What Should Your Renovation Priorities Be?

This question can mean one of two things. Maybe you don’t know the answer to either…

Which renovation projects should you prioritize first?
What do you prioritize IN one specific renovation?

Starting a renovation can inspire a lot of feelings…excitement…inspiration…overwhelm…It’s different for different people. What is universal, though, is that NO ONE wants a half-baked result just because they didn’t identify their priorities ahead of time.

Learn now which renovation projects to prioritize and what to prioritize in a renovation. This is what will ultimately shape your decisions and give a final form to your dream.

The answer to each question lies in a couple more questions you ask yourself. Organize your thoughts and you will have true clarity on your renovation priorities.

What renovation projects should you prioritize first?

What remodel project SHOULD you do first?

That’s a question with no guaranteed “right answer.” Perhaps the best project for your quality of life is one you simply don’t have the liquid cash for this year. Or, perhaps your sense of sanity requires knocking smaller projects off your list just to make that list more manageable!

In typical renovation advice, it’s usually said you should start with the biggest project first. It’s the bigger projects (like kitchen renovations, bath renovations) that impact the essential rooms and bring a BIG boost to the enjoyment you get in your home.

In practical terms, though, starting with the biggest isn’t always possible…

Instead, start with a list…

To get the right answer is for you, first you need a list of all the projects and renovations you want to do. It’s amazing how cocky we get, thinking we have it all in our heads…but something amazing happens when we list it out. We can visualize our home projects in concrete terms and timelines, and it’s staggering what we learn.

This is one of those exercises where you’ll laugh at yourself after it’s done. Like, how could you have thought this wasn’t worth it before?!

The best way to list your projects out is to use a remodel planner—like our complimentary 20-page renovation planner you use to walk room-to-room through your home. Our planner asks specific questions about each space. You finish with a pamphlet filled of specific projects you want to have done…if only “eventually.”

But then what?

So…once you have your booklet filled with projects and renovations you want to do, what comes next?

Do you start with the biggest just because you can afford it?

Not necessarily. This is where you have to balance your return on investment (ROI) and your return on enjoyment (ROE).

If you’re staying in your home for three years or less, don’t do the big projects. In fact, whatever big projects you wrote down should be simplified to facelifts instead of tear-down-and-start-over renovations. These types of projects—and the smaller ones in your booklet—are what will help sell your home and bring you a bigger ROI.
If you’re staying in your home for more than three years, you’ll never recoup the cost of your renovations, so don’t focus on that. Make it about you: your family, your likes, your lifestyle. Definitely start with the bigger projects like that dream kitchen renovation…not just because it’s nice to get big stuff done, but because they bring the greatest lifestyle benefits. And why not start enjoying your dream kitchen in six months instead of six years?!

What to prioritize in a renovation

Once you’ve committed to a renovation project, what should you prioritize? Specifically, what if your budget doesn’t cover every dream selection you’d hoped for?

Take EVERYTHING you want in your renovation and…yes, once again…put it on a list. This time, write each item down into one of three columns:

Must-haves
Nice-to-haves
Win-the-lottery haves

(You can use our complementary PDF worksheet to do this.)

If you have some items that you aren’t sure about, there’s a VERY helpful test you can do to learn about yourself (and your renovation priorities)…

Just check where your gut tells you that you are on this triangle diagram of cost, quality, and time.

If you feel the cost of your renovation is most important, then you move away from quality and time…if you think time (a fast remodel) is more important, then you move away from quality and cost.

Plot yourself on this graph. Then look again at your lists of must-haves, nice-to-haves, and win-the-lottery haves…does anything change now that you know where your gut is guiding you??

Of course, the number-one thing to prioritize is ALWAYS your peace of mind!! Learn about our process and how we work with clients to guide them through the extraordinary experience of a custom, low-stress renovation every time…