It is pretty daunting to plan a house remodel from scratch if you have never done it before. Here’s a few tips to get you started.
1. Ideas and Inspiration
Whether you are designing a house from scratch or planning to remodel a home that you already live in you will need to start somewhere. Images you like from other houses are a great place to begin. Gather magazine images, pictures from Pinterest etc. Try and sort them into groups that are similar in style to each other. These should start to give you an idea of your preferred style. It is not unusual to have a mix of styles but see if you can spot a dominant one. If you want a professional looking finish you need to keep your style consistent. Look at why you like them and try to put them into words. This will help you to spot what you love most.
2. Sketches and Plans
If you can plan a house in your head then you are truly unique! Even an architect will not try to design a house without getting a few sketches down on paper or their computer to begin with. To plan a home successfully you need to start with a rough plan and work your way through what does and does not work for you. If you don’t have time to learn a computer package or scale drawing, our
Home Design Kit will help you plan a home in no time.
3. Professional Advice
Whether you are using an Architect or not, seek as much advice from those in the know as you can ... especially at the early stages. Don’t be afraid to question everything. Questions at the planning stage are cheaper than changes at the build stage.
Even if you are not paying a professional to help you can get great advice from suppliers like a build store or at relevant trade shows. Most trade shows will have experts giving talks and this can be a great way to raise your hand and get an answer to something you are unclear about.
Ask friends and family who have gone through a renovation project to give you some time and pick their brains. Be specific with your questions and take notes...a few questions to start you off...
- What were the most difficult part of your house renovation?
- What would you do differently if you were doing it over?
- Where did your costs run over?
- Did it turn out better or worse than you hoped?
- Did you change any part of your plan during the build and if so why?
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4. Patience
It might sound obvious but if you try and plan a house in too fast it is inevitable that you will have errors. The kind of errors you make when you are building can be very costly, or hard to live with.
Think about the years ahead living in the house and accept that a few extra months at the planning stage is time well spent.
