🎙️ NEW EPISODE: Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Renos — Part 2! 🏡🔨💰

This week on Real Estate in Edmonton, Tracie is still on location with Wayne Fabing from Fabing Design Build and Tricia Fermeniak, design and colour expert, walking through a rental home and getting real advice on how to make it more beautiful, functional, and desirable for tenants, giving it a more "Jueje Factor"!
Last week we ended with: “Let’s go to the kitchen.”
So this week, we’re heading into the rooms that matter most:

🍳 Kitchen
🛁 Bathroom
🛏️ Bedrooms & then out to the
🌳 Back Yard (to discover a potential oasis)

Whether you’re renovating a rental, preparing to sell, or just trying to improve your own home, kitchens and bathrooms are essential — but the right updates throughout the home can help attract better tenants, increase value, and get more return on your renovation dollars.

Watch/listen now to see where the pros would spend the money — and where they wouldn’t.

Real Estate in Edmonton — where we talk Real Estate and Real Life.
#RealEstateInEdmonton #EdmontonRealEstate #EdmontonInvesting #RentalProperty #HomeRenovation #InvestmentProperty #LandlordTips #RealEstateInvesting #EdmontonHomes #BestBangForYourBuck #RenovationTips #MogulRealtyGroup

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is Real Estate in Edmonton. Helping you navigate by selling, investing, and living in Edmonton. Hosted by realtor Devin Gray and Professional Procaster Great Gray. Welcome to Real Estate in Edmonton, where we talk real estate and real life. This is Devin Gray with EXP Realty and the Mulga Realty Group. And Tracy is on location with Wayne Fabing from Fabing Design Builds and design expert Trisha from Anyac. They're at a great rental property in West Edmonton that is in dire need of sprucing up, or judging, as Tracy likes to put it. Last week we talked about some great renovation ideas to increase value, attract better tenants, and overall increase the appeal of the house. We wrapped up part one just as they were heading inside the home. This week, Tracy, Trisha, and Wayne will look at the most important parts of the house inside the kitchen, the bathrooms, also the bedrooms, and they'll also take a look at the backyard. Whether you're an investor, a homeowner, or looking to sell, there's plenty of great advice in this one. Let's jump back in.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Let's head on into the kitchen. Okay, so we don't want to be repainting the floors in there. You're talking about LVP, instead, just makes it a lot easier, uh, more durable. But what about tile? Can you paint tile?

SPEAKER_03 1:22

Generally, it's a bad idea, but you can do it if you have a good painter, you've just used a really good primer, um, and it's not on the floor. So I I've asked my painters today, we were talking about it. And um six years for commercial use on floors if if these guys paint the floors is what they would say that would last. If it's wall tiles, you're looking at double. So you still get 10, 12 years if it's wall tile.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

For wall tile.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

Yeah, the worst part's the grout, so you may need to update the grout as you go, but the and then you said definitely not on floors because uh just more wearing tear. Yeah, it won't last wear out. But six years is what my guys will back it up by.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:06

Painted tiles.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Well, that's good to know. So it's an option. It's an option, it's an more affordable option than putting flooring all the way throughout. I can see Trisha's face, it's painting her, just even talking about it. So I'll get you to hand her the microphone, Tricia. Let's get your thoughts on this kitchen and the floor.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Okay, so in general, I am a huge fan of intermediate measures that make your space so much happier. Or like if you're if your floor tile is really bossing you around and you hate the color and it's like I would do it. Like if that's what was in my budget and I what I could do, I would do it. Um, even a floor, but definitely a wall tile. Because yeah, like you're saying, you get quite a long use out of a wall tile if it's painted. Um, however, caveats. Well, first of all, you know, my opinion is we should run the same nice fresh light LVP throughout the whole space. But for a rental property, I think that could be kind of problematic. Um, you don't know how people how hard people are gonna be on things, but also if you have dogs as the claws are gonna make quick work of your paint job on your floor. And I do have that problem. So yeah, so I would run a really beautiful LB LVP in here and throughout the whole space because then it's gonna look, it's gonna make it look dramatically, dramatically more updated, newer, fresher. Yeah, okay. And what else would you do to make this kitchen pop? Um, you know, if I mean it would be really fun to paint the cabinets a pretty color because they are quite dark. However, if you don't want the maintenance of chipping and stuff, if you had a nice light LVP on the floor to contrast them, they're really not bad in the dark wood. The darker woods, like I said, are coming back. Um, so I would I would put in a white countertop, you know. Um, the backsplash towel isn't even bad, but you're gonna damage it putting in a new countertop. So I would just put in a fresh white countertop and backsplash that looks fresh and new here, that will make these espresso cabinets look really, really fresh, you know?

SPEAKER_02 4:05

Yeah, I I like the the color of the espresso, but like you said, when it's combined with other dark things, it does make it too dark, especially in a smaller kitchen.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:14

Dark colors make it smaller too.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

I would never have chosen this espresso in the first place for a small galley kitchen that doesn't have a window right in it. But given that you've got it and you're trying to do a rental property situation, you can get quite a bit of freshness out of a light floor and a light countertop and a light backsplash by contrast, you know, and not have the chipping of a paint job. Now, a paint job on cabinets, and Wayne could probably talk speak to this, it can last a while, but I'll give this back.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

Yeah, pretty hard wearing. Um, we can do a professional level, you know, reface magic uh type thing with uh, you know, a clear coat, three or four layers of an enamel, just a really, really strong multi-layer, lots of layers on the paint and a protective coating. Yeah, we do it all the time and it seems to last. Um people like it, and it's a lot cheaper than a whole new you know, kitchen. Kitchen cabinets are expensive.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

What about the handles? What about the hardware? Do you think those would need to be replaced?

SPEAKER_01 5:16

I have opinions about hardware. Do you want to hear what my opinions are about hardware?

SPEAKER_02 5:20

I would love to hear your opinion.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

I think it's absolutely fantastic if you're not replacing the faces in these cabinets, okay? Because like the the raised panel style is a little dated. I mean, us, you know, a flat slab or something, you know, else would look a little more updated if you wanted to go the extra mile, like Wayne says, and then paint, you know, the kitchen. But if you are just keeping these cabinets as is or painting them, it's absolutely perfect that they have little knobs and not those big chunky square handles. Yeah. You know, with two holes that look like they all just came out of a grab bag of black handles. You can buy those in bulk at home DP. Yeah, yeah. I can't stand the look at those. They, you know, definitely little knobs look super way more elegant and classic. These ones are a little clunky, they're a little big. I mean, I would probably replace them with smaller ball knobs myself just for a slightly more refined look. But um, I think the yeah, little round knobs are perfect.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Well, and I have a funny story about the ones that you're talking about where it's got the two connectors that go into it, the ones that then also have the little pieces that stick up and below it. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

And your your belt loops.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Yes, yes. My brother calls those the got your pants ones. He he installed them in his house and we were visiting, and he said, Oh, just watch out for my kitchen. They've got the got your pants handles. And I'm like, What are you talking about? Oh, and then yeah, it got me like three or four times it pulled my pants down.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

So yeah, and they also they also look really harsh and linear. Like one of the things to keep in mind about any built environment is all most of the lines are lines, most of the corners are squares and rectangles. So when you have an opportunity to introduce a visual detail that isn't square or linear, take it. Get the round coffee table and the round knobs, you know what I mean, and the round light fixture instead of more lines. Right. Yeah. Oh, that sounds really good.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

Yeah. And what about appliances then? So uh I'll get both of your opinions on you know, these are white appliances in good condition. Uh, what are your thoughts about needing to replace them with more of a modern-looking one? What do you guys think?

SPEAKER_03 7:23

I would do it. Um guys like their appliances though. Yeah, with with the eye to bring in uh different renters, um, get more popping on the pictures, definitely the appliances will do that. Maybe black stainless steel or stainless steel. Um you know, I know those two are popular. Trish has a I love this behind the skins.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Yeah, Trish is shaking her head right now.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

She's like, no, no, no. I would never put a I would never put a black appliance or a black stainless steel appliance. They're super trendy. I would never put them in any kitchen unless it was like a black kitchen and you're doing a cocktail bar because they look like someone knocked the teeth out of the kitchen, like they're so harsh and heavy, um, and your eye just goes clunk right to them and they ruin kind of the coherence of a nice soft look in the kitchen. You're gonna do a white countertop in here and a white backsplash, and so the white appliances are perfect. Here's my other opinion about these appliances they're so simple, they don't break down in two years, right? You know, um, in my bungalow kitchen, I went out of my way to replace the white um appliances when I needed to, when something broke down because uh I really like the fresh white, it doesn't interfere with any kind of color you want to add. Um, I think stainless steel can look a little bit too sleek in a small, cozy, you know, humble kitchen. Um, and but if you you know, but my second choice would be just regular still, you know, stainless steel. Um, it looks a little industrial, right? I mean, I I mean I would make the galley kitchen like this cozy, like charming. Yeah. Um, so but you know, you if you really wanted, you could do just regular stainless, it's a little softer. Yeah. But not a fan of the black. Sorry, but maybe black. Never, never black appliance.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

Yeah, yeah, red like Iron Man.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'd rather have a red one. I'd rather have a red one.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Yeah. I would totally have that.

unknown 9:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

All right, great. Well, how about uh we move on to the bathroom?

SPEAKER_03 9:28

Sure, sounds good. I just have one thing to a topic to bring up. Uh uh, you know, doubling up this use of space. Uh I'm not sure uh what you think about a charging station somewhere in here. Um renters, there's a couple of colleges close by. I know we're putting in a lot of these charges every last year for charging stations, like we're doing three in one guy's condo right now. Yeah. Just wherever they go, they want their phones, but also to sit down quickly with a shelf and hammer out a essay or whatever. I don't I'm not sure if that would fit for the you know modern high-tech render.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

We always need more plugins, or electronics. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

What do you so what are you doing uh mostly? Are you doing them inside of shelves or drawers or are they kind of like right out in the open? Because I that feels to me like something I'd want to tuck away in a drawer or a cupboard, you know, and not have it be in slightly wires everywhere.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

What are you doing with that?

SPEAKER_03 10:23

Well, one uh the condo downtown, we're putting in a like a teal um vanity, not a vanity, it's the wrong word, but a cupboard, right? And in the cupboard, in the cupboard, we're wiring it to charge everything. So it'll open this beautiful antique looking cupboard, but it's gonna charge phones, the iBa iPods, uh, earbuds, and a laptop all in one, and then just tuck it away and it make it there's space for letters. It's sort of like a post office thing, but it's all tech, it's all charged up. Other ideas are um like if there's stone throughout the house, we'll just get a small piece of stone, have a small shelf, but have have that charging station built in there as well. A really easy, inexpensive update is swapping out your plugs with USB-C, USB plugs. It's about 50 bucks.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

Yeah, because they've got the ones that come with all of those connectors in one.

SPEAKER_03 11:22

Exactly. Really super popular with young ranchers.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

Okay. And would you just say to have one or two around the house, or would you put them in all of them? How many would you recommend?

SPEAKER_03 11:32

Well, um, I'd ask the client, and usually it's a bedroom wherever they like to watch the order games, and then the kitchen. So typically it's an island, yeah, and then the easy chair, and then the bedroom. So okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

Well, on that note, let's go check out the bedroom. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

All right. So for the bedrooms, what would you do? I mean, there's not a lot you can do in a bedroom. You've got a, you know, you need some space. Looks like you've got some decent closet space, which is really nice in a bedroom, but I think just like the updated floor that I'm angling for. Get rid of those dark floors to brighten it up.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

I think you're trying to say to get rid of the dark floors.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Yeah, I think it would make a huge difference in the feel of these rooms. These bungalows have cozy, smaller bedrooms. Um, so laying them out is always a little bit of a challenge. So the built-in storage of the closets, I think, is brilliant. And other than that, you know, fresh paint, nice floors.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

I love that. Okay, on a contractor side, what do you think?

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Not a heck of a lot, really. Um uh it it the built-ins in the closet would be great, but also you got some space on these corners, the small wall. We for not a lot of money, we could we could have a very petite built-in here, you know, um a foot and a half, 14 inches or 15 inches, just cupboards to uh spruce up the place.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Another charging station, perhaps?

SPEAKER_03 12:57

Charging station inside, yeah. Update the plug.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

Okay, well, that sounds really simple, and I love that. I love it when things are simple. Yeah. Okay, we'll go check out the bathroom now. Okay, so we're not all gonna pile into the bathroom, so we will just let our camera guy take over and uh take a little look around the bathroom while he is doing that. Uh Trisha, I'm gonna get your opinions on what you would do to uh fix up this bathroom, really spruce it up.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Yeah, I mean, it's you know, it's a decent little bathroom. So once we have new floors, whether that's the LVP or this would be the one room where I would consider switching to a tile, um, like a tile mosaic floor so you get a little texture and traction, you know. But you could absolutely run the LVP in here. Nice fresh LVP. Um, the nice compact vanity is all right. I would just retile or paint the wall tile. Yeah, but repaint or retiling the walls would be really pretty. Um, just like a nice cream or you know, warm off-white kind of simple tile. So that you know, because the best thing to do in here would be to, you know, paint the walls and ceiling above a pretty color, give it a little personality, you know. So you could also do like a like a fun little wainscotting. I kind of like the way that they ran the tile up to this height all the way around this room. It looks, you know, the concept, it's not the right tile, but the concept looks kind of finished. The way that it matches up with the tubs round is kind of clever. Yeah, I like that too. If you're keeping the tub surround, I mean you could definitely just those molded tile tubs rounds, they're they're kind of easy to maintain, but they um they're not the prettiest. Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Yeah, and they can crack when they get older or yellow.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Yeah. So one of my favorite strategies right now, um, you know, because we're all kind of tired of bricklay subway tile, but it is really versatile and timeless because it's so flexible for decorating with color and stuff. So one of my favorite moves right now is just to switch it up and do like a vertical stack or a Kit Kat style, like a skinnier one that's kind of on a vertical stack, just looks a little fresher, more current, but it still has all the versatile attributes and you know, of just simple white subway tile.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

Okay, so you still take the rectangular subway tile, but you turn it vertically.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

I might pick a slightly longer, skinny one and turn it vertically so that it just, you know, it has yeah, yeah, it's just elongating and it's just a pretty texture and it looks a little bit like oh, okay, it's subway tile a bit better. I like the Kit Kat style way of describing it.

SPEAKER_03 15:22

For this bathroom, would you what pattern would you use vertically 50-50 or stack?

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Like a grid stack, I think. Yeah, just like line them all up in a grid stack on a on the vertical, and if they're a little skinnier, like a two-inch, two by nine or something, that would be really pretty, you know.

SPEAKER_03 15:38

It just size for this.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Yeah, yeah. That's and then because you already have this kind of idea of taking it vertically up to like a sort of a high wainscotting, which is sort of sweet, that would be really nice. You can even do like a finishing pencil on the top to make it really look like a yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

Yeah. Um, now I've seen those mirrors with the lights in them too, and those look really popular. What are your thoughts on those?

SPEAKER_01 16:00

I'm gonna give you a guess what I think about this.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Well, I was gonna say I thought you would like them, but you kind of gave me the side eye thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

I'm not a fan of the lit mirrors, and I'll tell you why. Wayne, I got I saw her side eye just now.

SPEAKER_03 16:16

Yeah. Um I've had a couple clients ask for them and then show Trish, and then she's like, no, we're not doing that. I get stuck in the middle. I just install it. It's easier to install a normal mirror.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

Oh, I have reasons. Okay, it is it is a little bit subjective because I think they look a little bit like a UFO launch site, like, and they're kind of blinding. And you know, I'm not a fan of the glowing LED strips behind things. I think it looks commercial and not very cozy and livable. Wow. Um, also, you can't usually control the temperature of those things. So you're turning on your bathroom light at midnight, you know, and it's like you're hit with this blue like blue light. Yeah. Yeah. So bam. So the other reason that I I really am not a fan is because I'm a big, huge fan of decorative lighting. And that is because in a space like a bathroom where everything's tile and toilet, there's not a lot of opportunity for pretty detail. So that light fixture and the choice of mirror and that combination becomes everything. Okay. You know, for the bathroom.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

So yeah, I I love that. Um, I'm gonna hand this to Wayne quickly. Um, also toilet. So the one that is in this um house, it's it's okay. It's actually had a couple of nicks out of it that have been patchworked together. The handle on it's starting to yellow. Um, but overall it's kind of a cute little toilet. What are your thoughts? What's what would you do? Would would you want to fully replace this? Can you change out the top and handle on it? What are your thoughts?

SPEAKER_03 17:45

Um, always the whole toilet. Never the piecemeal toilet. In my house, no problem, but clients swap the whole toilet. It's less less headaches later down the down the line. Um we are putting in a lot of bidets these days. So with a bidet, you got a budget of about twelve hundred dollars just for the bidet, and then your electrician has to put in a plug to plug the bidet in. So it's about fifteen hundred, two thousand dollars if you do it on your own.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 18:13

And um I I I they're popular, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

That's a fancy side domain that I didn't know about. So yeah. Put in the bidet. All right. Um, yeah, I think that wraps it up for inside the house. We'll leave it on the bidet note, unless you had something else that you wanted to throw in there.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

No, not at all.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Okay, good.

SPEAKER_03 18:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:34

Our cameraman's running out of things to film looking. So now that we're out in the yard, what would you do design-wise and then also contractor-wise?

SPEAKER_01 18:42

Yeah, so I mean, I think this yard has a pretty nice layout already. I I like the um, I like the enclosure that the um, you know, the evergreens. So these trees pass the test, I think, mostly if they're healthy, because they do create a nice little, you know, moment back here and some privacy from the neighbors, which you want um in the yard. You know, I like that little inviting spot. There's some potential there. And then yeah, like I would just um I would just, you know, fix up some of the edging beds. I mean, you know, scrape them down probably and put some new topsoil and put some really good ground cover that's like super low maintenance and no weeds can get through. Um, yeah, I think it's a really charming um backyard. Some of these beds just need a bit of an overhaul from a gardener's perspective, I have to say. What do you think, Wayne?

SPEAKER_03 19:30

For me, um foundation preservation. I'd add uh downspouts on on the one corner of the roof and just just build it out to the fence, put in a post and just make sure it gets out of the way so the water's running where it should. Other than that, uh I like your I like the yard. Um, just uh the front. I would recommend you know adding a load of dirt back here as well. It's ineffective. It's it's erosion gets everything flowing away from your property. So a little bit of dirt, beef up the you know, the house, keep water going yeah from the house.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Yeah, keep the grade good. Yeah, yeah. It's a little sunken, you know. Um, which is you know happens over time.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Over 20 years, you'll have like more problems where the yard dips into the middle if it's a sag like that. So a little bit of dirt will just get the water off your backyard smoothly.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Yeah, great.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

One thing you could do is um build out that back porch into a little bit of a deck zone here, so you've actually got you know room up close to the door for like the barbecue and stuff. You know, that would be kind of nice and just a nice place to sit and get the sun, but I mean, and then you don't have this bed, you know, to deal with.

SPEAKER_03 20:53

Yeah, you'd yeah, it'd be a little challenging. There's a lot going on here, right?

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Because of all the utilities.

SPEAKER_03 21:00

You could definitely get a 12-foot deck without a lot of change, but you got that uh yeah naturally the the gas uh meter there.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

Yeah, you gotta have access to that.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

You can work with it though. That could be a storage, you know, we could frame that into a a storage cabinet. Okay, for the utilities. Yeah, like like you have to check it, but um you you need access to it, but we could just blend just sort of work it into the framing of the deck so it doesn't, so it's not like an eyesore because you can't move it.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

The other thing you can do is you can treat this as a like a hedging moment, and you can get some nice looking um, you know, five foot max kind of plants, like maybe three um Korean lilacs, for example, um, where you can still access that thing, but visually, you know, you've got sort of a nice hedging plant that's just kind of filling most of this space and hiding that. It just also creates a really nice transition between the foundation and the yard to have actual like structured foundation plantings, you know, instead of like because you can see how just the plants look kind of messy against the base of the house, but if you have something structured, it makes a big difference.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

Almost like creating a little oasis back here and kind of hiding the stuff that you don't want to see.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Yeah, most people, when it comes to garden design, miss out on a foundation planting. They're putting little random shrubs or little random plants along the base of the house, but you want something actually that looks really solid and structured, like in nice, much nicer climates, you can do boxwoods and all kinds of pretty evergreen hedges along the bottom of the house, and it looks so lovely. And none of that stuff works here, but you can't there are things, you know, that are yeah, that you can.

SPEAKER_02 22:38

Yeah, I love all those ideas. Yeah, that's fantastic. All right. Well, we are going to wrap it up there. Thank you so much, Tricia, for coming by and all your amazing design ideas. Thank you, Wayne.

SPEAKER_03 22:49

You're very welcome. It was a pleasure to be here, Tracy.

SPEAKER_02 22:52

Great, yeah. I love all of the ideas and I love the behind-the-scenes stuff too. That's my favorite. Uh, thanks so much for coming out. We're gonna toss it back to you, Devin.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

Thanks, Tracy. That was some great advice from Wayne and Tricia. It's always interesting to hear what professionals focus on when looking to get the most out of your renovation dollars. Whether you're renovating a rental property, preparing a home for sale, or just updating the place you live. Hopefully, today's episode gave you some ideas you can put to work right away. If you enjoyed today's episode, please like, subscribe, follow, share it, uh, and all that wonderful stuff with someone who loves real estate, investing, or home improvement. Thanks for joining us on real estate in Edmonton, where we talk real estate and real life, and we will see you next time.