The New Look: How much is enough?
Part of your challenge in planning a remodel is deciding what can be reused versus what must be replaced. To make a place feel new, over the years I’ve recognized a general principle: Give special attention to the places where your eye is going to be drawn, and replace those items with new.
The typical items you will address are: moving walls, installing new ceiling and wall coverings (texture, paint, wall paper), installing new floor coverings (tile, stone, carpet, wood, vinyl sheet) , intalling new appliances and fixtures (stove, vanity, sink, faucets, bath, etc), and installing new and distinctive lighting.
There are some other items such as door knobs, hinges, and trim, that you might be tempted to overlook, but which are crucial to setting the overall sense of a remodeled space. Old, scratched and/or beat up knobs and hinges detract from the beauty of a new space. If they look old, your eye is drawn to them and gives you the impression that the place is not new. On the other hand, shiny new knobs and hinges draw the eye and give you the feeling of quality and newness. And if the trim is beat up, you would be wise to spend the money to replace it. The labor to rehab old trim back to some semblance of perfection is often as expensive as installing new.
These are all judgment calls that only you can make. You must decide what level of imperfection with which you will be satisfied at the end.
If your budget dictates that you scale back on new items, you must be willing to live with the “clean but used” look that comes from reusing existing items in your remodeled space.
Fortunately, if you must reuse old trim, eggshell paint can hide some of the imperfections and still give washability. And there are ways to clean up brass items, etc. The balance of old/new is sometimes intricate but well worth the effort.
Knowledge of some of these dynamics ahead of time can assure you of a more predictable and satisfying result in your remodel experience.