Have you ever had high expectations, along with your good intentions, and decided it was time to make some changes around your home? You start out excited, gather some ideas of what you’d like to have, and maybe even purchase a thing or two. But somewhere along the way, the project gets stalled. What happened?
With years of experience as a designer, and a homeowner, I’ve learned that no matter what reason we try to tell ourselves, it always comes down to two main reasons:
1. Time
2. Money
Yes, we’re all busy, and a lot of us lead crazy lives running from meeting to meeting, carpooling, work, etc. There just never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. So….the design project you desperately wanted last month suddenly becomes the last thing you want to think about.
And when it comes to setting a budget, often we don’t know where to start. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve added anything new to your home. And maybe you have other more pressing things to spend your money on. You might even feel the need to wave the magic wand to make it all happen.
All of this adds to the overwhelm, confusion, and indecision that causes your project to be put on hold for a while. But let’s think about a few ways to help you get over the disappointment and start moving forward again.
1. Evaluate whether or not your expectations are realistic. Is your budget unreasonably low? Are you overestimating the time it will take to get it finished?
2. Take some time to do a little soul searching and decide if lack of time and money are your reality or an excuse to stop. Is there some other underlying reason why you don’t want to tackle the project?
SOLUTIONS: 
1. Create a long term design plan so that you can spread out your purchases over time. It also gives you the time to work your life around what needs to be done to make the project a success.
2. Break down the plan into specific rooms. This is a great way to stay organized and to feel that your project is manageable. Having a “brain dump” list that keeps growing with each new idea helps remove the stress and pressure of too many things to do. Then whenever you have the time and the money, take one or two of these items and add it to your master design plan .
3. Prioritize your list. The most important things will be taken care of first. It also gives you the option of making a lower priced substitution that can carry you through until you’re able to buy the exact perfect piece that you really want. But try to buy a substitute that can be re-purposed to another part of your house later.
4. Take a look at what you spend your time on in a day. What can you eliminate that will free up some time for your project? Maybe it’s time to also make a list of your priorities in this area. What is REALLY important to you? Are you willing to make the changes so that it will happen?
“The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” -Stephen Covey
Hi!
I'm Randi Destefano, and I love helping homeowners design and renovate their existing home. 
