Finding your perfect home in Seattle’s competitive housing market is difficult, especially your first time around, and often, external considerations such as location, proximity to a job or access to a certain school district take priority over the particular layout or design style of the residence.
However, remodeling gives you the opportunity to transform your home from “good enough” to exactly what you were looking for in the first place. Whether you upgrade the entire house or focus on specific rooms, such as your kitchen or bathroom, such an investment adds tangible value to your property while also enhancing your comfort and quality of life for the years to come.
Seattle Remodeling: Where to Start?
As exciting as it may be to envision how your home or kitchen will look after a remodel or expansion, the success of the project and your experience along the way depend significantly on following a nuanced process. Preparing properly and taking the right steps are critical to maximizing your investment and mitigating the uncertainties that can cause stress, delays and unexpected expenses during home remodeling.
The first step when renovating a house or specific room is to identify what exactly you hope to accomplish. Are you wanting to create more livable space? Repair and upgrade outdated features and design elements? Install new appliances and technology to improve the function and performance of your home? Alter the layout for a better flow of light and foot traffic? Identifying your project priorities by answering these and other questions enables you to create a clear vision and roadmap for your home remodel.
Even after you’ve found a remodeling company to help you complete your project, the process is still important. Here is a look at the different phases you should expect to encounter when remodeling your Seattle home:
1. Discovery
Planning and preparation continue as you take the ideas you’ve so far generated for your bathroom or kitchen renovation and present them to your team. During the discovery phase, which takes place from the comfort of your home, you have a chance to share what you’re thinking for the project. You might have reference photos or a simple remodeling checklist with your top priorities. In return, your remodeling team shares suggestions and insight on how to create the type of space you’re looking for in a feasible, cost-effective way.
Don’t underestimate the value of the discovery phase. Although it may seem like a simple exchange of ideas and discussion, the time and energy you invest early on allows you to manage your expectations and feel confident about the investment you’re making into your home.
2. Design
The next step is designing your home improvement project. During this phase, you work alongside your design team to create and review plans for your remodel. At this point, you are also shown your options for products and materials to include. This is your chance to influence the cost of your project, as well as the overall function and appearance. Each component of a room is often available in a variety of materials, qualities, and grades at different price points.
Quick Tip: The more hand-crafted, customized, or imported materials and products you choose to include, the greater your overall project price. If you’re trying to remodel on a budget, you can instead select basic and stock options that fulfill the same function even if they’re not as luxurious.
A kitchen remodel can have well over 200 selections. Although the selection process may feel a bit overwhelming at times, your design team provides you with insight and information to educate and empower you to make the right decisions for your particular home. If you work with IHR Seattle, we’ll create a mood board to help narrow down your favorite styles, colors, and finishes. We take the time to figure out what selections you are most interested in and focus there. We will provide you with two or three different options that match your design style. Then we use your choices to present a single selection for all the other remaining selections.
During the design phase, your team creates drawings and 3D renderings that enable you to envision exactly what your new kitchen, bathroom, or entire house will look like after the project. This ensures you and your remodeling team are on the same page about what to expect for the end result.
3. Pricing
Moving forward, your Seattle remodeling team develops a detailed budget based on your project scope and selections, erasing any ambiguity around cost. All tasks, materials and trade services are spelled out and itemized, so you know exactly what you’re paying for and how much before construction begins. Additionally, your project manager presents you with a build schedule and what date you can expect for project completion.
4. Building
Finally, you are ready to move into the building phase of your home remodel in Seattle. At this stage, your team handles a majority of the tasks, from scheduling and ordering materials to managing subcontractors and coordinating permits and inspections. Although your decision-making is limited while building the remodel takes place, you should expect to be given consistent updates on the progress and communication about any potential issues that arise.
After your kitchen or bathroom remodel is complete, your team gives you a walk-through and familiarizes you with various features and components. If you are not satisfied or see any problems, you shouldn’t hesitate to bring them up to your project manager. You want the space to be entirely finished and ready to use before you sign off on the project and any warranties begin.
How Long Does a Kitchen or Bathroom Remodel Take?
How long it takes to remodel or renovate your home in Seattle depends on the type of project and the scope of work. A small bathroom remodel can be finished in a few weeks, while a custom kitchen makeover generally takes about two to three months. Once you’ve planned and designed the project, your remodeling team should provide you with a detailed construction schedule that gives you a clear idea of how long it will take to complete the renovation.
What is the Cost to Remodel Your Kitchen or Bathroom?
Much like the timeline, the cost of a remodel also varies. Even bathroom or kitchen remodels cover a range of prices based on how much you plan to change the size or layout of the room and the type and quality of materials you select. For example, a first-tier Updated Look Bathroom Remodel may cost between $50,000 and $80,000, while an upscale, third-tier kitchen Dream Transformation costs upward of $200,000+.
While these numbers vary, your team can accurately assess what your investment will be for the project ahead of construction based on the existing conditions of your home, detailed project scope, and design plans.
Enhancing Your Remodeling Experience in Seattle
You may go into your home remodeling project with plenty of questions and uncertainty, but it shouldn’t remain that way for long. When you’re working with a professional Seattle remodeler, such as Innovative Home Renovations, eliminating the guesswork is one of our top priorities. Before a hammer is lifted onsite, we can provide you a clear expectation on how much your project will cost, how long it will take, and what the space will look like when we’re done.
by Bennett Bottorff