How To Avoid Home Remodeling Anxiety

3 Easy Steps To Help You

There has not been one homeowner in 28 years of my experience who didn’t feel anxious and overwhelmed about their project before we met.  Not one!  Hundreds of homeowners, with different lifestyles, different needs, and different budgets.  Pretty amazing. 

During a meeting four months ago, I was reminded how overwhelming the remodeling process can be, even if someone has been through a renovation before. Five years ago, my client remodeled her kitchen. Her contractor did a wonderful job, but she didn’t have a designer. When she talked about choosing the material for her kitchen countertops, that long ago, it’s easy to see (and feel) the terror she’s reliving.

Have you ever been through a remodeling project? A home addition? An updated bathroom?  A new kitchen?

If so, were you overwhelmed by all of the choices you had, and all of the decisions you had to make? Did anyone prepare you for the steps involved in your project? Did you feel alone, or abandoned? Have you thought about starting another project? What are you going to do differently this time? 

What You Can Do to Eliminate or Reduce Stress

Whether you have a designer or not (yet), here’s what you can do now:

• Buy two or three magazines (maximum!) containing articles and pictures relating to what you want to do.
• Get small “post” notes (business card size or smaller, but large enough to write notes on).

Go through the magazines at your leisure, and flag anything that appeals to you (or things that are unappealing). You don’t have to find pictures that show exactly what you desire. This is a great exercise, to help you define what you want. It’s what I call pre-shopping. Ultimately, you’ll save time and money when you’re making decisions.

• Make a list of everything you (and other family members) want to include in your project.

Do you want more specific information?  I offer a FREE 45-minute telephone consultation to talk about your remodeling project.  My award-winning book, “THE Survival Guide: Home Remodeling” contains a comprehensive, prioritized “wish list,” plus thousands of tips and hints to help you.

Another tip for you:  Listen to “Today’s Home™“ Sunday afternoons at 4:00 Pacific Time.  Every  week, we provide new product information, how-to tips, and informational interviews with a plethora of wonderful people to provide discussion about a wide variety of topics — “Advocacy and Inspired Ideas For Your Home and Lifestyle“!!!

If you have any questions, or want more information, please call me (503-632-8801) or send me an e-mail (diane@dp-design.com)

© 2012 Diane Plesset, D. P. Design — All Rights Reserved