Today we will cover our top 5 most important things we think you need to consider before starting any home improvement project. Regardless of the project you are tackling, following these guidelines can save you time & money!

1. Durability:

The first thing to consider is the durability of your products.  A lot of people do not take this into account in the beginning. Many homeowners are focused on price. They’re also focused on style but ultimately durability is the most important thing to guarantee a successful remodel.

No one wants to have a product that’s installed but goes bad in half the time that it should.

Take cabinets for example. Let’s say you’re comparing two different cabinet lines, one is particle board (or MDF box) which is lower quality material. One is a plywood (or all wood construction) cabinet. If cabinets are supposed to last at least 20 years, the all wood construction is going to last the longest.

The MDF or particle board is most likely going to be damaged much sooner than the other so technically you are going to be wasting more money by buying a lower quality product.

2. Maintenance & Lifestyle:

The second thing to consider is maintenance and lifestyle. So many people don’t take this into consideration before starting a home improvement project. Lifestyle should be one of the most important things when determining which products or styles to choose.

For example, if you have children and pets, a solid hardwood floor (or natural hardwood) is probably not the best option. Pets can scratch the floors which means you’re either going to live with damaged floors or you’re going to pay to have them refinished.  Or worse, you may need to replace the floor if seriously damaged, which is all going to cost time, money or just you stress out!

Kids can spill things. Pets can have accidents and that’s also going to damage natural hardwood floors so you need to understand what type of maintenance you’re comfortable with. What type of lifestyle you have and does your lifestyle even allow you to keep up with the maintenance?

Granite countertops are something many people love but the maintenance is there! You have to seal them several times each year. So if you’re not willing to do that then Quartz is probably a better option for you. So understanding what your lifestyle is and what your maintenance requirements are is a great thing to consider high up in that list of priorities when you’re starting a remodel.

3. Personal Style:

The third consideration is going to relate to your personal style and this is going to be either “Do I want a timeless look or do I want a trendy look?”

I am all about staying on trend and love seeing what’s coming and what’s hot right now but there is a fine line between doing a remodel that you’re going to love for five years and one that you’re going to love for 30 years!

This is an investment and typically a large investment. If you’re doing a kitchen or a bathroom or even your floors, you want to make sure that you’re going to love it long-term!

Some of the things that are always in style are neutral colors, especially for cabinets. White, Grey, Taupe or even Black. These are typically always in the trends. Some may come to the forefront and some may shrink back a little bit but they’re always going to be in style.

Shaker-style cabinets and clean lines is another thing that never really goes out of style. Stone countertops are always a great option.

Trends will come and go but you know your personal tastes. You know what you’re going to LOVE versus what you just discovered you loved a year ago!

Really take that into consideration and if you want to add that trendy aspect, do it with your accent pieces or things such as light fixtures or hardware.

There are so many ways for you to add trendy elements to your kitchen or bathroom design without making the main large pieces the trendy focal point.

4. Installation:

The next consideration we’re going to talk about is installation cost and quality of your home improvement project. Installation cost is something that most people don’t think about but it’s going to be a HUGE part of your remodel.

Let’s take flooring for example. Let’s say you want a wood or a wood style floor but love also love wood-look tile.

The laminate (or LVT) is $2 sq.ft but you find a wood-look tile that’s also $2 sq.ft. You might think installation would be about the same. Right?  Not so fast!

The difference is in installation cost! The laminate (or LVT)  will cost about $2 sq.ft to install but the wood-look tile could cost around $5 sq.ft. to install. That’s more than double!

If you have a large space, that’s going to be a HUGE chunk of money!  If you have it in your budget and that’s the flooring you love, that’s great! Just remember to consider these things upfront so you don’t purchase a product and then realize the installation cost is going to be much larger or completely out of your planned budget.

Installation quality is also KEY.  Your install quality is going to directly correlate with how long your new products last and the way your kitchen, bathroom or floors look and function.

You don’t want squeaky boards, lippage in your tile where it’s sticking up or your cabinets to pull away from the frame or your countertops to crack because they’ve been installed poorly!

So be sure you find a qualified installer and that you’re not looking at the lowest price installer to determine who you’re going to go with based on that alone. Typically the lowest price is also the lowest quality!

5. Material Prices:

The last thing to consider is the cost of your material and lucky for you we are able to help you with all of these things! Everything product we offer our customers is of high quality, unused products.

We also offer installation for every product we sell and it’s high-quality. Our installers have already been vetted.They’ve been background checked and we can promise you that we stand behind the quality of their work!

We have interior designers that work for free with you to design your kitchen or bathroom. They essentially work as your project manager, whatever the project!

A certified designer can help you determine what is a timeless style and what is going to work best with your lifestyle. They will also educate you on the durability of specific products you may be considering for your remodeling project.

We encourage you to use their wealth of knowledge and the resources we provide to ensure you to have an incredible remodeling experience!

We are here to help you EVERY step of the way with your home improvement project. Visit our website to find the best remodeling products at the best price!

Schedule your FREE design consultation with our team today! No project too big or small! We are here to help guide you through the process!

Happy Remodeling!