Renovations can be tricky. What should be changed? How should you change it? And will the change ultimately lend style and value to your home? All of these questions occupy familiar territory for Colleen Waguespack, an interior designer for Holden and Dupuy and the owner of Fig & Dove, her Christmas décor company featured in inRegister’s October 2015 issue.

Like any kind of makeover, determining whether a house’s design needs a push or a touch requires a sense of its overall personality, taking into account its quirks and qualities that already impress.

“I think the most important thing when considering a renovation or remodel is to respect the architecture and character of the original house,” says Waguespack. “The end effect should be seamless. The house should feel fresh and updated, but should have continuity between the old and the new.”

Waguespack turns to one of her own projects, pictured above, as an example.

“Though this house had steel entry doors,” she says, “we added the wall of steel doors and windows to the back of the house to create an indoor/outdoor entertaining space. Overall, we put a significant amount of renovation work into this house, though you would never know it wasn’t part of the original building.”

In other words, a good remodel is a good reinterpretation—an uncovering of its hidden potential.