Want to make sure you’re prepared for a remodel? If you can answer these questions with confidence, you’re ready to go!
What’s my budget?
If you answer this question with something like “oh, I don’t know how much these things cost!” or “I haven’t really thought about it”, stop! Take a step back and evaluate what you can afford or would like to spend. Maybe a $500,000 kitchen remodel is not your cup of tea, but a $70,000 kitchen remodel sounds about right.
Find a number or a (not too wide) range of numbers that you’re comfortable with and verbalize it. Figuring out your budget first makes everything easier, from design to selections to negotiations with your contractor.
What are my needs versus my wants?
This question piggy backs off of determining your budget. It’s important to make sure your budget and your renovation wish list are mostly parallel. Sit down with your partner and brainstorm a long list of what you both want or just think is cool. After that, take a moment to highlight the three to five most important things on that list – your “needs”. They may be big things, like “remove wall between kitchen and living room” or “new appliances” or they may be smaller, like “add can light over bath tub”, but either way they’re things that you wouldn’t like to eliminate if you have to narrow down the scope of work.
You and your designer or contractor can work to make these needs a part of your design while working with your budget. If you have extra funds to allocate after those are set, you can put some money towards your wants (i.e. “all new marble countertops” or “new front door”). Determining your priorities before starting work will help to limit unplanned spending while making sure you’re happy with the end result!
Once you know what you want and how much you’d like to spend to get it, let the hunt begin! Cast out your net and start interviewing contractors. Your best bet is to find a design-build firm that can coordinate the design process with the pricing process, simplifying the renovation entirely.
Have questions about budgets, designs, or even design-build firms? Shoot us an email or give us a call – we’re happy to help!
