Facing Limited Budgets and High Costs [Part 2]

Navigating home projects with limited resources.

Sometimes when life says “no” to the upgrade, the house, the dream we’ve been chasing, we gain something else: clarity, realignment, time, resilience, a path we wouldn’t have known otherwise

My first solo apartment. I poured everything into this space, and it’s the one I feel most connected to, even today.

What would it look like to live in a home you’re still learning to love, to not just tolerate it, but engage with it? When you’re working with a shoestring budget and a long wishlist, things get real—and also really interesting. I like this question because it asks not what’s missing, but what’s here to work with.

The design pause is the phase I’ve had to navigate more times than I can count. With friends, with readers and clients, with my own outsized expectations. It’s where I’ve learned the most—not just about design, but about what I want my life to feel like inside my home.

The pause is where we get to know ourselves. It can be a gift if we can manage the discomfort of moving slowly in a world that promises quick satisfaction.