Planning for Your Next Project

When planning your next home improvement project, you might have a million ideas. How you go about narrowing down those ideas will help you end with a final product that satisfies your needs and tastes. In this blog, we will provide some tips for planning and executing your next project. 

1. Where you would like to start?

Home improvement projects may seem daunting. Organizing a list of areas you would like to redesign can help you plan for the future. It is important to organize the list in order of priority. This list will help you stay on top of the high priority projects. Questions to ask yourself when creating this list:

• Are there certain structural or design issues that are affecting your way of life or safety? 
• Is the project structural or cosmetic? 
• Is the space public or has high traffic (living rooms, family rooms, kitchens, etc.)?
• What can I do with my current budget? 

2. Create a vision board on Pinterest or Paper 

This will be a fun art project! Use other’s posts and pictures for inspiration on color palettes and interior design work for the space you are redoing. If you already have an aesthetic or color palette, refine your search with those specifications. Since the possibilities are endless, a vision board allows you to organize your ideas. After some time working on your vision board, you will see what styles you gravitate towards. 

3. Set a budget 

Setting a budget per project or for all your intended home improvement projects is an important step in making the project feel worth the time and money you will spend. Things to keep in mind when creating a budget or when beginning the bidding process with contractors: 

• We recommend receiving two to three bids for the service you would like completed. This will help you understand the range of pricing that your project may cost. Follow this link to read more about how to screen your contractors during the bidding process!
• With these prices in mind, the lowest bid isn’t always the best bid. You want to get your money’s worth when it comes to choosing a professional. The lowest bid might seem enticing, but remember, a good professional is worth the money. 
• It is also important to hire a professional that’s a good fit. You want to find a professional who will listen to your questions and needs.

4. Sampling Paint Colors & Other Samples

To get an idea of what paints fit into your imagined color pallet, you can go to your local hardware store to grab paint samples. There is also new software that allows you to test paints virtually! Paint distribution companies, such as Lowe’s, have such a software to show you how a paint color will look in your space. While other elements of your home improvement project can’t be tested with the same software, your local hardware stores, and some online retailers will give you tile or stain samples! Follow this link to get those samples!

5. Execution 

This is your final step! All your planning will finally pay off once your space is complete with all the home improvement tasks you wanted. It is important that in the execution step that you (1) create a schedule and (2) prepare for the unexpected. These two steps will make the process less overwhelming. Mental preparedness is almost as important as all the planning you have done so far!

We wish you luck on your next home improvement endeavors! We hope our planning tips will make the process seem less daunting. The end product will make all of this time and money worthwhile!

Thank you for reading! Check out our other blog posts here.