Getting to Happily Ever After
“Expect the best, plan for the worst and prepare to be surprised.”
In this era of Covid quarantining, people are buying new homes and doing renovation work at a pace we haven’t seen in years. One of the best perks of being an interior designer is that I get to accompany people through the process of making a thought or a dream turn into a reality.
I recently gave clients a photo book chronicling the year-long journey we’d just gone on together, totally gutting and re-designing their new homes interior. Standing together in the completed rooms, we reminisced about the ideas and wish lists that started the process, and marveled at where we’d ended up. I wish I could say it happened by magic wand, but we all knew better.
When a client contacts me initially it is because they are ready to make a change to their physical environment. During the course of a consultation I am listening to a clients wish list and paring them with the physical realities of the home. I offer the possibilities and options for achieving those goals.
If the home’s layout is good and we are merely redecorating, then the task skips right to assembling the decorative elements like draperies and furniture, and minor adjustments can be made to the space to make it feel new. But all the beautiful furnishings in the world cannot fix a home with poor layout, insufficient storage or outdated kitchens and baths. When space and function are lacking, a renovation may be the only answer. If that is the agreed upon conclusion, it’s important to have a clear vision of what to expect.
Home renovation is not for the faint of heart and should not be entered into lightly. Until you have experienced it, there is no way to convey the dust, noise and disruption that come with having a work crew in your home. But there are ways to make it less painful and preparation is the key.
I believe that 80% of a renovation happens before a tool comes on site.
One must be prepared financially, physically and psychologically, and that’s where the expertise of a good professional team is invaluable. Designers and builders know how to convert the language of a dream into the language of construction, formulating a plan of action to achieve your goals. Without such a trusted translator, one winds up with a mishmash of ideas and finishes; a disappointing (and expensive) Tower of Babel.
To prepare financially, it’s important to have a sense of what things cost. Bathtubs are not $300 and cabinetmakers do not work for $12.00 an hour. Most initial meetings with a reputable builder will give you a ballpark of what you’ll need. Even if you’ve done renovations in the past you might be shocked to see how prices jump from year to year. Yes, you probably could find a bathtub for $300, but it is one you’d want? I have seen many folks underestimate the total needed to complete a project. You can see where an idea started in style but finished with cheap materials and sub-par workmanship to squeeze the last pennies of a budget. Champagne tastes with beer budgets can make for very disappointing results. My advice is always to wait a little longer, until there is more money in the coffers than you think you will need. Trust me, you always wind up needing it.
Physically preparing for a renovation is not only prudent, it’s a must. Thinking about the ways your home will be disrupted allows you to prepare temporary solutions. If you are able to live in your home during the renovation you may simply camp out in a guest bedroom or shower in another bathroom. Perhaps a makeshift kitchen consisting of a microwave and a coffee pot is set up in another room of the house during a short-term interruption. If the renovation scale is larger or will result in major disruptions like lack of utilities, lack of privacy or lack of peace and quiet you may want to make temporary housing arrangements. An active construction site might not be the most ideal place to begin or end your day, and don’t forget that you will be sharing your home with the trades working in it. I have countless stories of clients caught in their nightgowns, or worse, because the contractors’ day started well before their own.
We take for granted the routines we have in our homes, so the psychological preparation is usually overlooked. Disruptions to the hum of home life impacts every member of the household, including our four legged ones. When work begins, you may feel like your home has been hijacked and you have been disregarded in the process. It’s good advice to make sure you are clear about your expectations before a project begins. Small annoyances like loud music, delivery trucks driving too fast or lack of daily clean up are magnified in the midst of a renovation upset. Good communication and scheduled update meetings with the people on your job keeps you abreast of progress or problems, minimizing the feelings of helplessness. Just as important as knowing what’s going on is the need to mentally step away from it all from time to time. Pretending you are temporarily absolved of the responsibilities of your home - like it is in suspended animation – can provide much needed relief from it all. Think of not having a kitchen as an excuse to have a picnic or try a new restaurant. Paint fumes or constant hammering are great reasons to try a quaint B & B or take the kids to the park for much needed distraction from the commotion. Adapting the attitude of “this too shall pass” and reminding yourself that there is end in sight will help smooth out the stress of it all.
I am used to holding my clients hands and reassuring them through the process of a home renovation. It may be comforting to know that interior designers like myself are not immune to the upheaval when it happens in our own homes. Several years ago, my family and I underwent a major renovation of our home. The stress of ever changing completion dates, carelessly discarded sandwich wrappers and cigarette butts and wasted days when subs did not show made us vow “never again”. But as the project progressed and our initial vision began to take shape we understood clearly that getting from before to after doesn’t happen without temporary inconvenience.
It had taken us a long time to sum up the mental fortitude needed to do it all over again, but our vows of “never again” have always been overridden by the desire to keep making this the home of our dreams. I must say that all of the time we put into preparation, along with the benefit of past experience, has paid off in all we’ve done since. We’ve learned to manage expectations and know that delays are inevitable, and most of all, to not be grouchy at each other through it all.
I know the process is a necessary evil and every so often I go through my photo albums, reminiscing about the ideas and wish lists that started the process, and marvel at where we’ve ended up. I wish I could say it happened by magic wand, but I know better.
