4 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU RENOVATE
Look before you jump!
Taking the leap into Renovating? Here are 4 things you want to do first, from one family whos been there to another!
Cull Your Pinterest.
If it’s Pinterest, Houzz or anywhere else you may have saved your home inspiration images - now is the time to bring them together into one place. There is no worse feeling than scrambling through apps and your camera roll trying to find an image you want to show your contractor or designer. Pick one place to keep everything. You could make a specific board or my personal favorite - create an album in your phone camera roll. Then as you add to the album from all your different places: CULL your photos. Why did you save this particular image? Is it realistic for my home or do I just like it? Be ruthless and only save images that only have direct correlation to your vision.
2. Get Drawings Done.
If you want to get a leg up before you even contact contractors - get your drawings done. There will be many revisions to be made with lots of back and forth, and depending on how busy your drafts person is, it can be a fairly drawn out process. You can bring in a designer to help through this portion of the project or go at it alone, just know it needs to be done and the sooner you do, the sooner you can nail down project dates.
3. Interview Potential Contractors.
Finding the right fit is so important. These are the people you are handing over your home to and who you will be spending a considerable amount of time with. It’s not a one size fits all, what may work for your friend may not be best for you. You want to get a sense of peoples work styles, communication, and personalities not to mention scope out their actual work. Choose someone who wants to come alongside your vision, give professional advice but not try to bulldoze you into what they like. Take your time, set up meetings, and really assess your options.
4. Find A Designer Who Will Empower Your Vision.
Similarly to choosing a Contractor, you want to make sure you have someone who is going to come alongside your vision. Whether its fixtures and furniture to round out your project or having them involved from day one, you want to choose someone who has great insight but isn’t constrained to their own ideals. Ask questions, look into reviews, find out the motives and the why behind what they do. There is a lenience to choose someone who lights up their portfolio with all the trends but you need to have someone who will help you reimagine a home you actually want to live in.
So there you have it, if you use this time before renovating wisely you will make the steps much more seamless and lot more fun! Enjoy the process , its a wild ride and you will want to soak it all in.
xx Liv
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