Making your Remodel or Renovation be a Piece of Architecture

I have often heard the comment "you can tell an architect was involved with this"  when friends are talking about a renovation or a remodel. This is not to bestow some type of all knowing talent to the architect, rather it implies that someone thinks that the renovation possesses characteristics of style, proportion and balance that they tend to associate with a piece of architecture.

WRITE IT DOWN

When planning a renovation you should spend time developing your scope. Write it down. It can be a simple paragraph, but by writing it down you start to commit yourself to the project.

GATHER SOME IMAGES

It is also very helpful both for you and your architect if you can compile a good number of images of things you like. (window seats, counter tops, lights, windows, etc) You can rip these out of magazines or post them on the internet in a place such as an Idea book on the website Houzz. A picture really does paint a thousand words.

TALK TO AN ARCHITECT

You will constantly hear us beat the dead horse of stating that Renovation is an "exercise in prioritization", but if you can simply state what it is you want to do and accompany that with some photos of components that you find appealing you will be well on your way to developing the scope.

An Architect can be a great resource in helping you filter through this content, discover patterns, and navigate through potential problem areas to help get your renovation planning process off to a clear and productive start. You can retain an architect for a very reasonable hourly fee at the beginning of the project to help you prioritize what you need to do so that your renovation ends up looking like a beautiful piece of architecture.

The Seven Habits of Highly Productive Remodeling: Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw

Part 1: Be Proactive
Part 2: Begin With an End in Mind
Part 3: First Things First
Part 4: Think Win-Win
Part 5: Understand and Be Understood
Part 6: Synergize
 

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Hopefully at this point the home renovation project is underway, and things are flowing smoothly. There is still a long way to go, so “slow and steady wins the race”.

The 80/20 Rule

There is saying that the first 80% of the work takes 20% of the time. It is important to start good habits and keep them up throughout the home remodel project. So keep coming back to what we have pointed out.

1.       Be Proactive: If you are uncertain about something or not sure ask. Your architect and your builder are not mind readers. They need you to let them know your concerns.

2.       Begin with the End in Mind: As issues arise during the project, always view them and their resolution within the context of how they will affect the outcome of the project.

3.       First Things First: Always prioritize. As the project progresses the priorities will change on a day to day basis so you always need to reassess your priorities.

4.       Think Win Win: If you approach issues from a mutually beneficial perspective the outcome is   usually more fruitful.

5.       Understand and Be Understood: Always try to see why you are being told why something is being done a certain way and understand that before you contradict it. Your view may be the correct one, but that will only be further reinforced through mutual understanding.

6.       Synergize: work as a team. Respect every one of your team member’s talents and they will be much more committed to the success of the project.

7.       And Repeat until the end of the project.

Happy remodeling!

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Home Renovation: Habit 6 - Synergize

Part 1: Be Proactive
Part 2: Begin With an End in Mind
Part 3: First Things First
Part 4: Think Win-Win
Part 5: Understand and Be Understood
 

Habit 6: Synergize

In a world rife with self-improvement gurus serving up endless clichés about concepts that will revolutionize our lives, it’s hard to tease out terms that can actually be of use.

Synergy is one of them. An excellent example is the strength in numbers achieved in a good old fashioned team tug of war.

Architecture and design in general is often viewed through a lens of vanity but in reality it is typically the product of dozens of people working together, so why not do the obvious and WORK TOGETHER.

Synergy starts like making a snowman. You have ideas, you bounce them off of people. Some people are critical, but listen to what they have to say.

Then you talk to an architect or designer, who should listen to you, and they will have thoughts, and again, listen to what they say.

Then you and your architect will talk to a builder, or two or three, and the same process takes place.

Synergy thrives on open-mindedness, transparency and trust. When those things are achieved it is a very beautiful thing, and reaps rewards in any project including your Renovation Projects

OPENMINDEDNESS: This may seem obvious, but in order to be open-minded you need to suppress your insecurities. Don’t be afraid to say what you like. Don’t be offended if your friends, or your designer don’t share your opinions, but still listen to why they don’t. If it is as simple as they do not like that color, that’s their opinion. If it is something more subtle like your idea would require that the bathroom open directly into the Family Room, it might be worth hearing them out.

TRANSPARENCY: Unfortunately the business aspect of all of this places all parties at a point of negotiation. In order to keep a strong hand in negotiation you do need to hold your cards close to your vest, but after you have negotiated with both your architect and contractor you should be enabled to be almost completely transparent with them, and in turn they should be with you.

TRUST: When transparency has reached a certain level between the primary project players, (The Owner, Architect and Builder) trust is enabled, and when trust is enabled the soil is ripe for Synergy to kick in, and when that happens your project flows lie a great piece of music.

When all of this happens there is just one thing left and that is to keep it happening. We’ll get to that in the next and final blog of this series Habit 7: Sharper the Saw.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Home Renovation: Habit 5 - Understand and Be Understood

Part 1: Be Proactive
Part 2: Begin With an End in Mind
Part 3: First Things First
Part 4: Think Win-Win
 

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand Then be Understood

There is a saying that the strongest part of your home renovation design is your constraints. First try to understand the constraints, then you can better understand how to solve your design problems.

Some typical constraints are:

Budget: Try to understand your home improvement budget  from a re-sale point of view as well as a cash flow standpoint.

Time: Time constraints can be a blessing in disguise in that they help lend focus to the project.

Zoning: Zoning constraints will define the legal barriers of size, and dimension not to mention the use of the addition.

Site: The site will have certain characteristics which may dictate what you can and can not do within your budget or time constraints. These may include any slopes on the land, sunlight direction, proximity to neighbors, etc.

You will start the renovation process with a list of needs and you will want them to be understood, but as you move into the design stage you will become aware of how these needs will be facing constraints not only of cost and time, but also with zoning and site issues.

It is important to work WITH your architect and your builder in addressing these constraints. Remember, they are on your side. Listen to your architect and try to understand what they are telling you during the planning and design phase and then seek to be understood.

When this dialog is underway the process starts to become truly collaborative which leads us to the topic of our next blog, Habit 6: Synergize