Some love stories begin in expected places, like a coffee shop or a friend’s dinner party. Others spark aboard a Paris train bound for Italy, where an American art school graduate crossed paths with a South African rugby player. That chance meeting in 1982 set September and Colin Moore on a path that would weave together fashion, chiropractic medicine, and an unlikely shared obsession: breathing new life into forgotten old houses. Over the decades, they have remodeled roughly a dozen properties, five of them in the last five years alone. Their latest project sits in Felanitx, Mallorca, a long-abandoned limestone structure that once housed a sewing workshop. What makes this couple’s approach worth studying is not just their stunning results but the specific, repeatable habits behind them. These are the best remodel moves any homeowner can borrow, whether you are restoring a centuries-old stone barn or updating a suburban kitchen.
1. Sketching Visions Directly on the Walls
Most of us plan a renovation on graph paper, in a spreadsheet, or through a mood board app. September Moore does it with a piece of chalk or a pencil directly on the plaster. She sketches ideas right onto the surfaces that will soon be transformed. This practice is not just quirky, it is remarkably practical.
Why Drawing on the Wall Works
When you sketch at scale on the actual wall, you bypass the abstraction of blueprints. A doorway that looks perfectly proportioned on paper can feel cramped or awkward when you see it drawn at real size. September’s method forces immediate, honest feedback from the space itself. Colin can look at her chalk lines and understand instantly where her mind is going. There is no translation problems disappear.
This technique also lowers the barrier to experimentation. If a line looks wrong, you wipe it off and try again. No expensive drafting fees. No guilt over trashing a carefully rendered plan. For any couple tackling a remodel together, this move cuts through negotiation paralysis. You see the idea, you debate it, you adjust it, all in under ten minutes.
How to Adapt This for Your Own Project
Buy a pack of inexpensive chalk or a whiteboard marker. Pick a wall you plan to change anyway. Draw the outlines of built-in shelving, a new window opening, or even just the furniture arrangement you are considering. Step back and look at it from different angles. Take a photo. Live with the sketch for a day before committing. This simple habit is one of the best remodel moves for avoiding costly layout mistakes.
2. Using Traditional Materials and Methods Only
September and Colin have a hard rule: no Sheetrock, no laminate, no synthetic shortcuts. They opt for limewash, poured concrete, natural stone, and hand-built woodwork. Their Mallorca house features walls preserved with limewash from the Mallorcan brand Unicmall. The floors combine cement with tiny pebbles, a local finish they devised themselves. Windows were rebuilt meticulously by Pierre of Menuiserie Bois in Carcassonne, France.
The Hidden Cost of Modern Shortcuts
Modern materials like drywall and vinyl flooring save money upfront. But in an old building, they trap moisture, create thermal bridging, and fail within a decade or two. Traditional lime-based plasters and renders allow walls to breathe. Moisture evaporates naturally instead of being sealed inside where it rots timber and breeds mould. According to building conservation experts, limewash can extend the life of a historic wall by decades compared to modern impermeable paints.
Colin and September learned this through experience. After a dozen remodels, they have seen what lasts and what crumbles. Their insistence on traditional methods is not nostalgia; it is hard-won wisdom. For anyone renovating a pre-war home, matching new work to old techniques preserves the building’s integrity and often adds long-term value.
Practical Steps for Choosing Materials
Before you buy anything, research what your house was originally built with. Brick, stone, timber, lime mortar, clay plaster. Source supplies that match those historic ingredients. If you cannot find a local craftsman, look for suppliers who specialize in heritage restoration. Yes, it costs more. Yes, it takes longer. But the payoff is a house that breathes properly, stays comfortable, and does not surprise you with hidden rot five years later.
3. Living in the House During Renovation
The Moores do not move out when the demolition begins. They camp in the property, sleeping in whatever corner is still habitable, cooking on a hot plate, washing dishes in a bucket. This sounds uncomfortable. It is. But it teaches you things about a house you could never learn from weekend visits.
What You Discover by Camping In
You notice where the morning sun hits. You feel the draft that sneaks under a particular door. You hear which pipes bang when the water runs. You discover that the room you planned as a bedroom is actually freezing at 5 AM, while a smaller room stays warm all night. These observations lead to better design decisions. Colin and September adjust their plans constantly based on what they live through.
This approach also forces efficiency. When you have no kitchen, you prioritize getting the kitchen functional. When you are washing in a utility sink, you finish the bathroom fast. The urgency keeps the project moving. Many homeowners spend years in “planning mode” because they have the comfort of a separate home to retreat to. Living on site eliminates that comfort and replaces it with momentum.
How to Try This Without Losing Your Sanity
You do not need to live in a construction zone for six months. Pick a one-week stretch during a critical phase. Set up a small camp in the least disrupted room. Pack essentials only. Set clear boundaries about which areas are off-limits for sleeping. The goal is not suffering, it is immersion. Even a long weekend of on-site camping can reveal insights that change your whole approach.
4. Sourcing from Unlikely, Local, and Discarded Places
Most of the furniture in the Moores’ Mallorca house came from a roadside vendor selling used furniture and pottery. The wooden chairs are a mismatched collection found along a highway. A lampshade traveled from La Métairie de Montgeard in Toulouse. Colin assembled a sculpture from a piece of wood and rope discovered in their garage. Pillows were sewn from antique French linen sheets with metal zippers.
Why This Matters for Your Best Remodel Moves
New furniture is expensive and often characterless. Sourcing secondhand, roadside, or locally made pieces saves money while giving your home a layered, collected look that no catalog can replicate. September brings only a few items from move to move. The pillows made from antique sheets are one of them. Everything else is found anew in each location. This keeps each house unique and rooted in its place.
There is also an environmental angle. The construction industry generates a huge percentage of global waste. Buying used furniture keeps items out of landfills and reduces demand for new manufacturing. For the budget-conscious renovator, this is one of the most practical best remodel moves available. You get better design, lower cost, and a lighter footprint.
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How to Hunt Like September and Colin
Drive the back roads. Look for signs advertising flea markets, estate sales, or roadside vendors. Strike up conversations with locals about where they find furniture. Check online marketplaces for people clearing out old homes. Learn to see potential in things that look tired. A coat of paint, new upholstery, or simple repair can transform a cast-off into a centerpiece. Pack a tape measure in your car so you never guess at dimensions.
5. Balancing One Visionary with One Practical Executor
September is the self-described minimalist visionary. She sees the potential in a crumbling space and sketches the dream. Colin is the fixer. He figures out how to make her vision stand up, or he tells her gently why it needs adjustment. “There is a lot of back and forth,” September says. This division of labor is perhaps the most important of all the best remodel moves they practice.
The Danger of Two Visionaries or Two Executors
If both partners are dreamers, nothing gets built. If both are pragmatists, the result may be functional but dull. The Moores’ dynamic works because each role is respected. September does not micromanage the engineering. Colin does not dismiss her aesthetic leaps. They argue, yes, but they argue productively because each trusts the other’s domain.
This pattern is replicable. In any renovation partnership, identify who is naturally drawn to the big picture and who likes solving specific problems. Assign roles accordingly. The visionary picks the finishes, the colors, the layout. The executor researches structural feasibility, manages the budget, and coordinates trades. When disagreements arise, refer to the role. The visionary gets the final say on aesthetics. The executor gets the final say on safety and budget.
How to Discover Your Own Dynamic
Sit down>Sit down before you start work. Each person writes down what they are most excited about and most anxious about. Look for patterns. If one person loves changing light fixtures but hates measuring. The other loves spreadsheets but has no opinion on paint colors. Match tasks to enthusiasm. The person who cares more about a decision should make it. This prevents resentment and keeps the project moving faster than any other single strategy.
The Inner Courtyard: A Case Study in Patience
The Moores’ Mallorca property includes a stone barn alongside the main house. The courtyard that connects them became the heart of the home. September waited for a Spanish architect friend to pass on the property before she made her move. Then she campaigned Colin to take the leap. This patience is worth noting. Good remodels often depend on timing as much as skill.
Lessons from the Courtyard
The arched doorways and high ceilings were already there. The couple did not invent those features, they simply preserved them. They left most wall surfaces exactly as found. They added poured concrete floors with under-floor heating, a modern comfort hidden beneath an honest surface. The limewash on the walls came from a local Mallorcan brand. The overall effect is a space that feels both ancient and entirely current.
This restraint is harder than it looks. Many renovators feel compelled to add, change, or “improve” every surface. September and Colin knew when to stop. That instinct comes from experience, but you can cultivate it by asking one question before any decision: does this make the house more itself or less? If the answer is unclear, pause. The house will tell you.
What This Means for Your Next Project
You do not need a Paris train meeting or a dozen remodels under your belt to apply these ideas. Start with one wall. Draw on it with chalk. Buy one piece of furniture from a roadside seller instead of a big box store. Choose one traditional material over a modern substitute. Sleep one night in the room you plan to renovate. Identify who in your household is the dreamer and who is the builder.
Each of these actions is small. Together, they form a philosophy that has guided September and Colin through five remodels in five years and counting. They plan to stay in Mallorca for a while, but knowing this couple, another wreck will call to them eventually. When it does, they will pack their linen pillows, grab a piece of chalk, and start again. That is the real secret behind the best remodel moves: not perfection, but a willingness to learn, adapt, and keep going.
