wood frame that's not distressed. I don't know. I'm. I'm all about getting the new upholstered piece. Does it have any sense trapped in.

[C]

It? Yeah, that's always.

[A]

Nice.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, you know, if you have a favorite chair, that's of course coming with you, you're always going to have that. But I really feel like you want to get comfortable and it's fun to have a new house and have a new bed or a new sofa or something like that. So I'm big on investing in the.

[C]

Situation. I agree. Yeah, I totally agree with that. For me, what I did was I invested in the sit, and then I was like, you know what, we will just collect the accessories and the stuff. Yeah. As we go. Because we were moving into a bigger home than we were moving from, so, you know, we were expanding a little bit. So, yeah, that was my philosophy then. And I'm glad we did because our style, you know, is ever evolving and, like, I'm glad we just didn't try to just do everything at once. And it's been a marathon, but I'm glad we did it that way. It was. That's, I think, a little bit of a way to save, too. It's just, don't. You don't have to do everything right this second. Just build it over time and it feels more curated and. Yeah, so I totally agree with that. Invest into.

[B]

Set. It's like the light bulb again. If you. If I were to put something that was cheaper there, you forget that it's there, you know, versus just like waiting until you find the right.

[A]

Thing. So when you moved into your home, you bought a brand new sofa, and you got a new.

[B]

Bed.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Yeah. Like, just the big, big pieces. And then just like you're saying, like, you're just. It's all about the outfit. You're just going to be like, layering as you go. And just so everybody knows, even like an alid when we're doing full homes, everybody's on a budget. Everybody has, like, a number like that they're capped at. That's their ceiling. And so you have to play the high, low game. You know, even, like, within the furniture. We're always going to show people a high and a lower, you know, just so that they can say value. Be like, I like this. I'm going to invest my money here, and then we'll go on the low here. Because that's not as important to me, but I love that, and I can't unsee that. So anyway, you kind of have to play that game. You know, as you shop, you're going to be drawn to certain things. You're going to see that slab, and you can't unsee.

[C]

It.

[B]

Yep. You can unsee that sofa. And so you're going to be like, okay, I'm taking pennies from, you know, Paul to pay Peter. Is that how it says? Or one of those.

[C]

Things? Something like.

[B]

That. You're going to borrow a little bit over here to make sure that dream happens, and then you're going to just, like, be patient with yourself and do the rest.

[A]

Later. So, yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Worst splurge. Just do it. Do it right. Especially on the furnish furnishings. I'll say this because we rented for so long. High five to y' all renters, because you can just splurge on your furniture, and then you're going to take that wherever you go. Exactly. Congratul. This is your game. But, yeah, yeah, totally.

[A]

Agree. Couple key takeaways. Best practice is to focus the budget entirely in one area. Like Corey was saying, like, you just really set your parameters kind of like you did also on your emergency remodels. I'm just going to focus on these bathrooms. I have the same subs here. Let's bang them both out at once. So focusing it in one area is great. We also talked, you know, a few weeks about ago on our remodel masterclass about House of Kennedy was saying, I'm not even going to touch the exteriors. We're going to focus all this budget on the interior. So figure out what your focuses are, and then that will make you feel really successful. In those key areas. I think that's a great.

[B]

Practice. And then you wanna do something fun really fast. Yes. About that. She has been working on her exterior. This, like last summer. And so she texted me a couple pictures. She's like, what do you think? This or this? And I'm like, oh, my gosh. She's there. She's doing her exterior now. So it will come to.

[A]

Pass. Definitely. Anyway, yes. It's so great, and I hope that this has been helpful. These are our hot takes on our own personal remodels. Not necessarily always our clients, sometimes they get to build the dream. But we know what this practice is like because we live it every.

[B]

Day.

[A]

And. And we all love design and we all have the designer budget. Like Corey was saying. I think that's it for.

[B]

Today. We're all building our.

[A]

Dreams. We.

[B]

Are. Little by.

[A]

Little. Yes. Thanks for tuning into. Thanks for tuning in today, guys, and reminder that there's still time to get that gift from Alice Lane. The Postman's cut us off on December 16th for us to guarantee your holiday delivery. So shop and get something great. Those gift guides are live now, and if you guys have any questions, much like Lauren did, just send those to Dear Alice, alicelanehome.com and we'll answer them here. Thanks again. You can follow us on Instagram at Alice Lane Home and Alice Lane Interiors.

Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.