Establishing Project Goals with Confidence
by Rachel Ravitch
The design and construction process can last many months or even years depending on the scope of your project. It’s important to know more about the process and define your goals with confidence prior to spending time and money on design and construction.
Here are some ways to prepare for the process:
It’s important to gain a solid understanding of your goals before starting a design & construction project to make the process as efficient as possible.
Aligning with a lender, financial consultant, and real estate professional on your design & construction budget is an important first step in the process. Each of these professionals will help you ensure that the work you do will work for your broader financial goals and that your investment will meet the demands of the real estate market.
Getting on the same page with any partners in the process is a huge milestone. If you are married, have kids, are designing with an aging parent in mind or are working with business partners, it’s important to define your individual and collective goals so you can negotiate and agree on terms as much as possible in advance of hiring professionals. A designer can help you with visualizations but the more information you can give to your designer about your goals, the more likely the designer will be successful at achieving your goals.
Getting a better understanding of what you want and experiencing real world examples of your ideal living or working situation will really help you visualize the kind of space you would like to create for yourself or your workplace.
Documenting your findings in a Google Slides document, images folder on your smartphone, via Instagram or Pinterest are all great ways to help you keep track of things you see that help you create your ideal space.
I have put together a few guides below with links to helpful articles and recommendations for books & blogs, and local furniture shops & fabricators.
Conversation Starters Taking some time to think about your space and how you want to live or work within it is an important step prior to working with a designer. If you have a partner or partners in this process, this is also a great exercise to negotiate on some of your individual goals in advance so we can work together to achieve your collective goals.
Articles on Remodeling Some helpful short articles on what to expect while remodeling.
Design Books As glossy as websites like Houzz and Pinterest can be, they have become rife with sales-pitch oriented imagery vs. homes that people actually live in. Let’s look at some imagery that focuses on ways to live.
Design Blogs In addition to design books, there are many useful, beautiful, encouraging blogs out there to help guide you toward new ideas.
Sustainable Furnishings Sourcing US-made, locally made and vintage / used furnishings is great for the environment and the local economy.
Puget Sound Area Fabricators The Puget Sound area is home to many talented fabricators across a variety of industries. Keeping dollars local helps the local economy and is more sustainable than purchasing goods that have been shipped overseas.