When new clients come to us, we have many questions that need to answered. Your style, your wish list, your budget and your lifestyle are all elements we need to take into consideration. But one of the very first questions we need answered is:
“Why do you want to renovate?”
This question, while it may seem like a clearcut answer to some, actually holds a lot of valuable information for us as designers. Read on to discover some of the things you should be thinking about prior to starting a major renovation project.
Daily Life
How will this renovation impact your daily life? Think beyond the aesthetics of how it will look and think of how it will make you FEEL.
What would it feel like to enter your home and know that you don’t have to deal with cluttered, unorganized chaos?
What would it feel like to walk in your home at the end of the day and know that you can relax and enjoy your space?
You should also consider how a renovation can change your family dynamic. Tearing down walls to create a more open concept kitchen that would allow you to visit with your whole family while cooking dinner would surely impact your daily life.
Modifying your basement for an older child to have their own space would also shift relationship dynamics. If being the “hub” of where your children’s friends gather is a goal of yours, then a renovation to create a kid-friendly space is a must.
Consider the reasons why you want to change your home for the better and how it will change your life, habits, mood, and relationships.
Re-Sale
How will this renovation impact your home’s resale down the line? Perhaps this is your forever home and you never plan on moving again. Perhaps this is a “for now” home that you would like to move on from eventually. Whatever the answer is for you, it is important to take into consideration the impact that the renovation will have on your resale value and how important it is to you.
We would never create a design that would bring down the value in your home – we are in the business of increasing your real estate investment! But having a clear idea of where you land on the resale debate is important moving forward so we can suggest the right design for you and your home.
Long Term Plans
How sustainable are your renovation choices? We always encourage our clients to “do it once and do it right” when it comes to renovating their homes. We do not want to design patch work homes that will need to be torn up in a matter of years. This isn’t good for your investment (or sanity), our business, or the environment.
We will always suggest that clients take on the whole home approach and have us design the entire space to their liking. From there, we can determine how to split up the scope of work to fit your lifestyle and investment amount.
Many of our clients are also requesting assistance in designing their homes for them to age in place so they can stay in the home of their dreams for as long as they can.
Did any of these ideas surprise you? How do you determine when/why you should do a renovation? We would love to hear from you! Drop us a comment below.