Budget First, Then Design

You realize you need a renovation, so you rush out to hire the city’s best interior designer. A few months later, you have a gorgeous plan in your hands complete with 3D renderings and material recommendations. Then comes the sticker shock.

When you arrive at the renovation company’s office, you may be shocked to learn exactly how much all those fancy materials and design elements cost to actually install.

For most families in Toronto, there simply isn’t an unlimited budget for accomplishing renovation dreams. That’s where being budget-focused comes in. 

Even if you can easily afford a major investment in your home, you’ll want a rough idea of what’s possible.

Starting with the budget guides smart material and feature selections so we don’t have to lose the designer’s work and start from scratch.

Working with a design build team like Sosna is a great choice for this reason. Our designers are integrated into the renovation process, bringing in practical knowledge about the costs and feasibility of trendy designs.

Make sure you’re getting a beautiful design that you can afford and live with by planning your renovation budget first. 

Preventing the Back and Forth 

When there’s no budget to start with, every detail of the design requires a back-and-forth conversation about costs and requirements. If you give us even a rough estimate of how much you can afford for the entire process, it greatly narrows down the options in each category. We can recommend everything that fits within the budget for that material or fixture, prioritizing the features you want the most. You’ll be surprised at how much faster the whole design and planning process goes when it begins with a budget for guidance. 

Simplifying the Scale 

Beautiful, complex, ground-breaking designs are great for presentations and publications. They’re not always so practical to execute, especially in an older home with limited space. That design dripping with high-end materials and luxury details may not fit all that well into your home even if you can afford it. We often help simplify the scale of renovations after working with our clients to adjust their designs. If you don’t want to move out temporarily for extensive demolition or wait months for an addition or layout alteration, we need to know that before the design process starts. 

Targeting the Most Important Changes 

Budget-first renovations also have some guidelines to help you focus on the most important changes for the project. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and want to update every single part of a room. Yet many homeowners are shocked at how they can get a completely new look with just a few updates to a space. In fact, changing everything might lead to unexpected clashes that make you unhappy with the design.

Focusing on improvements that add functionality in addition to beauty will stretch every dollar further. 

Avoiding Endless Revisions and Extending Deadlines 

Sometimes, the designer or client may come up with great ideas during the design process that were not part of the original scope of work. These ideas might be innovative, but they also affect the project cost and deadlines. The designer’s job is to inform the clients of how these ideas may affect their budget. Making concrete choices about the 

budget from the start reduces the chances you’ll need to keep changing materials or designs along the way. Your renovation will go smoothly and wrap up on time because there’s no need to go back and redo previously completed work. 

Working Around Layout and Structural Restrictions

Not every wall in your home can be removed, at least not without major structural changes and reinforcement. Sometimes when we’re working on demolition or construction, we discover unexpected problems that need immediate repairs. We have to make your home safe and up to code during the renovation process, so we might have to deal with asbestos, damaged and leaking pipes, or other problems along the way. Knowing your total budget ensures we can leave some padding for these sudden and unexpected costs. If you work too closely to your final budget or without one at all, it’s hard to afford these changes that might occur along the way. 

Making Efficient Use of Time and Resources 

It’s not a good idea to make major decisions when you’re already stressed out about a renovation. Making your budget plan when you’re calm and prepared keeps you level-headed throughout each stage. This crucial financial decision should be made by the client in a comfortable, controlled environment before they even commit to construction. It is a choice, a decision they get to make, not a forced financial hardship! But we can only ensure the efficient use of everyone’s time and resources if we start with a clear number from the beginning. It’s all too easy for both homeowners and designers to waste time on a project if there isn’t enough guidance to inform the project. 

Ensuring Client Control 

You want to see yourself reflected in the final design, and that can only come from being engaged from the start. Setting your budget and knowing what’s realistic for the kind of work you want done prepares you to take charge. You don’t need to handle every detail or do tons of research, just ask around and see what your friends and neighbours have spent recently on counter tops, flooring, and other home improvements. Remember that DIY projects don’t produce the same quality results so it’s not surprising that they tend to cost less. You won’t have to do the hard work of dealing with demolition or installation when you choose professional services that fit within your renovation budget. 

Locking in Great Deals When They’re Available 

By setting a budget with us from early in the process, we can hunt around for deals that could save you thousands of dollars. If we can place a bulk order for products and shave off a percentage of the cost, we pass that down to you to help you make more of your renovation budget. We don’t know what kind of deals to look for if you set the budget late in the process. As experienced contractors, we have many contacts in the supply industry who can work with us to get amazing prices on custom and prefabricated materials for your home. Giving us an idea of how much you can afford will allow us to secure these deals and trim down the bottom line of the project while also giving you amazing results. 

At Sosna, we have perfected our planning process through years of experience and fine-tuning. Our clients are in control of their renovation from the start, making informed decisions that ensure the final result is something they can afford and will love. Don’t worry if you’re struggling to choose a budget. Come to us with the basics of what you need and what you can spend and we’ll help you work out the details between them.

Let’s Get Started!

If you are considering a renovation, we invite you to start the journey with us by contacting us for a consultation!