When did you buy your home? How well did it fit your lifestyle at that time?
And what’s changed about your life since then? Anything? Like…
- Kids being born
- Kids moving out
- More entertaining
- More time spent outdoors
- Working from home (full or part time)
- Folks who visit often now have kids
- Folks who visit often are aging
And what about your cooking, has that changed? Do you use certain new appliances that you didn’t have a decade ago? Do you work out more? Or maybe you work out less and could benefit from a better fitness space at home!!
What I’ve discovered in 30+ years of renovating homes in our area is that y’all evolve MUCH faster than your homes do!!
So…if your home were your best friend…you would be the trend-setter and she would be dragging her feet. What can you do to help her evolve with you?
What’s your home telling you?
More homeowners now are choosing to renovate. Yes, more (according to the 2026 Houzz & Home Study).
And yet…those who aren’t have put a hard stop on ANY home updates, even though they want them, and even when they have the means…
There are tons of factors in play, of course. Let’s get real. Every household has their own situation. But, when it comes time (which is often when an update is overdo), are homeowners doing certain remodels more than others? What are their focuses? And what gives them the final “push?”
Usually, it’s when folks realize: This house no longer reflects the way I live.
So, even with some households holding back, those who are driving the steady climb in remodels are partitioned between different updates, depending on what’s changed in their lives. Here’s the data, according to the Houzz study…
- 54% of homeowners this year have renovated
- 52% did interior design projects
- 47% completed home repairs
- Only 3% built a new home
That last number fascinates me!! It reflects what I’ve been saying the last couple of years—folks are updating the home they’re in instead of moving.
For years, the American dream was portrayed as building the next house…but today? Honestly, that build idea is kind of dated. Homeowners are saying something very different now. In my words, I’d say it’s along the lines of:
I already love where I live. I just want my HOME to love me back!!
That is a profound shift. Where do you fall??
The Remodel Market Is Becoming More Intentional
The 2026 Houzz & Home Study offered another stat that I believe needs to be shared. Especially for homeowners in our area, around Keller, Texas, Westlake, Southlake, etc.
The top 10% of renovation projects now begin at $150,000.
That’s not the average cost of high-end remodels, but where the top 10%-earning households start. It’s the entry point to the renovations that match the homes we live in here in the area.
The most important distinction here is that affluent homeowners aren’t spending more on “fancy finishes,” they’re spending more on lifestyle-focused customizations. If that sounds abstract, just look at this.
After all, this is what greater financial flexibility offers us: the luxury of choosing what we spend more of our time doing, and how we feel when we do it.
For instance…
Every morning when you get ready; every meal you cook; every family gathering. If your home frustrates you with bottlenecks or hard-to-clean surfaces or clutter or anything else, those are seen as a taxes on your happiness, and, well…who wants to pay any new taxes?!
Going Over Budget Isn’t What You Think
Now let’s talk about what nearly everyone thinks about first: the budget.
Did you know that only 75% of homeowners doing a remodel this last year had a budget at all?! For some of y’all, that would be unthinkable! But, others might ask…what’s the good of having a budget if you go over it?
Let’s dig into these budget stats from the Houzz report…
Among homeowners who established a renovation budget:
- 37% went over budget
- 35% finished around budget
- Only 3% came in under budget
Here’s how I read that (since I’ve seen it sooo many times): affluent households don’t increase their investment because someone “sold them” on something. Instead, they start to see more of what’s possible, and they invest thoughtfully around it…i.e., invest in their enjoyment (“ROE,” or Return On Enjoyment®). Invest in their satisfaction, their day-to-day comfort, their peace of mind!!
Then, of course, there’s the reality that some projects unfortunately lead to unpleasant surprises…damage behind the walls…mold no one knew about…coding problems…WEIRD remodel decisions made when previous work was done…
So, whether you go into your next remodel conversation with a budget or not, a contingency is always a “must.”
OK, what about the different reasons for going over budget?
The Houzz study also explores why homeowners exceeded budgets. And it gets specific—so you don’t have to take my word for it!!
The top reasons?
- Products and services cost more than expected (52%)
- Choosing higher-quality materials (35%)
- Discovering the project was more complex (32%)
- Expanding the design or scope (31%)
- Unexpected construction issues (22%)
What do you notice here? Two of the three (product and services costing more + discovering the project as more complex) are sidestepped when you work with a professional. If you hire us, for example, you get a line-by-line proposal. You know how much things really will cost, because we know. We’ve been working in homes in this area for over three decades…
Two other factors (choosing higher-quality materials + expanding the design or scope) are the ones I was talking about before: investing in Return on Enjoyment®.
Get creative when you look around your home…
Other than setting the funds aside, what else do you have to do to see your home differently? Help it “catch up” with your own evolution?
Here’s the easy answer: look around you and take notes as you go through your day-to-day routines. Look harder than you normally do. Take note when you repeatedly shuffle across a room, or count the times you have to bend or stretch uncomfortably in the kitchen while you cook, or reflect on what your “sanctuary spaces” for relaxation do (or don’t do) for you.
Here’s the more academic answer: you can get specific with this room-by-room planner I created.
More immediately, if there’s one thing I hope you take away from this report, it’s that you don’t have to keep living in the shadow of yesterday’s life. Maybe your home was perfect for a certain chapter, or maybe it was only “good enough.” But times have changed! Your situation has changed. You’ve changed.
This is your call to change your home along with it!!
If you could redesign just one part of your daily life, in terms of the spaces you have access to or how they work during your routines, what would you change first?
About the author:
Robin Burrill, RID, NCIDQ, ASID, IDS, CAPS, is an award-winning professional kitchen, bath, and interior designer. Robin and her husband, Robert Mathews, have owned Signature Home Services, Inc. for over three decades, establishing a superior in-house team with a widespread reputation for delivering meticulous design to their many repeat clients.
In 2022, the national publication, Kitchen and Bath Design News magazine, named Robin to their Top Innovator list in recognition of her achievements in the field of kitchen and bath design. In 2024, she was named one of the Fall 2024 Market Pros and “tastemakers” by ANDMORE at High Point Market. In 2024 and again in 2025, Fixr identified her as one of the Top Professional Interior Designers for their nationwide audience. At the start of 2025, she then acted as one of Dallas Market’s “Style Eyes” at Lightovation and Total Home & Gift Market.
Over her extensive career, Robin has been quoted in Architectural Digest and Forbes multiple times; her design work has been featured in top national trade publications; and she has been interviewed for Designers Today magazine’s “Profiles in Design” video series, among others. Widely respected for the depth of her knowledge, Robin is a sought after speaker and judge for many design industry events.
In 2023, Robin designed a bench for Charleston Forge, making her foray into product design. Robin currently serves as a volunteer on the board of the Dallas/Ft. Worth chapter of the Interior Design Society.
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