So your ready to do a big time remodel, and dreams of HGTV and Architectural Digest are dancing through your head. And every person you’ve
discussed and shared this with has told you the horrors of remodeling. But if not now, when? So you decide to take the plunge and begin
your first big remodel. And by remodel, we are talking tens and thousands of dollars, weeks and weeks of work and more decisions you’ve
never imagined. But, you’ve done you work, researched the internet for solutions and now, you’re ready! Here it is, the remodel begins,
and then it happens…something goes wrong. But you planned, schemed and dreamed, and yet, it goes wrong! How could it? This was not in the
plans. And truth be told, it never is. But don’t worry, it happens to everyone. Every time. I know, I’ve been through it enough times to
know that no matter what you think, you remodel is going to go wrong. Very wrong!
Here are 10 things that will go wrong on your remodel:
1. You’ll go over budget
It is inevitable. Everybody does it. Why? So many reasons: You taste in finishes suddenly explodes. Your contractor disappears. There’s
mold. There’s water. There’s no electrical. There’s a stud there, but not there. You name, it will happen. And there’s nothing you can do
about it other than roll with the punches. Best thing to do, is realize that a budget is just a starting point. If having dual shower heads
means adding new support beams so it can be re-plumbed, then by all means do it! The worst thing you can do is start to skimp
on what you want. Believe me, something as simple as a shower head will haunt you and degrade the entire experience. You’ll budget $20,000
on a bath remodel, and spend all your time rationalizing saving $400 on the simpler shower valve setup, knowing you should have paid the extra
money for that push button kit you've been dreaming about. And yet... the extra $1,000 on the "right" vanity, another $500 to level the wall,
$300 for the rewire on the lighting, and so on and so on. So when you're four grans over budget, and you don't have 'your' shower, you gonna
wish you would have.
2. Keeping up with the Jones: Remodeling based on jealousy
Just because Lisa and Dan remodeled their bathroom, doesn’t mean you should. Especially since Lisa keeps bragging about it and you just really need to shut her up. You should remodel based on your taste, your desire to create something beautiful for yourself, and the functional need to realign to flow of your house to suit your Fung Shui. At issue will be your passion for the project. There’s a huge difference between “I need a new couch” and “I want a Fabio Leather Cinema”. Knowing what you want is more important than just feeling you want something.
Stainless steel appliances and Poliform cabinetry! What happened here? Although this looks cool and modern, it is nothing like your style. And from this moment on, you walk around in a daze, caught in the netherworld of how did you get talked into this?
3. Not appreciating your own taste
If you’re paying for a designer, I guess what they pick is what you’ll get. Wrong. It’s one thing to wonder what the latest trends are, but if the trend is against what you actually like, then don’t do it. Do yourself a favor, have your dream designs ready to share and drive your plans. Take time to tour design centers and even other homes and see how styles may look in real life, not just a magazine. Have your designs finalized before finalizing a contractor, and make sure they're your designs. There's nothing contractors hate more than clients who make up things as the job goes. Changing designs and style delays the project, introduces overruns and causes a sense of frustration for the contractor, who will begin finsihing 'his other' project while you try to decide what you want.
4. Selecting cheap materials
You’ll start off trying to save money by going with lower priced finishes and materials. And either halfway through, 3/4 of the way through, or 7/8 of the way through the remodel, you’ll take a trip somewhere, step into an awesome bathroom realize you want, no, you deserve something nicer. Suddenly you’ll begin rethinking the design and this will cause a delay in delivery and eventually, cost and schedule overruns.
5. Not spending enough money
This is different from going over budget. This is where you not only under design and don’t thrill yourself with your selections, but when you run into problems, your contractor may 'find some savings' for you. And then you start smelling smoke everytime you turn on the exhaust fan and water begins dripping from the walls. Cheap products and corner cutting can have disastrous effects. A leaking non-brand name faucet may require a complete replacement instead of a new cartridge. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, but be prepared for the aftermath.
6. Not updating the rest of the house to match your remodel
One of the biggest missteps in a remodel, may not be the remodel itself, but the resulting clash of designs in your housing eco-system. Updating the kitchen and adding 1860 French Colonial cabinetry, and not doing anything about the 1960 paneling in the adjoining rooms is a recipe for a horrible bouillabaisse. One way to fully appreciate your remodel and recognize its impact is to make minor updates to adjoining areas. This can be as simple as repainting connected rooms, adding new door knobs and handles to hallway cabinetry and bedrooms. This will carry the new materials and designs into adjoining rooms, and provide an enlarged feel of the remodel.
7. Designing beyond your own sense of style
Your buddy James shows up to the pub in his standard plaid shirt and elbow patched tweed jacket and invites to see the new kitchen. You walk in and …what? Stainless steel appliances and Poliform cabinetry! What happened here? Although this looks cool and modern, it is nothing like your style. And from this moment on, you walk around in a daze, caught in the netherworld of how did you get talked into this? The hard part comes in 6 months when you realize you have no connection to this design, and begin wondering how you can change things. Oh well, get that Visa card out and start racking up the miles.
8. Not visiting design centers or fashion centers
Design and fashion centers serve 2 purposes: They provide tangible hands-on, look and feel and give a real sense of what works for you, that you’re not going to get by just searching on Houzz and Wayfair. Also, visiting these centers can help get an idea of cost and they are great spots to get tips on latest trends and contacts for top-notch contractors.
9. Designing around pets and children
Yes, some of you will imagine a new kitchen and bath, and will actually spend as much time trying to incorporate a doggie door and removing cabinets to add a space for the dog bed because pooch likes to be in the bathroom with you when you shower. But there is just no reasoning with such passionate owners. But realize, your dog could care less about the spacing or materials. They just want to be held and a nice treat every once in a while. Make that every minute. Design your space, and if you’re happy, so are the pets. Uh, and same thing for kids.
10. Don’t be colorblind
Yes, this happens. You want vibrant purple because it’s the same thing Prince had! Oh yeah! That would be great for a new kitchen…but wait. Purple cabinets, countertop, drawers, faucets? Yikes! Unless you have a grammy record under your belt, keep things simple. Unless you get yourself into the netherworld of “I thought this would be cool” and now your just stuck with a huge cacophony of color that everyone thinks you’re crazy for. For colors, vibrant rich reds, oranges, pinks that pop are great as accent colors. And it’s interesting how an inch of cabinet can make the difference between a pop of color and an overwhelming glare of obnoxiousness. Get thee to a designer!
