We doing a big home renovation this year. After deliberating on it for eight years, I am finally pulling the trigger!
After muddling over the decision of whether to renovate or not, I’m sharing with you 5 Things to Consider before starting a Home Renovation. These questions helped me get ready for ours!. As my renovation journey goes on I will be documenting it via my YouTube channel, writing blog posts and sharing “lessons learned” with all of you!
What to Think about before Renovating
How do you really live?
Notice the questions is not how do you think you’ll live. How do you really use your home? We have a home built for entertaining. Do we entertain? Yes. But do we entertain often enough to create spaces dedicated to only entertaining? Not really. You have to be practical with how you want your home to work. Renovations are expensive and you want to finish the project not with areas that give you the feeling of “Yes, no I can finally do what I’ve always wanted to do in this space” versus pretty spaces that, while nice to look at, just aren’t touched.
Will you get your money back?
This is a tough one. Because with our home economy changing, and each city being different I wish I could say this is the deciding factor in renovating a home, but to me, which a big piece of the puzzle, it’s not the whole puzzle. Let me explain…
We plan on living in our home until we have grandchildren. However, life may deliver us something different, so we do have to consider what adds resale value, and what is just a waste of money. Personally, I think that with the kitchen and master bathroom changes I’m making, almost any family would walk in and feel very pleased with the functionality and design I’m doing. I don’t consider those wastes of money.
What may be a waste of money are the personal decisions for how I use the home — wanting a more intimate dining room so lowering the ceiling, moving the mudroom cabinets to another area or adding specialty lighting to our closet.
At some point you have to check yourself and realize you may be spending money on what you want versus what’s practical for resale. This will depend on your budget and what you’re willing to swallow if you another family doesn’t see the value. Does that make sense??
Are you mentally and financially prepared for the stress?
This is important. I’m only at the very beginning and I already feel overwhelmed. And I’m someone who juggles and can handle a lot of stress, so that says a lot. We wanted to do this renovation years ago but I just wasn’t mentally ready for it. I had to get my brain in a position of positivity, energy and clearness to say “OK. This is year I am focusing on this renovation” and feel excited about it!
With all the decisions that will be thrown at you, time management of projects, upheaval of your life and checks you’ll write be sure you are of the mainframe that you want this and are ready for this renovation!
Do your Homework
If you’re ever at a social event and someone says they went through a home build or renovation, ask what they learned. Get the names of their contractors. Write it down. You want this information ahead of time. Even if you’re two years away from a renovation, write the info down.
Post on Nextdoor.com asking for referrals for contractors. Nothing says more about someone’s work than if there are people who recommend them and use them time and time again.
Visit showrooms and look at what appliances cost. Look at lighting fixture places and see what they cost. As I continue this blog, I’ll be listing out expenses to factor into your overall budget. The more you do your homework beforehand with names to call, lessons of what to do or not to do, and costs the better prepared you’ll feel.
Is my partner on the same page as I am?
I’m not kidding. Don’t underestimate the stress a renovation puts on people. It changes your financial situation and how you live for the time being. Every person in the decision making process needs to be on board with this project.
My husband and would talk for years as I would cook and say “but what if we moved the trash can over here” or “does the driveway function like we want it to” or “this appliance is breaking, do we repair it, or are we eventually getting rid of it?” It was a constant discussion for years so that we both started to visualize whether we needed a renovation. Then when you’ve done your homework and have some costs in mind, that’s a whole other agreement you need to both be on the same page with!
Future Renovation Blog Posts
- Walking through each room of my renovation, sharing thought process.
- Architects, Builders, Contractors, oh my!
- Realistic budget planning
- Decorating
- …..and so much more
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So much crazy home goodness coming your way!
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