Small Town Design and Renovation

One thing I really enjoyed doing when I was working on our first renovation project was helping to design the floor plan and choose the elements that would result in the most added value. I loved creating the lighting plan – where the recessed lighting would be placed, how the kitchen pendant lights would accent the sink or which fixture looked the best over the table. I loved the flooring choices, painting choices, window locations, back splash choices and, most of all, how to optimize the space within the house! So, when my dad approached me about handling the renovation/planning for his investment property in Poth, Texas, I was excited about the opportunity!

I am stuck between the question of if I could direct a team of subcontractors on this renovation or if I should play it safe and contract with a general contractor and just lead the design element. Walking through the house, it really isn’t in that bad of shape.

Yes, the drywall is in bad shape – but it is mostly the ceiling due to a bad roof. Roofing? Definitely can do – not difficult at all. Demolition? Piece of cake. The floors are in great shape, surprisingly. These would be worth refinishing. The floor plan is mostly already an open concept, which is nice. We had to completely rearrange the floor plan with our first – took the old garage and vaulted the ceilings to create a master bathroom. The old kitchen became the master bathroom (it was that small!!).

The foundation seems pretty steady too on this house – all of the doors close very neatly, and you don’t really walk into a room and think you might be in the twilight zone.

I will be working on the floor plan today, courtesy of MagicPlan – a neat tool I like to use to map the floor plan layout so I can play with it later. I get the true dimensions with a sweet laser tool and input those values later.

What I love about MagicPlan is how easy it is to use. Once it is in there, I can mess with knocking down walls, placing lights, adding paint and even furniture. Then, I can throw that back into 3D and actually move through the house as if I am walking it in real life. It’s so fun!

So, once I mess with the floor plan today throughout this weekend (I definitely can’t whip this out in one day), I will have a better idea on if I will play GC or will just charge a design consulting fee.

What would you feel more comfortable with?

Do you have a favorite design app/tool for your home renovations?

What color do you think the outside of this house should be? 🙂