What to consider when renovating your home

Once you’ve decided to renovate what do you do next?

I’ve put together a list of considerations and steps to take to help you with the process of renovating!

House of J renovation

Figure out what areas you are renovating.

If you are planning to renovate your kitchen, are you replacing cabinets? Just counter top. If you remove the wall, will you have to replace the flooring in the living room too? Are you going to have gypsum underlayments anywhere for stability? Are you going to want to buy some new furnishings after the renovation? What are the things that may snowball? What about exterior? Are you going to be replacing the roof? These are the kinds of things to think about. Narrow down and confirm all the areas that will be renovated.

Gather ideas for what you might like the space to look like.

Whether you prefer physical magazines, books or online photos, start to gather inspiration pics. Find images of interiors that you like. Gather pictures or information on solutions to common design problems (i.e. cabinet organizers). You may not like everything in a picture, but try and find common links among the photos you do like. Do all the kitchens you like have white cabinets? One of my favourite resource/inspiration books is by Joanna Gaines from HGTV’s Fixer Upper. Such a great source of inspiration and also just an awesome coffee table book! My favourite online collector of inspiration is Pinterest! With pinterest you can create boards, for example kitchen, bathroom etc. Then you can “pin” or save pictures to those boards. You can even categorize the boards themselves. For example, a Kitchen board can be broken down into backsplash, counter top, cabinets. Pinterest is my go-to as a designer.

Think about what the current pain points are in your space and what could improve them.

For example, is your dishwasher currently far away from you sink, could it be moved? Do you find you current tile floor cold and hard, could you look at an alternative flooring? Do you lack storage space, could you incorporate a pantry? Think about what works in your current space and what does not. This will help you plan your renovation.

Determine a rough budget of what you want to spend.

It is important to consider how much money you would like to put into a renovation. The 2 golden rules of renovating is that is always costs more and takes longer! Maybe not what you want to hear, but this is a reality in renovations because as you go along things will snowball, you will decide that yes, maybe you do want to upgrade appliances after all. Things like this. Sometimes the budget is more about how you are going about doing things versus a dollar amount. For example, are you wanting top of the line, or maybe in some spots you will do top of the line, in others more budget friendly, or are you wanting to keep costs as low as possible even if it means compromising on what you want. Think about where you might be willing to splurge and where you definitely want to keep things tight for price.

Talk with a designer.

House of J renovation (faucet)

Hiring a designer for even an hour or two to talk about your ideas and plans can be extremely valuable. You don’t necessarily have to hire them for the entire job, but being able to go through the key points of the renovation plans, get some professional feedback and ideas is huge and I can guarantee, it will save you time, money and give you peace of mind! . An advantage of having a designer on the job is that we are also trained to consider the details. For example, what is the best size for the grout lines, what height should the light fixture be, where is the best cut off from one flooring to the next, and the list goes on. We are trained to look at every aspect in the design of a space.

Talk with a contractor.

Also, a great contractor will have a team of vetted qualified tradespeople that they can call upon to get the job done. From professionals to scrap out the existing design to experts who give the final touch, they tend to have an all-in-one team. Besides, they also make sure that they leave the place as clean as it was when they started the project. So, they usually have roll off dumpster rentals to clear the site of the waste materials.

Again, you may bring in a contractor to discuss what you are thinking to ensure you are on the right path or you may have to go that step further and have them quote on the job. What I appreciate most about having a contractor on a project is that they know the scope of work for the full project, so they will ensure that the trades do not work in isolation from each other. This is important so that for example, the plumber’s work does not impede the electrician’s work. Sometimes individual trades do their job without considering who’s coming in next and this can cause problems. A contractor can ensure that everyone is working as a team. This is how you get the best results.

Get as many finishes and products selected prior to demolition.

This is huge! If you want the renovation to run smoothly and get completed in a timely manner, the more prepared you are before the demo and start of work, the better! In your home, you want to start sorting. Pretend you are moving. Sort out and get rid of what you can. Box up items and move them out of the space in preparation for your renovation. In an ideal world if you have a contractor and a designer and you can have a place to stay or go on vacation during the height of the renovating, then that will save you some headache. Renovations are messy, loud and inconvenient. You should prepare for this. But it is short term pain for long term gain!

Again, this is why planning and preparing will be so important.

Think of all the items/products/finishes you will need for this renovation. Make a master list and start filling it in with selections made. You will have to start doing field trips to various suppliers for cabinets, flooring, backsplash, counter tops, plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures, etc. etc. However, if you are working with an electrician, they may be able to source things like lighting fixtures at a cheaper price and so you may want to discuss this with them first. If you are considering working with an electrician, there is more info here on a company offering expert electrician services. As a designer, my job is to help client’s through this process and making their choices. I ensure that we keep a cohesive look that is inline with the overall design and function my clients are wanting. Keep careful track of what you have chosen and where it is from. This will be handy to keep you organized. Whatever you can select and purchase prior to the actual renovating, the better! Make sure you’re shopping online for these products too, shop around, compare them to each other, explore your options! What kind of bath tub and toilet will you get, and will they match? Where are they going to be placed and is this feasible? You can always talk to a plumber about things like this, for an example of a good plumbing service, view website here.