There’s no place like home.  I don’t spend my day there since I work so much and I’m constantly running around but my home is where my heart is.  Growing up I never pictured my self married with children but I did not exactly what I wanted my flooring and driveway to look like like!  I alway loved interior design and had a clear vision of what  wanted.  Over the years that vision has changed but some things have not (like black and white flooring).

rn

We bought out “forever” home about 6 years ago in an older established neighborhood and it’s set perfectly on the end culdesac where no cars transit.  It’s nice to have the entire street to ourselves to bike and play.  This all sounds perfect expect for the fact that our house was old and outdated, I didn’t like anything but the layout.  If you know me you know I’m impatient and when I want something done I want it all done at once as fast as it can be done.  This trait did not apply to my home situation.  Home renovations are costly so I’d have to spot treat areas until we could bite the bullet and take on major projects.  Fast forward to current day, I’m knee deep in home renovations.  

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I want to share we you some knowledge I’ve learned along the way in hopes it helps your future protects.  I’m not a DIY kinda gal so none of it will be tips on how to stain your cabinets but more on how to find someone that can do it affordably.

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1.)  Set a budget, then double it and be ok with that.  If you can’t then don’t do it and wait.  No matter how certain you are about things you want to do it’s all the uncertain costs that will throw you over the ledge and trust me when I say there will be plenty.

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2.) Shop around, for everything!  Get quotes from at least 3 different people for each job. Ask your friends who they used for different jobs, ask for recommendations of Facebook.  Don’t always go with the cheapest quote, ask to see their work.  Sometimes you get what you pay for.

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3.) If you’re using different people for different jobs make sure you plan out their timeline. You don’t want to remove flooring after freshly painted walls.  Be generous with timelines as well, give each job and extra day or 2 from when they say it will be completed because realistically it probably will not be done on the initial day they said.

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4.) Picture it!  Sometimes we have a vision and once it’s executed it’s not quite how we envisioned it.  Have them paint a wall before you paint an entire room or home, do online searches with similar styles, take photos and edit them.  Not all styles work with certain homes, be realistic.  

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I hope to be done with the projects that we started in a few weeks so I can finally share and see my vision in full color (there will be a lot of color, I’m not a neutral kinda gal LOL)  Hope this little posts helps you with your future home renovations!