1. Financial:
Does your house addition make sense?
There are quite a number of things that could be done to add value to your home. The most direct and quick way of assessing whether you should proceed with a house addition is to have a realtor run comparable sales in the neighborhood, or even if you do a search on Zillow.com, you will be able to generally find out the price range of houses in your area.
Most of the time, the ranges are based on the size or area of the home, as well as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. If you were to sell your home, you would be able to get a higher asking price if you have the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms as the highest house in your vicinity or the nearest most similar neighborhood. Making a house addition allows you the opportunity to substantially increase the property value of your home should you need to sell.
There are quite a number of things that could be done to add value to your home. The most direct and quick way of assessing whether you should proceed with a house addition is to have a realtor run comparable sales in the neighborhood, or even if you do a search on Zillow.com, you will be able to generally find out the price range of houses in your area.
Most of the time, the ranges are based on the size or area of the home, as well as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. If you were to sell your home, you would be able to get a higher asking price if you have the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms as the highest house in your vicinity or the nearest most similar neighborhood. Making a house addition allows you the opportunity to substantially increase the property value of your home should you need to sell.
2. Feeling: Does
it feel good?
As far as the design goes, consider the feeling or overall impression that you want the people to have who live there. The overall impression of the space is your first consideration. It is easy, when in the midst of purchasing furnishings or having to decide between ones you already have, to get confused or lose your focus. Having a clear understanding of how you want people to feel when they enter a space is a most important guiding consideration. Additionally, try to think beyond the ‘light and airy’. The average designer will inwardly groan when hearing this… what is ‘light and airy’ to you is not necessarily what is ‘light and airy’ to another person. Having specific concrete terms is more helpful. Here are a few: bold, dynamic, diverse, eclectic, etc. are all terms that are descriptive and meaningful.
As far as the design goes, consider the feeling or overall impression that you want the people to have who live there. The overall impression of the space is your first consideration. It is easy, when in the midst of purchasing furnishings or having to decide between ones you already have, to get confused or lose your focus. Having a clear understanding of how you want people to feel when they enter a space is a most important guiding consideration. Additionally, try to think beyond the ‘light and airy’. The average designer will inwardly groan when hearing this… what is ‘light and airy’ to you is not necessarily what is ‘light and airy’ to another person. Having specific concrete terms is more helpful. Here are a few: bold, dynamic, diverse, eclectic, etc. are all terms that are descriptive and meaningful.
3. Functionally Fitting: Is
it you? Consider the narrative – what is
the story you want to tell within the house? In your imagination, begin with
the thoughts you would like the person who sees your house to have, and proceed
from there. This simple exercise of going from room to room and imagining the
activities that will be performed in the spaces will greatly assist you in
coming up with a plan of attack on the design of your space. Additionally,
think about the little things that you would need to acquire once the space is
functional. Do you need an additional laundry basket to fit with the new washer
and dryer? Plan for a contingency fund to acquire the small but often forgotten
objects that will truly make the new construction a functional space.
4. Framed:Does it look right?
Go back in time. Think about the style of the room. If you like a specific historical style and have examples of it from magazines, so much more the better. But, if you are unaware of the various types of interior designs available, feel free to check out magazines such as Architectural Digest, Sunset, or others. As always, the internet is a helpful tool in being able to assist your search. These sources will have a variety of images that may spark your imagination. But, beware! The pictures in these magazines are professionally tailored to be attractive. A certain photograph may be appealing, but the style may not be the style that would fit right with who you are and the feelings (see number 1 above) you would like to evoke. Collecting these images will assist any designer who will be hired to coordinate the visuals that you create.
As a designer beginning work with a potential client, having these points covered helps go a long way toward initiating the design process. Seeking out problems is to be sought rather than avoided. In our next post, we will examine the importance of seeking problems to solve with the final four steps toward Realizing Residential Dreams.
Go back in time. Think about the style of the room. If you like a specific historical style and have examples of it from magazines, so much more the better. But, if you are unaware of the various types of interior designs available, feel free to check out magazines such as Architectural Digest, Sunset, or others. As always, the internet is a helpful tool in being able to assist your search. These sources will have a variety of images that may spark your imagination. But, beware! The pictures in these magazines are professionally tailored to be attractive. A certain photograph may be appealing, but the style may not be the style that would fit right with who you are and the feelings (see number 1 above) you would like to evoke. Collecting these images will assist any designer who will be hired to coordinate the visuals that you create.
As a designer beginning work with a potential client, having these points covered helps go a long way toward initiating the design process. Seeking out problems is to be sought rather than avoided. In our next post, we will examine the importance of seeking problems to solve with the final four steps toward Realizing Residential Dreams.
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