So you’ve decided you want to renovate your home or maybe start from scratch and have a custom home designed and built? That’s a big decision and an exciting one, too, but what’s next? Meeting with a custom home designer gets the process started, but how much information do you need to provide?
The short answer to that question is that there isn’t necessarily a right answer. Maybe you’ve got a 30-page PowerPoint presentation with every detail worked out. That’s great. If you’ve only got a few vague ideas about what your dream home might look like, our team can work with that, too.
However, we will say that it’s important to have a general idea of what you like. This can help guide the general direction of your design ideas. So with that in mind, let’s dive into how the process works and what information you can bring into a meeting with a custom home designer.
Where the Process Starts with Your Home Designer
Whether you’re considering a renovation, an addition, or building an entirely new custom home, the first step of our process will be discovery.
During discovery, you’ll be working with your custom home designer to communicate your wants, needs, and priorities for the project. Through these conversations, we can help you find a builder to help bring your vision to life. We also offer guidance and advice.
It’s important to note that there are no requirements for what you bring to the discovery process. Many property owners know exactly what they want, from style to materials to the layout of every room. That’s great and can be helpful, but it’s not always necessary. It’s perfectly okay to sit down with our team if you have only a vague idea of what your custom home or renovation will look like.
What to Do Before Meeting Your Calgary Home Designer
1. Start with the End Goal
Maybe you don’t know what you want your renovation or custom home to look like. Maybe you’re not even sure whether it would be better to renovate your current house or build a new custom home. That’s okay.
But you can start by figuring out your end goals. Before you meet with your home designer, figure out why you want to undertake this new project and what you’re looking to achieve.
Questions like these can help:
- Is your family growing, and do you need more space?
- Do you want to add a secondary suite to bring in extra income or have parents nearby?
- Are you looking to increase the value of your home with a renovation?
Your home designer will work to create a design that meets your end goals, so even if you haven’t worked out the details, it’s important to know what you’re looking to achieve.
2. Take Notes at Home
A home designer will help you sort out the details for your renovation or custom home, but you’ll still have priorities to bring to the table. If you find it hard to come up with a list of everything you’d want or need, it can be helpful to take notes whenever you and your family discuss the project.
This can be informal. Realistically, if you’re planning a big project like a renovation or custom home design, you’re likely going to be having conversations about it. When those discussions happen, try to jot down a few notes about what each of you wants or needs. Maybe there are small design elements that come up again and again, or maybe it will help you flesh out the non-negotiables that you both require.
Those notes help provide a blueprint during discovery as your home designer determines the project’s scope.
3. Define Your Budget
Your budget can ultimately determine what is possible for your renovation or custom home, and it can be helpful to involve home builders throughout the process for that exact reason.
You don’t need to have a builder lined up before you meet with a home designer.
In fact, it can be useful to meet with a home designer first to flesh out what you’ll be aiming for in your custom home or renovation before you begin looking for quotes or estimates. That’s because the more information you can provide a builder or contractor with, the more likely it is that they can provide you with an accurate estimate of the cost.
Knowing your budget means you’ll know the possibilities and limitations of your renovation or custom home, and your home designer can help you work through prioritizing what’s most important.
4. Decide: Renovate or Build New?
This may sound obvious, but many clients we meet with at Ellergodt Design aren’t even sure whether they should build a new home or renovate. That’s perfectly understandable, there are advantages to both, and what’s best for you and your family is a product of your goals, budget, and what your property allows for.
Knowing whether you’d prefer a renovation or a new build is an essential step before the design process can start, though.
5. Book a Consultation
You don’t need to know exactly what you want when you meet with a home designer for the first time. At Ellergodt Design, we want to help design the home of your dreams or the renovation your family needs to meet the changes life brings, and the process shouldn’t intimidate you.
We provide a design questionnaire to help our clients articulate their project’s requirements and aspirations. The goal of our home designers is to make sure our clients’ needs are met for their renovations or custom homes, and part of that is making sure you have the tools you need to articulate your vision.
Meet with an Experienced Calgary Home Designer
Working with a home designer on a renovation or custom home is an exciting process that doesn’t need to be intimidating. Whether you’ve worked out every last detail of what your home should look like or just know that it’s time for something new, our home designers at Ellergodt Design are on your team.
For more information, call us at (587)875-5621 or book a meeting online.