Five Mistakes to Avoid Before Starting a Renovation or Re-design

You’re thinking about re-doing your kitchen or bathroom or maybe one of your bedrooms. You’ve seen some great-looking renovations in several magazines and one of your good friends just did a beautiful makeover in her apartment.

You’re psyched to start. You’re scared you’ll mess up. Well, you should be psyched – it’s great, you’re going to transform part of your home so it will be even more comfortable to live in.

Being scared? Maybe a little, but if you avoid certain pitfalls, the process can be rewarding.

Five mistakes to avoid:

1. 1. Starting demolition before ordering fixtures or supplies

Here’s why – the likelihood is that despite ordering the items you want correctly, some of the items will be broken, you’ll get the wrong color or style, or they’ve discontinued that item or color.

So what happens? The project will likely be delayed and you’ll be living in the middle of a construction mess.

1. Ordering furniture without a plan

You wouldn’t build a house without architectural plans, so you shouldn’t buy furniture for a room without a space plan.

You’re thinking “they’re different,” yet space plans provide important information about placement, size, proportion, and most importantly space to walk – or the flow of the room.

What’s more, the elevations – the view of the wall, provides a way to imagine different types and sizes of furniture and decor at eye level. Having a plan will ensure the correct proportions and feel in the room so everything fits, and doesn’t look cluttered.

1. Ordering furniture from the same company at different times

You’ve got to plan ahead. Otherwise, items such as fabric or tile may be from a different dye lot and look different from what you expected when it arrives in the home. And, sadly, some items may be discontinued.

1. Taking Lighting for granted

Lighting changes the way a color is perceived. Very often, stores have industrial lighting such as fluorescence and at home, you may have LED or incandescent lighting. Each option produces different shadows and will not work for your space. So, it is very important to look at materials in lighting similar to what you will have at home.

1. Attempting to do it yourself

If you’re like me, you want to get what you want at the best price. Or, perhaps because you’re a do-it-yourselfer, you want to try to complete a project on your own.

Here’s the rub, it’s important to recognize that expertise can save you money in the long run because the job gets done right.

Interior designers offer expertise, experience, a good eye, contacts of good contractors and workers, and products that are only available to the trade. Their expertise will keep you on a budget because they will help you avoid potential mistakes like the four listed above. All those are good reasons to hire a pro.

But perhaps the biggest reason to find and use an experienced designer is that they provide the assurance you want so your renovation or re-design is about you and how you want to live in your home.

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