6 important things homeowners forget to prepare prior to the 1st meetup with the renovation professional

1. Clear floor plan with measurements

A clear floor plan with detailed, accurate measurements helps the renovation professionals to space plan more accurately and effectively. However, if the detailed floor plan is not ready, the floor plan should at least come with a metric scale.

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2. Measurements of bulky items

Bulky items will affect the space planning proposal made by the renovation professionals , thus it is important to get these dimensions ready. Therefore, remember to inform the renovation professionals about them before they start preparing the proposal. Examples of bulky items include pool table, foosball table, piano, dry cabinets, sofa, massage chair and mountain bikes.

Tip: Take photos and share them with the renovation professionals so that they can visualize and incorporate them in the design proposal.

Interior Designer: Museum Homes

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3. Details of the furnishings and appliances

The furnishings and appliances provided by the property developers might affect the space planning proposal made by the renovation professionals. Therefore, remember to inform the renovation professionals details such as the refrigerator capacity, whether if the wardrobe provided comes with sliding door and so on.

Tip: Take photos of the furnishings and appliances provided by the property developers when you visit the showroom since they will come in handy later.

Interior Designer: The Association

Interior Designer: Idees Interior Design

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4. Challenges

Discuss with your partner on the specific challenges which you hope the renovation professional would be able to address. The common challenges include lack of storage, making of most of a small room, lack of elderly or child friendly designs and a multi-functional shared space which is used by multiple people. Remember to prioritize this list of challenges too.

Tip: List down the challenges as a form of checklist to ensure that the renovation professional has addressed them during the discussion.

Interior Designer: Project File

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5. Scope and requirements

Decide on the scope of the renovation and the requirements with your partner. Remember to focus on "what" are the specific issues which both of you want to address and leave the "how to", the details of implementation to the renovation professionals. For instance, the issue at hand could be the lack of cooking work space in the kitchen. Thus, the renovation professional could resolve the challenge by either proposing an extendable kitchen island or hacking away a wall to enlarge the kitchen space.

Interior Designer: Orange Cube

Interior Designer: Liid Studio

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6. When to stop meeting up with new renovation professionals

Although a renovation portal is a great place to reach out to a wide range of renovation professionals, it is impractical and impossible to meet up with all of them. Hence, it is important that you and your partner decide on the list of criteria to be fulfilled before both of you stop "shopping" for the renovation professional. For example, the criteria could be when both of you have shortlisted 3 renovation professionals.

Do share if you find this post handy during your renovation journey! :)