A home renovation is a major task. It presents an exciting opportunity to take your home and turn it into the space of your dreams. Everyone is different, so everyone’s needs from a home are different, making a renovation a great way to personalize your home. But home renovations are tricky as well, complicated and a major endeavor. There are a lot of things you need to figure out before starting your home renovation. Here are a few of them. 

Decide on Your Budget

The first and foremost thing that you need to do before beginning your home renovation is decide on a budget. Your budget will determine the scope and intensity of your home renovation, letting you know how much you have to spend. Having a budget and sticking to it will help you discover your priorities in a home renovation, funneling the budget into the most important projects for you. Your budget will also help you make decisions on what kinds of materials and services you can purchase, and help you find ways to achieve as much as possible while spending as little as possible. Sticking to your budget is just as important as setting one – a budget is only as strong as your willpower. 

Research What it Will Take

Home renovations are not a small undertaking. They require time, effort, money, labor, and a major disruption to day to day life in your home. Turning your home into an active construction site while you are living in it is no easy feat. Do your research and find out what kind of sacrifice and commitment you are making with a home renovation so you can prepare for life during renovation. You should familiarize yourself with the timeline of certain projects, the costs, labor requirements, and the level of disruption to your life. For instance, a bathroom remodel in your basement won’t be as disruptive as a full kitchen remodel. Figure out what a renovation really looks like before you dive right in. 

Get Quotes From Contractors

Once you have your budget and have done your research, you are ready to start talking to specific contractors about your exact project. Contractors will be happy to give you quotes, both on cost and the time to complete your project. Get quotes from many contractors, and compare them to decide what your best options will be. If you really like a certain contractor but get a better offer somewhere else, you can always try to negotiate down with the contractor you like based on your other offer. Getting many quotes will help you find the contractor who is best able to meet your needs and budget. 

Choose Your Parts

Sooner or later (preferably sooner) you are going to have to choose the parts you are going to use in your remodel. This can be particularly difficult in a kitchen remodel, when you have all sorts of parts to decide on. The toughest choice probably has to be kitchen cabinets, as there are seemingly endless options. You may want to select cabinets that have roll out shelves. Roll out shelves help minimize frustration when you need to grab ingredients or dishware. Having a roll out shelf prevents you from having to dig to the back of your shelves; the back of the shelf comes to you. 

Choose a Cohesive Style

There are a lot of home styles to choose from, so many that it can easily get overwhelming. There are a seemingly endless array of styles and combinations and crossovers such that it’s hard to know exactly what style any particular piece truly is. But that is okay, the point of choosing a style is not to stick to it steadfastly no matter what. Rather, the purpose is simply to have a guiding principle to help you make aesthetic and design choices for your home so that everything is of a piece. Having different rooms of your house being radically different styles can be a choice if that is your style, but having a cohesive design philosophy across your home makes for a really lovely appearance. 

Know What to DIY

If you are like most people, your home renovation budget is not going to be large enough to do every single last thing you want to do in your renovation. But if you know anything about DIY projects, or have interest in learning, then your home renovation is a great opportunity to use those skills. You can find some projects that are on your list of wants that you are more than capable of doing on your own, which can save you tons of money. Choosing to complete some of your home renovation yourself can help you cross more things off your wants list while staying within your budget. 

Resale Value

At the end of the day, your home is likely the largest financial asset that you have, if not, then it is most likely still up there on the list. Which means that you should prioritize the resale value of your home post renovation in your renovation decisions. By talking to a realtor or even most contractors, you can find out what projects you want to do will give you the most return on investment when it comes to the resale value of your home. 

Long Term Plan

A home renovation is not an everyday, every month, or every year event. For most homeowners, one major renovation is all that you will do to your home. Because of the infrequency of renovations, you should consider your long term plan in your renovation. If you are a young family planning to expand, that is important to know considering a renovation. On the other hand, if your kids are older and about to move out to college or the world, then knowing that can help you make some decisions on what projects are necessary. Think big picture when it comes to your renovation. 

A home renovation is an exciting opportunity to make your home your own. Customizing your space to your exact wants and needs is a brilliant thing to do. But it is a big task that takes a huge amount of planning and preparation. If you can figure these eight things out before beginning your renovation, you are setting yourself up for success.

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