Home renovation is one of the most exciting and challenging parts of being a homeowner. It’s the opportunity to make your home look and feel exactly how you want it to. However, it can also be a big investment of time and money. If you’re considering a home makeover, here are three questions you should ask first.
1.What Is My Goal?
For many people, the primary purpose of home improvements is functional. They want a more spacious home or a design layout that better suits their needs. For instance, a family with small children might want to build a new bedroom, add additional doors, or knockdown walls. If you’ve purchased an old home, you might want to upgrade to more modern lighting and appliances.
Others, however, start a home makeover with primarily aesthetic goals. If your goal is to create an updated and inviting home, you might add windows for increased natural light. You might also change up your flooring or redesign your kitchen, bathroom, or other rooms to be more in line with current trends. When considering aesthetic goals, it’s good to be aware both of what’s in fashion and what your personal style is.
It’s reasonable to want a home most would consider attractive. But at the end of the day, you’re the one who lives there. Your home should be a place that reflects your style and makes you happy to be in. Understanding your own style will also help you get a clearer picture of your goals in home improvement.
2.What Is Necessary, and What’s on My Wish List?
The majority of people starting a home makeover have goals that are both functional and aesthetic. You should think hard about which of these components is more important to you. Your dream home look may not be compatible with your lifestyle or may only suit your goals for a short time.
For instance, many families with small children prefer their homes to have an open floor plan with minimal interior walls. This allows parents to keep an eye on their children. However, it can also make the home look messy, as clutter in one space will be visible everywhere. And as the children grow older, an open floor plan can become inconvenient. It’s hard to watch TV if someone is cooking in the same room.
As you determine what you’d like and what you can’t live without, get clear on what elements of your home you’d like to preserve. There may be more you like about your home than you currently think.
3.What’s My Budget?
The first step to putting together a budget for home improvements is to figure out how you’ll be paying for them. Do you have the money saved, or will you be using credit or financing? Based on this, how much can you expect to spend? Be clear about what your maximum is and stick to it.
That said, home improvement is basically synonymous with unexpected expenses. When putting your budget together, you should always set aside money for unforeseeable expenses. Research to determine what those might be, and remain in dialogue with your contractor about the progress of your renovation once you begin. You wait to avoid a situation in which you’re spending additional money without understanding where it’s going.
This is where having a clear idea of what you want from your renovation will become helpful. The more you can share about what you want your home to look like, the better the contractor’s estimates will be. Always get estimates and interviews from multiple contractors before picking one.