There are five main methods to managing the design and construction process when remodeling your home. Before deciding how you’d like to handle your project, figure out what your priorities are. Do you want a unique design or something basic? Are there structural changes you’ll need to make? Do you want to have all choices made before starting the project or can you make decisions on the fly? How important is keeping costs as low as possible? Is completing the project quickly important? Do you have enough experience to thoroughly understand your project without a professional? Your priorities and experience should determine what services you look for and which tasks (if any) you handle yourself.
Hire an architect and builder
Hire an architect or interior designer to design your project. After those professionals have completed their work, you’ll hire a builder to execute the plans. An interior designer can handle the design work if there aren’t structural changes. This method usually results in higher overall project costs because your design is based around your preferences without consideration for realistic construction costs. When unforeseen situations come up, your designer will have to make adjustments. Your project will stop, design revisions will be completed, and then the project will be rescheduled. The results are longer project times and higher costs.
Design it yourself and hire a builder
Hire a builder and handle design yourself. There are many software programs on the market geared toward DIY designers that can be helpful when doing this. This may be adequate for very basic projects. This format isn’t best for kitchen remodels and basement finishes. The end result could be less than you’ve hoped for. Complex projects require design expertise and extensive construction experience.
Hire a professional designer and build yourself
You can hire an architect and/or interior designer to design your project and then build the project yourself. This could be a good option if you’ve spent many years working in the construction disciplines involved in your project. Most of the time this is not a desirable option. While the design may be stellar, if you don’t have well-developed skills, it’s highly unlikely that your project will be completed well. No one wants to have bad results after putting in so much work!
DIY your complete project
Design and build your project yourself. In most cases, this is the least desirable option for remodeling your home. True, there are numerous television shows depicting an average person tearing their home apart and putting it back together flawlessly. Those shows are only for entertainment. No one can learn to competently design or remodel by watching Youtube or HGTV. Every home is unique and unless you have extensive experience in home remodeling, your project isn’t going to turn out the way you’d like.
Hire a design/build company
You can hire a design-build company. The design-build concept came about several decades ago as a way to expedite the design, pricing and implementation of construction projects. By having all of those tasks handled by the same company, the project is more likely to be completed on time and on budget. Changes can be made more efficiently during construction if needed. You don’t have to hire multiple entities that can have competing priorities and the design will be based on current construction costs that the builder works with on a daily basis. The design-builder can also include interior design services if needed or desired. The design-build model the most efficient and practical choice for making high-quality improvements to your home on a budget, whether that budget is large or small.
We’re a design/builder
Simply Beautiful Remodeling offers design-build services. We’ve found that this format delivers the best results for most people. We’ll discuss our process of design-build in another post. In the mean time, we’re happy to share Sometimes projects DO benefit from the services of an architect and interior designer. In those cases we’re always happy to either work with your designers if you’ve already begun the process, or to recommend our own preferred architects and designers if needed.
