Avoid Home Remodeling Anxiety: 4 Easy Steps
Remodeling anxiety getting to you?
Remodeling anxiety? It’s a very real phenomenon for most homeowners. There have been very few homeowners in the past 33 years who didn’t feel anxious and overwhelmed about their project before we met. 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 remodeling anxiety she’s reliving. Have you ever been through a remodeling project? A home addition? An updated bathroom? A new kitchen? If so, you probably had remodeling anxiety, 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 Can You Do to Eliminate or Reduce Stress? Whether you have a designer or not (yet), here are four things you can do right now:
- Buy two or three magazines (maximum!) containing articles and pictures relating to what you want to do. Attach a “post” note and write what appeals to you about the picture.
- Visit the Houzz website and set up one or more portfolios, then start adding pictures (don’t be shy about contacting the designer to ask questions about products, etc.).
- Make a list of everything you (and other family members) want to include in your project.
- Prioritize your list, to help you make tradeoffs and stay within your budget.
Get your partner/spouse involved, if possible. Get feedback about what you’ve chosen, and invite him/her to make a selection. Go through the magazines at your leisure, and flag anything that appeals to you (or things that are unappealing). 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. And, you’ll avoid potential conflicts about the scope of your remodeling project if everyone is “on board” with the goals. All of these proactive choices will reduce or eliminate remodeling anxiety.
Do you want more specific information? D. P. Design offers a FREE 45-minute telephone consultation to talk about your remodeling project. Call at your convenience, or send an email request to Diane. You can also get more information in D. P. Design’s Newsletter — “Today’s Home.” Diane Plesset’s award-winning book, “THE Survival Guide: Home Remodeling” contains a comprehensive, prioritized “wish list,” plus thousands of tips and hints to help you.
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