Planning Your Renovation Project...

Whether it’s a custom home you’re contemplating, or a renovation to an existing home, much of the planning process remains the same.  Proper project planning considers many factors including the overall goals of the renovation project, functional requirements, lifestyle needs and desires, architectural elements and interior design preferences.  When you start a renovation plan, it is always good to compile a file with photos of rooms, homes, or design styles that you like from magazines, books, websites, etc.  Photos can easily convey your renovation concepts what words sometimes cannot.

The following checklist will assist you in thinking about the many decisions and elements that go into the proper planning and design of your renovation or build project.  Some you may have specific ideas about - and others you may have not even considered.  Either way, combined with a visit from the  LivingScape Team to your home, this checklist can be a very valuable tool to initiate the thought process and dialogue necessary for a successful project, be it a kitchen renovation, basement development, or a full home makeover. 

General Information

1.        What are the main objectives of the custom renovation project?

2.        If there is considerable demolition to be done, or if key components of the home will be out of commission, (ie. kitchen, bathroom) do you have a plan for this such as a place to live temporarily.

3.        Have you considered your budget for this project?  What is it?  Does it include furnishings, window treatments, etc?

4.        Is this a custom home build, or a renovation to your existing home?

5.        If renovating, will the work be done all at once or in stages?  If stages, have you considered the impact on your daily routine for a sustained period? 

6.        What is your timing?  Consider when you would like to finish as this will dictate when you want to start.

7.        How many years do you expect to live in the home?

8.        Do you have pets?  If so, identify the pets, and the design considerations for them (for example, a location for a dog crate, pet wash station, consideration for flooring surfaces, etc.).

9.        Are there special items that you want included in your renovation project (eg. media/theatre/games room, home automation, home office, etc.)? 

People

1.        Movement of people.  Consider traffic patterns in your existing home.  Do access requirements between rooms conflict with activities?  For example, do people have to pass through a television area to get to the bathroom?  List any current limitations, and the improvements you’d like to see regarding the flow of people.

2.        Use of space.  Think about the amount of space you require, and the extent that this space should remain open or closed.  If it’s an existing home, will interior walls need to be moved?  What about exterior walls/adding on space?

3.        Are there impending changes (or have there been) in your family situation such as the birth of a new child, an aging parent, or grown children moving away from home? 

4.        Identify all the people that live in the home.  What are their ages?  Do you anticipate their lifestyle needs to change significantly within the next 10 years?

5.        What hobbies does each individual have?  Are they shared by more than one person? How do these hobbies impact your living requirements (storage of sports equipment; requirement for and exercise area, shower room, workshop/sewing room, etc.)?

6.        Are there any physical challenges that create mobility or accessibility needs?  Will you want to consider the possibility of future physical challenges in the design?

7.        What about allergies?

Style and Design Considerations

1.        What impression do you want visitors to have of your home?  How do you want you and your family to feel in your home?

2.        Is special heating cooling, lighting or ventilation required for any part of the home?

3.        Do you have artwork or collections that require any special display or lighting considerations?

4.        Do you have a style preference for your home -eg. Mid Century Modern, Urban Contemporary, Arts & Crafts, French Country, Transitional, etc.

5.        What would you NOT want to see in your home?  Why?

6.        Do you have colour preferences?  What are they?

7.        What about surface materials?  Do you have a preference between natural or man-made? Is maintenance free a priority?

8.        What other comments or considerations have you thought of that may be useful towards the design and planning of your renovation or custom build?