Want to Love Your Renovation and Wow Your Friends?

Every year we have a few projects that win awards and often I get comments like "wow the clients must have spent a lot of money" or "wish we could afford to do our kitchen like that". Well the straight goods is that many of our award winning projects are no more expensive then many of the bland renovations you see today. Those projects, like all our projects, are designed by our in house teamSo my advice to you is to hire a Designer (a real one).Yea, yea, I've heard it all from renovation customers.... "i'm a bit of an amateur designer", "My friends tell me I have great taste" , bla,bla... After a steady diet of home improvement shows and hours on Houzz some people think they are equipped to be the next Kelly Deck (sorry Kelly).Well Guess what? Design is more then matching pillows to the curtains, freshening up paint and moving some furniture around. Good Designers know building code to finish selection and they do it everyday, not just the one-off bathroom renovation you are about to do. Ask yourself, would you represent yourself in court because you watched a lot of "Law and Order"?Now that i have you fully convinced to hire a designer. You are probably asking what do i look for and what do I ask?

1. Building sciences and drafting. Is the designer (or design firm) experienced in creating permit ready building plans? Have they been through the permitting process? Permit ready means, the plans (drawings) show that local building codes are being used and drawing package contains all the detail and documentation required by the City Plan Checker. This is a big one and its what separates designers from decorators. Designers with this experience will save you a lot of time with the added benefit that you'll have plans that are a real representation of your home making ordering the right size and quantity of materials easier. This area is non negotiable. If they don't have this experience.... just walk away.

I won't give it all away to you in this post. Stay tuned for part 2 of "Want to love your renovation and wow your friends?"Related articles

• Want to Love Your Renovation and Wow Your Friends? Part Two
• Who needs a permit for a renovation?