4 Questions to ask yourself before starting a reno project
Over the years I’ve worked with plenty of clients who, at the beginning stages of their interior design project, didn’t really know what they wanted. I could feel it adding stress to their voice, not to mention reservation in reaching out for help from an interior designer (especially because they thought we might judge them for their lack of knowledge).
Spoiler - we as interior designers never judge. And if you’ve come across some that did, I am so sorry you’ve experienced that. That is not only unprofessional but also not our place to judge! We don’t know what is going on in their lives, or what made them reach out for help with their homes.
But hey, I digress.
I want to share with you some simple questions you can ask yourself to know if you are ready to start a design/redesign/renovation project. Because we all know it’s an emotional journey. If at the moment you are not ready, please know that there is nothing wrong with that. Think of these questions as a form of check-in to find out when you are ready.
So let’s dive in, shall we?
4 questions to ask yourself before starting a renovation project!
1. How are you feeling in your home right NOW?
This question helps you to take stock of where you are at the moment in your home life.
Are you feeling happy?
Are you feeling relaxed in your home? Inspired?
Or are you feeling overwhelmed, or stressed (not to be confused with general, day-to-day life stress - although home stress can often contribute to this - perhaps a post for another time)?
Maybe seeing paint stains on the walls is a stressful, constant reminder of your never-ending to-do list. Perhaps a kitchen cabinet door that is no longer closing properly is constantly annoying you more and more each day?
Taking stock of all these little (or big) things that keep taking up mental space, is the first sign that you should be changing something to improve your surroundings (and easing that mental pressure).
Now, does this mean you need an interior designer at this point? Of course not! It’s simply noticing where you are at the moment, and if you are happy with how things are in your home.
2. How would you like to feel instead?
Now that you know how you are feeling at this point in time, in your home, how would you really want to be feeling instead?
This can be anything, from happy, overjoyed, excited, relieved, rested, relaxed, confident, creative…you get the gist.
By making a list of how you want to be feeling in your space, you are setting a very important foundation for any future home projects. This is not only helpful to you but also for your interior designer, should you work with one in the future.
FEELINGS are super important in interior design. I cannot stress this enough. There is no point in getting the prettiest paint colour on the walls or the most beautiful velvety sofa, if it does not bring you joy when you see it or is not helping you relax at the end of the day, helping you feel “hugged” in a warm, cosy and yet stylish embrace.
So knowing how you want to feel in your home is just as important!
3. How badly do I want to change this issue?
Simply put, how annoyed are you about the issues you’ve noticed? How badly do you want to fix them and relieve yourself of that constant mental pressure of “I need to fix this at some point”? Take a moment to really ponder this question. It might be that this is where you truly discover if it’s urgent or not!
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 = it’s not bothering me and 10 = it’s stressing me out so much that I don’t want to come back home from work/social meetups to see it, how badly do I want to change things?
If you find yourself in the middle, it might be worth starting to think about what things you can do at the moment, on your own, that doesn’t involve spending a lot of ££ or an interior designer. But if it’s higher at around a 7-8, it might be a good idea to start googling interior designers in your area, and go from there.
After all, we want you to be healthy and enjoying life (both physically and mentally) in your home. Not hate coming back to it. It’s not just a place to eat, sleep and (excuse my language - poop) in. Your home is your sanctuary! It’s your home away from the world. Both literally and figuratively!
Last but not least…
photo by ©Detail Movement
photo by ©Detail Movement
4. How much am I comfortable spending on this transformation?
Nobody said you have to spend a tonne of £££ on your home, even if you are working with an interior designer! You can do as much or as little as you want or can, with your current budget.
Both you and your designer need to know what you are working with. It will be one of the first questions we ask, so it’s important that you are comfortable talking about your money with us. We can paint the most beautiful picture, but if we can’t bring it to real life, there isn’t any point going down that avenue from the start.
However, that does not mean we can’t do anything. There are loads of tricks that we can do, manage resources wisely, and pivoting where needed to achieve what we need.
But, the first step on that journey is knowing how much you are comfortable spending on your home.
It’s ok if you don’t know. An interior designer can certainly help you get a rough idea. I say rough idea because we can’t know exactly either. It depends on the size of the space, its complexity, what we want to do in there, what type of finishes we are picking, etc. But that is why it’s important to know the budget so that we don’t select wall tiles that are twice as expensive as what we can afford, for example.
Remember that interior designers want to help you create a beautiful home, and see you live happily in it (or at least I am 😅). Any money-related questions will always be connected to that purpose and nothing more.
So there you have it - 4 quick questions to ask yourself before starting any big project around the home. These can help you with any type or size of project, not just when working with interior designers. And to recap, here they are:
How are you feeling in your home right NOW?
How would you like to feel instead?
How badly do I want to change this issue?
How much am I comfortable spending on this transformation?
I hope this was useful, but if you have any questions or if you think I should add another one to the list, let me know below. I am always open to learning more from people. And if instead you go through this exercise and realise that you are ready to work with interior designer and you love what I do, then I’d be happy to help you! If you are interested to know a bit more about what I do and how I can help, take a peek here. Let’s create some magic together!
Cannot wait to hear from you!
Raluca x
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All images that are credited as '©Detail Movement', are done by Raluca Vaduva for Detail Movement. All rights reserved. All pictures that are not my own, I credit them to the best of my knowledge & research, to their offline/online sources. I do not claim ownership over them in any way. If you see your picture on this site and do not wish for it to be displayed, please get in touch and I will remove it or add additional notes at your request.