May 3, 2010
Do it Yourself Home Renovation
Have you seen all the house make-over programmes on TV? Of course you have! In fact there have been so many of these types of shows on television over the past few years that I’d be worried if you hadn’t watched at least one. They’re ok to watch. But who do they cater to? They cater to families renovating their own home. They presume you have an unlimited budget (almost) for the renovation, your own personal designer and they presume also that you have a background crew of 20 people to help you get it finished in one weekend! Well, wouldn’t that be just dandy?
Stay focus. It is not your place that you are renovating and you are not the one who is going to live there. Instead, picture out your prospect clients who would consider buying the house. Do not let those design magazines fool you, just use the image of your customers in mind. Most interior magazines go for the soft changes, those that simply include changing the artwork, some of the furniture, among others, instead of the hard changes, those that only needs to be fixed or improved, which are more practical and reasonable.
List all of the elements you can find in each room. Make sure that you have everything listed. Itemise all of these elements like how you would itemise the cabinetry carcass, doors, handles, and the likes, when you are doing an inventory in the kitchen.
For each and every element decide whether they fit their purpose. I’m not talking about if you particularly LIKE them as you see them in the scheme of the whole area or room at the moment - look at the elements completely independently of one another. Are they in good condition? If they weren’t adjacent to the things they are adjacent to now (instead, for example, in a more modern setting) would they look ok? So, look at every item independently and assess whether you could keep it or whether it NEEDS to be changed in some way.
For each of the elements that you have decided needs changing in some way; choose which one of the following four you’ll use. They’re easy to remember because they all start with the letter ‘R’, Renovate, Replace, Remove or Repair. You want to look at this from the point of view by asking yourself what is going to cost me the least and give me the most? Consider the 80/20 rule. What can I invest 20% on for 80% return? You’re not looking for a perfect, 100% result - but you are looking for 80%.
Hotspace fills the gap between property owners using a traditional (often expensive) designer - and not getting any assistance at all. Thus, Hotspace provides an opportunity for anybody to get qualified help and home renovation ideas before they spend thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars on their home renovation. To know more about Hotspace and efficient and cost-effective renovation ideas, visit www.hotspaceconsultants.com.
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