Planning for the Year Ahead: What to Remodel First?

At the start of the New Year, many homeowners are ready to make their beloved abodes the best they can be. Getting a plan in place to determine what to remodel first can ensure your home is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

First Steps to Remodeling Your Home

The following simple steps will help you determine what to remodel first:

  1. Identify major home improvements required (for example “bathroom remodel”, or “new kitchen”.)
  2. For each of the above, note your lifestyle goals and how the project will solve any problems you currently face.
  3. Prioritize remodeling project based on what is most important to you. To do this, reorder #1 based on #2.
  4. Create a timeline that fits your budget.

Below we’ve broken down each step with more information, to help you get a complete picture of your home remodeling needs.

Identify Major Home Improvements Required

Perhaps this is easy for you, as you’ve already been working through your home and have a single room left to tackle, but for most of us, the path to the perfect home is a little longer. Maybe you would love a new kitchen, but your partner hates the downstairs bathroom, and your eldest is longing for their own bedroom. At this stage, list out every major home improvement or remodel your home could use, to get a clear picture of what you’ll need to plan for.

modern all white kitchen with stainless steel appliances

Many homeowners across Chicagoland plan to remodel their kitchen.

List the Problems These Major Projects Will Solve

So, you’ve got your to-do list of major home improvements, but why did each one make the list? For each remodeling project, list out your lifestyle goals and how your remodel will help you complete these goals. Here is an example of how to write this out for a kitchen remodel:

Lifestyle Goals

  • Create space to bake with the grandchildren.
  • Update our appliances for quick and easy meals after school.
  • Keep the kitchen tidier with more storage space.
  • Prepare healthier meals with more surface space.
  • Eat quick meals together in the kitchen.
  • Make more use of the dining room.

Kitchen Challenges

  • Outdated design.
  • Appliances have issues (upgrade oven).
  • Not enough storage space (change layout to fit more cupboards and enable a tidier kitchen).
  • Lack of surface space (add a kitchen island to make preparing healthy meals and baking possible).
  • No place to eat a quick meal together (add a kitchen island, make the kitchen open out into the dining room).

Prioritize

Now you have a clear picture of how each remodel will impact you, your family and your day to day experience, it will be easier to prioritize and decide what to remodel first.

Choose the remodel that will have the biggest impact first, to improve your quality of life the most as soon as possible.

After that, you may wish to continue down the list in the same manner, or schedule a more economical project in between each more extravagant remodel, to keep momentum going and stick to budget.

Here is an example:

  1. Home addition
  2. Small bathroom remodel
  3. Kitchen remodel
  4. Build new deck
  5. En suite master bedroom / bathroom remodel

Create a Timeline

Get estimates for your priority projects, and consider how much you can afford to invest in improving your home, over a specified period of time. With all the information in front of you, you’ll be able to create a realistic timeline to stay on budget and ensure you will enjoy the home of your dreams in the foreseeable future.

 

Need a little help from your friends at Reliable Home Improvement? Perhaps you know you need a kitchen remodel but not how to design your new kitchen to improve your lifestyle. We are here to help. Our team of talented designers, architects and construction experts will offer guidance as we complete your remodel from start to finish. Contact Reliable Home Improvement to get started.

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