Designing with a “Plan” Matters

In the early 90’s; family rooms were the new “it” thing. The idea of a place you could put your feet up and furnish casually spurred a lot of interest. Unfortunately, it didn’t give much thought to how this new space would co-relate with the rest of the home; leaving living rooms to become seldom used. 

Renovating and lifestyle have changed a great deal since then, however; it is still common to talk with folks who want to understand how they can phase their plans without regretting something… or to meet someone who inherited a poorly planned mix of renovations that are too disjointed to make that connection without going backwards.

Without a master plan that takes into account all the spaces on your wish list, and must haves; you could end up renovating in silos so that when all rooms are complete, you are left unsatisfied. It is always difficult to be the messenger of the re-renovation. The renovaiton that will redo what was just done! Like in the example of a renovated bath that has an entry off of a kitchen or dining room which is not an optimal point of entry. Or the picture to the left that has a well thought-out pantry off the kitchen, but that given its locaiton should have been a mudroom and added a pantry elsewhere. 

The moral of this story is to put in the work for a master plan or vision that will keep the renovations over time driving towards your desired goal.