​The goal of this post is to save you money.  Maybe a whole bunch of money.
 
I get to meet a lot of people – almost exclusively inside their homes – and many of them tell me they need more space.  I hear a near-constant chorus of “If only my house were bigger.”  Some of those people do really need more space; most though just need to think about their house differently.  It’s easy to get tunnel vision about your house – you spend so much time there that it’s hard to imagine the dining room being anything different than overflow storage, or your coat closet not being a pantry.  In fact, just this past week, a potential client, Tina, called me to talk about an addition she thought she needed.  ​

​It’s November 23rd, 2023, Thanksgiving Day, and you’re hosting.
 
As you scramble to read recipes and negotiate oven timing between your turkey and sides, your guests start to arrive.  You run to the front door for some quick pleasantries but leave the hosting to your spouse as you quickly retreat back to the kitchen.  

(and 3 tips for having a better design experience)

​In it’s never ending quest to give us shows we didn’t know we needed, Netflix launched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo earlier this month.  Was it a coincidence that a show geared toward keeping your home clean debuted in unison with your new year’s resolution to get your life in order?  I’m gonna go ahead and say that the folks at Netflix planned that one pretty carefully.

Have you ever seen The Bachelor or The Bachelorette?  If not, here's an overview:  It's a dating show where the the entire season leads up to the star of the show, an attractive single person who just hasn't found love yet, proposing to another attractive single person who just hasn't found love yet.  What's interesting about it, other than the drama created when a bunch of strangers are cut off from the world and offered free booze, is that we've seen a lot of marriage proposals.  And almost all are pretty much what you'd expect them to be - "I've loved going on this adventure with you.  I'm so happy when we're together.  I love how smart and funny you are.  I can't imagine my life without you.  Will you marry me?"

Before popping the question, a list is given.  The star of the show tells their soon-to-be fiancee all the reasons why they've fallen for them, and then asks the question we've been waiting 11 episodes to hear.
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Wouldn't it be weird to just start with the proposal?  "Hey thanks for coming, wanna get hitched?"  In remodeling though, this is kind of the way most people do it.

Does the title of this post sound like the start of a bad joke?  Yes.  Is it actually the start of a bad joke?  I don't know, maybe.  For the purpose of this blog post, let’s assume it’s not.

In a previous post, I walked you through Phase 1 of a remodeling project, where we figure out what CAN be done with your space.  In this post, we will focus on Phase 2 of the process, which is where we figure out what WILL be done.  It’s where the conceptual space plan gets real-world details.
 
In this phase we:

In case you can’t tell, the dapper gentleman in the clip art is reviewing a contract to remodel his kitchen.  He’s never remodeled before, but is excited about the potential.  At the same time though, he’s nervous; he is making a large investment that will impact how he lives in his home, and potentially how and when he can sell it.  However, he doesn't know enough about the remodeling process to know what to ask. Luckily for you, you’ll never be like that guy because you have me.  ​