Renovations & Tips on Making Them Less Painful

A moment from our bathroom renovation…

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We’ve been quite busy spending all of our free time on the bathroom remodel. Yes, it’s been taking so much longer than we wanted it to take and yes, it's been stressful and annoying like all renovations. I’ve said this so many times, but I feel like I can’t stress it enough, there is no easy way to do a renovation! Even when it’s us designers renovating our own homes, we too have to handle a high amount of stress and frustration during the process, even when we’re basically working as the GC and managing our own subs.

For our bathrooms, the process has been slogging along slowly. What’s that famous saying “the cobbler’s kids have no shoes?” As a designer, my home and the progress of projects suffers mostly due to lack of consistent attention and project management. Even as I’m writing this letter I am simultaneously thinking about all the items I still need to order or should have ordered to keep things moving along. I give our clients’ projects more attention than I do to our own home’s projects. 

In light of the frustration and stress that has been put on our marriage during this process we have however found ways to make it all “not so bad.” I’d love to share a few tips and tricks with you that may help you in your next renovation endeavor. 

1. Set realistic expectations and celebrate the small wins!

Expect the worst, hope for the best. Setting expectations for timelines and budgets are the greatest factors in renovations that can bring the mood of a project down. Instead of saying that things will happen in X amount of time or have to be under X amount, I know fairly well that any deadlines and budgets we put out there, will need to be adjusted along the way. 

I’ve changed my mindset for project timelines to think about them in the concept of goals instead of expectations: “We would like to have things accomplished by this point” rather than “things have to happen by this date.” Or we would like to remain under X cost, rather than “this is our hard stop for the budget.” Because the reality is that stuff happens … subs disappear, materials go up in price or end up backordered and on and on. This way, when you do bust through your budget or timelines, you won’t be so frustrated because you set your expectations to be realistic and flexible. And for the few times you do accomplish said goals, it feels like a win and not the standard. It really feels so much better knowing not to set any expectations that will increase cortisol levels if they’re not met.

It’s also very important to have a contingency plan. We often discuss having a contingency allowance of up to 15 to 20 percent of the overall cost of the project for when budgets go over. That way you’ll have the necessary cash to access when such things happen, like that surprise rot in the walls has just been discovered, unknown outdated electrical, improper framing or anything that was previously built that is not to code and needs to be mitigated. A small hitch like this can easily derail a project and set both timelines and budgets back by a lot. At the very least, having a contingency allowance will relieve the stress of the financial burden. Secondly, having a contingency plan for timelines is also helpful. If you choose to move out for a remodel and perhaps can’t move back into your home in the estimated time frame, what will you do? Do you have a place to stay for that additional time? Do you have an allotted contingency budget to cover the additional mortgage and rentals fees for the time you’re out of the house? These are common issues we see happen during renovations so I can never stress enough to plan for these enormously inconvenient hiccups. 

Lastly, when things do go well or when you’ve made even the smallest progress, celebrate that and it will make you feel so much better. Last weekend Jack and I accomplished a few major elements to the bathroom remodel and we were so proud of ourselves. Jack said multiple times on Saturday evening, “We were so productive today!” And that was well worth a “Cheers!” on a Saturday evening!

2. Have a sense of humor and never take things too seriously

Throughout the process there are always moments when the tears are flowing. They can be either tears of frustration and despair or tears of laughter and joy. Renovations can be a cathartic process and just like a mushroom trip, we’re all in it for the ride, go with the flow, allow yourself to feel those feelings and if you can make light or fun of it, you will have a better experience in the end. 

When Jack and I work on projects together we often have a fair amount of banter and laughter. I think this is why we can still manage to stand one another after all of these years, especially while working on long term renovations. But really, I love to be Jack’s comic relief and he loves to just surprise me at times. And I have to say it's always the best comedic timing to drop some sort of joke when things are the most intense. You know what I mean, when you’re in the middle of that tedious, what can sometimes feel like a life threatening task, and a well thought out and timed joke will make the entire experience so much more enjoyable!

3. Have ALL the orders and goods purchased and onsite before starting the renovation!

And order more than estimated on items with longer lead times or variation in quality!

This is one area in which I should really start taking my own advice. So many times I realize that I have not purchased X, Y or Z for the remodel and I have to quickly select and purchase, only to then discover that that one thing has a 3 - 4 week lead time to deliver and now the entire project is held up. This right here is often when arguments happen. We have this as a hard and fast rule for client projects and I just don't understand why I can’t follow the same rules for my home! 

The order more than estimated mostly applies to finishes like tile, flooring, wallpaper or paint. However, sometimes you’ll want to consider small things like hinges, hardware, O rings (for plumbing items), light bulbs, etc. Basically anything that can be broken, or happenstance miscounted. 

The rule of ordering more than than estimated recently saved my butt when I decided to make a sudden change in the plan for the wall tiles. Initially I wanted to do a combination of biscuit and almond tiles, but once they were put up on the walls, I wasn’t liking the look. I nixed the almond tiles, leaving only the biscuit to work with. Not knowing how much more we’d need to order I reached out to our vendor to get an idea for lead time, which was two weeks out. Having to wait for the tile fulfillment would have set us back in our progress. Luckily though, after inventorying the biscuit tiles, we learned that I had just enough to complete the entire space in that one color! Cushioning my order allowed me to make the change without having to spend more money and put our project on hold!

There are SO many more best practices for renovations but these three tips feel like big ones that will make renovations not feel so painful or frustrating. In every renovation we discover something new and learn something that we’ve never even imagined could happen. And that is because every remodel, renovation and redesign of a space is custom and completely unique. So, go forth, renovate your homes, hire a professional if you want to take some of that burden off your shoulders, but also be well aware that it will still be stressful and frustrating! 

Cheers! Lauren