Carpet Where?! What Real Estate Agents Really Think of That DIY Project By Realtor.com

To help you figure out if your project is a go (or a massive no), we turned to the experts: real estate professionals—the people who regularly see a multitude of poorly executed homeowner projects. And while they might not voice their opinion to you when they’re touring your home, here’s a peek at what’s probably going through their mind when they see DIY projects that should have been left undone.

Carpet on the kitchen island

DIY fail: Why would someone carpet the back of a kitchen island? Poor or inexplicable material choices are usually made when a seller is running out of time or money and is rushing to get the home on the market.

Pro take: “Sometimes homeowners go with the cheapest option,” says Brittany Heckenberg, real estate agent at The Heckenberg Group in Arvada, CO. “Or hire the first person that could get the job done. One would like to think that the homeowner didn’t specifically start out to carpet the back of a kitchen island.”

The takeaway: Don’t carpet your kitchen island—and by all means, don’t pay somebody else to do it.  It would be better to finish the back of the island using the same wood as the cabinetry. Or even to stain or paint the entire island a different color than the cabinets.

Tile on the side of the pantry

DIY fail: While painting oak cabinets can sometimes help a ’90s kitchen look updated, these bright colors reflects a very specific taste that’s not likely to appeal to the majority of buyers. And what’s with the unfinished tile job running across the side of the pantry?

Pro take: “Maybe the homeowner had a few extra pieces of tile and thought, ‘This is cool,'” speculates Heckenberg. But prospective buyers will not, she says.

“The first question that will pop into any buyer’s head is, ‘What are the fixes?’ You’re now looking at having to make some type of repair to the side cabinet.”

The takeaway: If you’re getting ready to sell your home, it’s best to go with neutral paint colors. And try to avoid using tile as a purely decorative motif. If prospective buyers don’t like it, they might be put off by the prospect of finding an expensive fix.

Open-concept bathroom

DIY fail: A bathroom on the second floor is usually an added value, but it’s unlikely buyers are going to consider this one—sans door—to be an acceptable solution.

Pro take: “Buyers will be turned off with the idea of having an open-concept bathroom,” says Heckenberg. “I don’t even think the toilet is 6 feet from the bed!”

The takeaway: Open-concept kitchens continue to be popular with buyers, but open bathrooms—not so much. So if you want to add a bathroom, always add a door.

A beach basement

DIY fail: While a hot tub might be on many homeowner wish lists, this beach basement is just plain weird—and possibly hazardous.

Pro take: “So much to unpack,” says Tara Van Dyke, a real estate professional at Keller Williams Realty at the Parks, in Orlando, FL. “Water, sand, the under-the-blanket extension cord—what could go wrong?”

The takeaway: Amenities like a hot tub are only an added value if they’re installed up to code, and you have to ask yourself will the next homeowner feel the same about this unusual setup as you do? Probably not.

“After the shock and fits of laughter, I suspect buyers would wonder if the sellers are taking this with them or leaving it,” says Van Dyke. “And ‘How are we getting all this sand out of here?'”

Plywood laundry room

DIY fail: A designated laundry room checks an important box on many homebuyer wish lists. But will this plywood palace garner oohs or boos?

Pro take: “No doubt, we all love extra cabinet space in the laundry room,” says Heckenberg. “But the unfinished look puts dollar signs in a buyer’s eyes. The No. 1 question I would be asked is, ‘Is the seller planning on finishing it or does it just look like this?'”

The takeaway: When selling your home, don’t start a project and leave it looking undone.

Toilet in the shower

DIY fail: Yikes! Wet rooms are becoming popular these days, but there’s something just a little off about this one.

Pro take: “Most buyers love a large walk-in shower; they just don’t expect a toilet to join them,” quips Heckenberg. “Buyers will want to fix it or get rid of it.”

The takeaway: Perhaps this was a custom solution to solve an accessibility challenge, Heckenberg suggests.