Are You Prepared For A Renovation? What to know before you call…
Today I’m going to walk you through the top three things you should be considering if you would like to renovate your home. There are a handful of elements that need to be discussed to ensure we are ready to move forward. So thinking about these three things before you give us a call will help you feel more prepared going forward. I’m going to run through each element in detail so you can get a realistic understanding of what the industry looks like right now. Unfortunately things have changed and what you thought were realistic expectations might not be anymore but with our guidance we can walk you through those elements right off the bat so you know what to expect from the very beginning. And we will be there through the entire process to help solve problems and keep things running efficiently.
1. Renovation Goals - Break it down into Wants vs. Needs
First things first, you need to know what you would like to achieve through renovating your home. What areas aren’t working for you anymore? Is it aesthetic or function that isn't quite right? Or is it both? Make a list of every space you would like to address and detail the specifics. You don’t have to know how you would like to change it. The design solutions are our job! But identify the problems so we can get a feel of what is important to you. Lastly, prioritize your spaces. List them in order of what is the highest on your list to what is the lowest. This will help us work together to nail down the project scope in relation to budget when the time comes.
2. Budget - How much are you hoping to spend and does this line up with what you are trying to achieve?
Now you may look at the word budget and think “I have no idea”. We get it, It's hard to know how much things cost and what’s realistic. We can help you figure it out by spending time together, investigating what your style is, how you make decisions, how many choices you need, etc. Even if you don’t think you have a budget number in your head (you do), try to determine your cap so we can work together to achieve what is most important to you within a number that is comfortable and realistic.
3. Logistics - Ideal Start Date, Where you are going to be living during the process, and how long it will take?
You probably have an idea of when you want the renovation to start so what does that look like and why? Contractors are booking pretty far in advance now and we need a number of weeks to design so this question is important to address early on. We also like to have an understanding of where you will be during the renovation. If you're living in your home or moving out for all or part of the renovation. This affects our process and the planning stage so we like to get an understanding sooner than later. Lastly we like to get a feel for your timeline. Timelines are impacted by a lot of things that are out of our control so while it can be nearly impossible to predict at this stage, it is helpful to us to have an understanding of what you are hoping for.
You may not have answers to all the questions above at this point and that's okay because part of our process is to help narrow it down and clarify things together. It's helpful to get you thinking things through and organizing your goals and ideas before the initial phone call so that you have an idea of what we’ll need from you at the beginning. After we run through the above questions and more during our first phone call, the Client Proposal comes next so click here to get an understanding of what that consists of and what makes each element valuable.
Are you ready to build or renovate or update? Contact us!
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