Where to Start:
Identify Your Key Needs and Communicate Them to Your Team when planning a remodel
Planning a remodel project can feel overwhelming. As wants and needs compete with the constraints your home might impose, it’s essential to have clear goals. Your designer, builder, and architect will contribute options—some of which will be obvious choices, while others might leave you debating what you truly want in your finished project. It’s easy to feel frozen by the volume of trade offs.
To make this process smoother and avoid feeling like Dug from the movie Up (“Squirrel… squirrel… squirrel!”), identify your top priorities and stay as focused as possible. Understand there will be constraints due to budget, space, or other limitations.
Ask Yourself:
What are the non-negotiables for this renovation?
Which rooms need attention?
Are you remodeling within the footprint and/or adding to it?
Do you dream of a kitchen island with seating for four?
Is a mudroom or walk-in pantry on your wish list?
Would rich wood paneling and crown moldings enhance your home’s character?
At this stage, avoid getting bogged down in design details. Focus instead on the big-picture elements that will shape your project or a few key design elements that make your heart thump. Your team will make it happen, but you need to communicate your key needs clearly and early.
Providing a clear set of goals to your team of designers, architects, and builders is a critical first step.
Define Your "Nice-to-Haves" vs. "Must-Haves"
Create a secondary list of “nice-to-haves.” These are features you’d love to include if they fit into the plan, but you’re willing to forgo them if they don’t make sense. For example:
A soaking tub in the new bathroom sounds dreamy, but if it means sacrificing a closet in the adjacent bedroom, it might not be worth it.
A larger refrigerator may mean less counter space.
No matter your budget or space constraints, remodeling is about making choices. Sometimes budget considerations win; other times, it’s about maximizing light or opening up walls. By clearly identifying your priorities, you’ll guide the renovation process more effectively and maintain your sanity.
Establishing a Scope Outline: Identify Your Key Needs and Communicate Them to Your Team
For our renovation project to revive our 1950s Cape Cod, we provided our team with a detailed scope outline. Here’s the thing: You can hire the perfect team—the best designer, architect, and builder in the city—but if you don’t know broadly what you want, your renovation won’t succeed. Architects can offer impressive ideas on how to use your space well and efficiently. Designers have beautiful, creative ideas too. They can do a wide range of things, but the client needs to direct them toward the key functional and aesthetic desires. Your design team can elevate your vision to the next level and make your dreams come true—but you need to have a clear sense of your goals before engaging them in your project.
Example Scope Outline:
4611 N Lake Drive: Project ObjectivesOverall Vision: Transform a dated 1950s Cape Cod into a classic English cottage-style home with modern amenities and casual comfort. Prioritize first-floor living while reserving the upper level for teens and guests in the future.
Key Remodeling Goals:
Bedrooms & Bathrooms: Create four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, complete with a central hangout zone, wet bar, and laundry facilities.
HVAC Update: Evaluate and update HVAC systems for efficiency and comfort.
Roofing: Install a new roof over the entire home, incorporating new dormers and a patio cover. Consider faux/composite cedar shingles (e.g., DaVinci) or traditional asphalt shingles, based on budget. Patio surface updates to bluestone will be handled later with a landscaping contractor.
Kitchen Expansion: Expand the kitchen by incorporating an exterior stoop into the home, thereby creating space for a walk-in pantry. Gut and remodel the kitchen to include:
Mud hall
Walk-in pantry
Open kitchen with an island and dry bar area
Custom cabinets, bead paneled ceiling, updated lighting, plumbing, and appliances
Open Layout: Open the kitchen to the family and dining rooms by removing the chimney, pine paneling, and built-in bookshelves. Add an arched opening from the dining room to the kitchen/family room by removing current dining room built-ins (see sketches).
Flooring: Install seamless white oak flooring throughout the first floor, including dining, family, kitchen, and pantry areas. Use herringbone brick tiles for the mud hall. Retain the green granite in the foyer.
Key Design Specifications and Appliances:
Materials:
White oak flooring
Custom hand-painted cabinets, 2” taller than standard
Bead paneled ceiling in kitchen and family room
Paneled appliances
Kitchen Features:
Island: 7-8 ft. x 3.5-4 ft. with seating for 4-6
Countertops: Marble on the perimeter, black soapstone for the island and pantry
Appliances:
55” LaCanche oven with pot filler
Sub-Zero 30” refrigerator and freezer
Cove dishwashers
Miele built-in coffee maker
36” single-basin sink and dishwasher on the west kitchen wall
Backsplash: Zellige tile behind the range for a timeless, handcrafted look
This approach—starting with a clear vision and structured priorities balanced with flexibility—sets the foundation for a successful renovation. Our final plans include about 90% of what was on my original scope list. The built-in coffee maker got axed by my husband. Together we decided not to add a covered patio because we like the natural light coming into our first-floor family room.
Stay tuned as I share more about the design challenges and triumphs of breathing new life into this beloved family home on the shores of Lake Michigan near Milwaukee.
What are your renovation essentials
Mudd Hall
Marble Island
Custom Hood
Island seating
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