Whether you want to add more space, redecorate, or simply change up your furniture, remodeling your home isn’t an easy task. Before starting a home remodel, you need to consider all sorts of things such as room design, layout, paint colors and even things like the heating. For example, are you going to upgrade to vertical radiators or go for something innovative like underfloor heating?
With so many things to think about, it’s crucial you know exactly what you’re planning on doing beforehand. So, here are the top 5 things you need to know before starting a home remodel.
Your Budget
One of the most important things you need to know before starting a home remodel is your budget. Without a budget, you’ll end up blowing all your hard-earned savings or even having to shell out on a loan to cover the expenses. You don’t want to get in over your head, so spend time curating a realistic budget that will work for your plans.
It’s extremely easy for things to run away from you and before you know it, all the money you had for the project has been drained. Think about what exactly needs to be worked on and how much it will cost. It’s a good idea to have a best- and worst-case scenario, that way you’ll be prepared for anything that the remodel throws at you.
It’s also important to know which room needs the most work and will take up most of the budget. For instance, if the kitchen needs a complete overhaul and the living room only needs a lick of paint and a new cabinet, then don’t spend loads of your budget on the living room by choosing the most expensive cabinet and paint. Instead, scale back the spending on the rooms that don’t need as much work and invest in the ones that need more. You’ll find it much easier to stick to your budget that way.
Before Starting a Home Remodel, Know Your Timeline
Just like any home project, you want to give yourself a timeline to work by. Don’t let the remodeling drag on and on, or you’ll end up going way over budget and your remodel will become a nightmare to complete. You want your dream home as fast as possible, but don’t start the project without setting completion targets for each task.
Similarly, you don’t want to set targets that are unachievable as you’ll only be upset when you don’t reach them. If the contractor says that it will take 3 days to remodel the kitchen, then don’t expect them to do it in 2. You want your home to be beautifully finished, and a rushed job doesn’t promise that at all.
Work with any contactors or laborers that you’ve hired to help with the project and discuss accurate time scales. You’ll feel a lot better once you’re all on the same page and are working towards a common goal.
The Style You’re Going For
Before starting your home remodel, it might seem obvious, but you need to know what style you’re going for. It’s easy to think that you want a modern home, but design-wise, that could mean anything. You need to spend time designing your remodel and actually putting your own personality into it. Seek out home décor inspiration on a daily basis and create a dream board to conceptualize your ideas.
You also need to think about what the house will look like as a whole once it’s completed. You don’t want each room to be exactly the same as the other, but you want them to feel connected in some way. This could be through things like matching colorways for any cushions or a running theme with the curtains.
Once you know the overall style and feel that you’re going for, the remodeling design will come a lot easier to you.
Know Your Limitations before Starting a Home Remodel
It’s great to have all these fantastic ideas about how you want your house to look, but there will be times when you can’t make things work. For example, if you had your heart set on knocking down a wall in the living room to make it an open plan with the kitchen, but it can’t be done because it’s a support wall, then your plans will need to change.
Spend some time going over what sorts of things you might not be able to easily achieve in your design, so that if any issues do pop up, they won’t be a complete surprise. There might be other problems that could throw a spanner in the works too that may put the whole thing on hold, so discovering them sooner rather than later will be way better for the project overall.
Your End-Goal
Once you know your timescale, the design you want, and how much you’re going to spend, you need to ensure you think about what you want your end-goal to be. Are you just wanting a beautiful family home to raise your children in, or are you thinking about remodeling it and selling it to make a profit?
These sorts of questions are important to ask and then you need to know the answers. This will help you massively when it comes to knowing your limitations and the style you want as well. If you want a family home, then maybe you want to swap the spare room into a playroom. But if you’re trying to sell, then maybe doing up the garden might be more beneficial than remodeling the guest room. With a clear end-goal in mind, you’ll find it a lot easier to get your project to where you want it to be.
Remodeling your home is a mammoth task and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. You want to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting yourself in for and have a clear plan of how you want things to go before starting your home remodel. With some careful planning and forethought about the design and budget, you’ll soon be well on your way to having the home you’ve always dreamed of.