Principle #1 Listening

10 Questions to Help You Discover the Story of Your Renovation

Stop and listen … your home is speaking to you.

It holds the answers to your renovation questions: How are experiencing your home now, and what you desire for the future? Close examination of these and other key questions can be revealing. Jones Pierce Architects has assembled this comprehensive list, designed to pave the way to a renovation plan that’s just right for you.
_____________________________________________________________________________

1. Q: What is the big picture?

Consider your vision and goals for the home. For example, is this is your final home; are you interested in making it special; or is this a home you want modernized to meet your needs but plan to sell within the next five years?

2. Q: What are your favorite spaces and places? Think about why certain spaces—in your current home, experienced on a vacation–became a favorite place. Think about how subtle sense impressions added to the experience. As renovation architects we are looking for opportunities to add meaning to how you will experience your home.

3. Q: Where do you unplug?

Think about how and where you really relax in your current home. The opportunity is to identify why where you relax works and expand the number of places contentment happens. Your home could become your refuge.

4. Q: What are your hobbies and passions? What you do in your spare time is an important part of your life. Sometimes your passion overrides the pain of how well your house accommodates how you live in your home. A custom home design can orient your home to your passions.

5. Q: How can the home’s design better align with how you want to live?

Defining public and private spaces, encouraging positive behaviors, thinking about your “habit trails,” and planning for various scales of entertaining are ways to identify and plan for systems of living for your customized home. Have the house adjust to your lifestyle and not vise versa.

6. Q: What have you learned about past design and construction experiences?

Even though you’ve probably blocked out past bad renovation experiences, try to recall things that you would want to be different with the new experience.  You should try to avoid those pesky regression triggers if possible.

7. Q: What is the current value and assumed value after the renovation project? Strive for a renovation solution that does not out-pace the neighborhood, can be financed if required, and will not leave you “upside down” financially at the end of the project.

8. Q: What is the investment goal?

Whether you have a dollar amount in mind, or need help establishing a budget, your project delivery method will need to be adjusted to meet your investment goal. Accounting for the quantity of affected spaces early in the process allows for accurate, upfront budgeting.

9. Q: What spaces need renovation or addition?

List your initial thoughts about which areas of the home will be transformed, added, cosmetically touched up, or left as is. Organize the spaces in categories of “renovate,” “add,” “cosmetic repair” or “leave as is.”

10. Q: Can the project be phased?

If the budget for the renovation is higher than your investment goal, consider phasing the project. You can design projects to accommodate phasing without having to redo work later.

Go back to our list of 10 Principles.

Contact Jones Pierce:
Bryan@JonesPierce.com