Remodeling
So, you’re thinking of remodeling your home. Or maybe you’re trying to decide between remodeling and buying a new home. These are difficult decisions to make. Understanding what remodeling is and how the process works is important to help you decide if it’s a good fit for you and your family.
Additions Kitchens Baths Repairs
Understanding Remodeling
Remodeling is unlike new construction in that you don’t start from a blank-slate job site, but from your existing home. Once you have lived in a home for any time at all, you have developed a relationship to that space. Successful remodeling design honors the connections that a family has to their home. Even if you are embarking on a remodeling project of a home that you have just bought and not lived in, it is still important for the remodeling design to be mindful of the personality of the space.
There is a great deal of craft and knowledge that goes into fitting new to old, versus just building new. In remodeling it is important to understand construction techniques of the past, as well as to keep in mind the complications of opening up, moving, or completely removing walls, ceilings, windows, built-ins, etc. These complications make remodeling more expensive than new construction per square foot, but still much less expensive than a new mortgage or associated moving costs. Plus, you are investing much more than money into your home when you remodel – you are making it a functional, comfortable, livable, lovable sanctuary.
It’s only natural to be concerned about the inconvenience of remodeling. Unless you are not living in your home, there is no way to avoid the noise and dust created as the work gets done. But remember, this is all part of the very exciting process that makes a home uniquely yours. While inconvenience can’t be eliminated, it can be minimized. We at Stearns Design-Build recognize that an invitation to work in your home is an honor and we treat it as such.
Starting the Remodel Process
Once you have decided that you’re ready to start improving your home, it’s a good idea to prioritize what you want done. Perhaps it is a new master suite, modernized bath, a more functional kitchen or a screened in porch. But what about the specifics? Usually, it helps to create a list that involves design, budget, and desires. You want to put all of your ideas on the table, as many times you may decide that lower priority things will be done first because they are less expensive or better fit your timeline. A good source of information on budgets and return on investment for remodeling projects in our region of the U.S. can be found here. And of course, we will be here with advice as you make decisions.
To continue to refine, develop and communicate your ideas, cut pictures out of magazines, take pictures of things you like, bookmark pictures in books. These will all be helpful tools during the design process of your project. Think outside the box. If you are in a natural setting that has colors that you would like in your house, take a picture. If you are thinking about remodeling a kitchen, don’t restrict your eye to just kitchen design. Inspiration can be found unexpectedly.
You are a key part in your remodel project from the formulation of ideas, all the way through the design and implementation. Thus, we feel that it is essential that you are well informed throughout the entire process, and strive to keep you so. Remodeling your home or building a new one can be stressful–we want to make your project as stress free and even as fun as possible, leaving you with a home that perfectly fits your needs
At Stearns Design-Build we design and build happiness. Serving College Station, Bryan and the Brazos Valley since 1993.