We got rid of our deck and replaced it with a patio. It saved us over $30,000 and helped us optimize our outdoor space.

Our outdoor patio has been one of the best investments we've made in our home renovation. Alexa Mellardo My husband and I finally redid the outdoor space of our fixer-upper home in Connecticut. We tore down the old deck and replaced it with a stone patio, which saved us about $33,000. The project cost us $27,000, and we now have a fantastic entertaining space that we love. In 2023, my husband and I packed up our shoebox-sized apartment, said goodbye to our fast-paced Manhattan lifestyle, and headed to our new, adorable coastal Connecticut suburb . We purchased a fixer-upper and embraced it. Our house was built in the '80s and came complete with linoleum kitchen floors , a compartmentalized dining and living space, and a dark-brown wooden back deck that had creaky steps.