Make upgrades within your home to suit your evolving needs and lifestyle.
By renovating, you can create the home you’ve always wanted. You can create a place that makes life better, easier and more enjoyable.
I’ve joined up with local carpenter Renovations Alexander Ostrofsky to provide you with helpful tips to plan a successful project.
Here’s how to make better decisions from the start of your renovation journey.
Read our tips below…
TIP 1: Define what this project is for you
The reason you are renovating will guide all of the decisions that you need to make along the way. Get clear on what this project is for you and the reason why you would like to renovate.
Is this your first home, stepping stone home, forever home, Airbnb, or perhaps a weekend home/country retreat?
TIP 2: Get clear on your core concept before hiring
Your home style, what you value (Canadian/ Quebec made, support local, affordable solutions etc. How you want to live, how you want your home to feel and your available budget.
TIP 3: Communicate with your team
Have those tough conversations early…
→ Don’t waste your contractor’s time or yours, speak up!
→ Know when to check in and how regularly, stick with the facts and keep emotions out of these conversations.
→ Know when to be flexible and when to be decisive/insistent.
TIP 4: Find your why
Purpose and clarity… If you don’t know your why you’ll struggle to make decisions.
So, what are your goals?
How your goals will serve you will help you to determine your motive and enable you to make decisions. Envision your life in the finished space with the features you want or need. This will guide you towards your goal.
Tip 5: Constraints can be good
Without establishing clear boundaries your home could look like a mish-mash of different looks and styles.
For a cohesive home you must have constraints. With colors for example, there are choices to make from fixtures and fittings to paint colors and flooring material and soft furnishings.
Is your style traditional or contemporary? Was your home built in this century or the last?
TIP 6: Getting work done quickly isn’t always better
So often we’re in a hurry to make decisions in our renovation project in the hope that we can bring it to life as quickly as possible, but don’t hurry. If you rush some decisions in the beginning stages of a project they can cost you during the build process, and limit your options.
TIP 7: Understand and gather info early
It’s very easy to get overwhelmed during any stage of the renovation process. There are many people involved and lots of moving parts happening. Educate yourself about what you need to know. Find experts who can guide you through the decisions that you need to make.
Keep in mind there are always restrictions and a limit to what can be done. Renovations, after all, mean working around an existing structure, so be open minded as new ideas and suggestions may be brought to the table.
Renovate with less overwhelm & more ease
What to expect and how to plan for a successful project.
The 7 renovation stages to know