Photo by Paolo Nicolello
Photo by Paolo Nicolello
Figure out where you're going before you start your remodel
Some of you have read the classic self-help book “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People” by Stephen R. Covey. The first habit is, “Begin with the End in Mind.”
Covey invites readers to create a vivid image of the final scene of their lives, and then to measure their future decisions against that image. The goal is to live in a way that leads naturally to that final scene.
Maybe you prefer Lewis Carroll’s more playful, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” Covey and Carroll are expressing the same idea in different ways. Bumbling along will move you forward, but there’s no predicting where you’ll end up.
Before you dash out to Home Depot (I'm late! I'm late!), sit down in a quiet place, and ponder the room you're designing.
- What do you want?
- What do you need?
- What do you dream of?
- What do you desire?
You will devote hours to planning a new room. You will live in a construction zone while your contractor builds it. And, in the end, your bank account will be light thousands of dollars. What is the result that will have you saying, “The time, the trouble and the money were all worth it?”
My interior design clients, with whom I work to craft a definition of success, tell me what it’s like to live in their homes after they have remodeled. They say things like, “I feel like I wake up in a resort every morning,” and “When I come home from work and walk into this house, it makes me happy.” I want that for you.
