For most of us, the least exciting aspect of a design project is budgeting and managing money. We just want to get to the design plans and spend time selecting beautiful finishes. The reality is that your project will run more smoothly and you’ll be happier in the end if you prioritize the budget early. I encourage all of my clients to create a budget before jumping into the design. Once we’ve moved past the not-so-fun money talk it’s over and we can then focus on the more enjoyable elements of the design. Want to know more about planning for a renovation? Read this post.
WHY YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON BUDGET FIRST
1/ HIGH vs LOW SOURCING
When there’s no budget at the start of a project it’s difficult to know where to splurge and where to look for more budget friendly alternatives. Everything seems possible and it can feel exhilarating to have so many options. The reality is this is how people end up finishing their project with a massive overage that could have been avoided.
With a budget created early your designer can help you to prioritize the splurges that are the most important to you. As a designer, my job is to create a design that will look expensive even when it’s a combination of high and low priced items.
Recently I worked with a couple who had their heart set on a small tile that would put them over budget, both in material cost and labour to install. Instead, they agreed to go for a larger tile that was less finicky, more affordable and didn’t require as much labour. Instead of a boring tile pattern that they were expecting I showed them how we could make this regular tile look more expensive by laying it in a herringbone pattern. The end result was a high end look that didn’t kill their budget.
2/ TEAM COHESIVENESS
When a budget is created early it means the contractor and the designer can meet with you to go over how the money should be assigned. Without a budget or a budget meeting, the contractor will advocate for spending more money on construction. The designer will advocate for spending the money on design materials. This can create an environment of hostility that lacks consideration for you, the client.
Hopefully everyone on your team is looking out for your best interests and advocating for how they can do the best job possible. The chance of harmony in a team is much higher if we can meet early on and agree on how best to allocate resources.
3/ MAKING YOUR MONEY GO FURTHER
Most of us would agree that $100k sounds like a lot of money. When you’re talking about $100k or $200k for a major renovation that money will need to be carefully budgeted to make it stretch.
When the budget can be allocated to materials very early in the reno, it becomes clear to clients that they’ll need to be good decision makers with regards to every material. Between construction costs and design materials, $200k goes quickly.
As a designer, my job is to be creative and provide solutions to overcome budget constraints. In a recent project I helped my clients stay on budget after working through some issues around flooring. They loved the flooring in the main areas of their home but they wanted hardwood throughout. They were hoping to install new flooring everywhere but it wasn’t in the budget. Instead, we found a matching species of flooring and stained it to match the existing floor. This gave them the look they wanted but avoided a budget overage.
4/ CHANGE IS INEVITABLE
Sourcing materials is a game of timing. There will always be products that are out of stock with long delays or even worse, discontinued. These delays in products could stall a project. If your flooring, cabinetry, lighting or plumbing fixtures are delayed, these could cause an interruption in your trades’ ability to move ahead. You can’t go any further with a kitchen renovation when there’s no cabinetry.
Creating a budget early on means you can play with the numbers. You’ll know whether you can afford to substitute with available materials that are slightly more expensive. Without an accurate budget you could be saying yes to everything and be surprised by the project costs at the end. Or you could be afraid to move ahead with a more expensive item because you have no clear sense of where the budget is.
5/ EASY TO STAY WITHIN BUDGET
I’ve heard clients say they don’t want to share their budget because they’re afraid it will all be spent. If the client has a number between $200k-$250k in mind but doesn’t share that, the team is left in the dark regarding numbers.
Items are being selected based on aesthetics alone. With a budget, it’s much more likely the project can hit the budget target because everyone works towards the same goal. You also don’t need to approve every item. As long as you’re on budget, the price of individual items is irrelevant.
Something you don’t see a lot on HGTV is how carefully a designer attends to your money. One of my main priorities when working with clients is helping them understand how to make every dollar stretch to get everything on the wishlist. The timing of budget creation is just as important as the amount of the budget. Planning early can save you a lot of heartache in your design project.
Want to know how I can help you with your next design project? Take a look at my services or contact me to learn more.
