QUARTERLY DESIGN TIP: SURVIVING A REMODEL PART ONE For last season's tip, I mentioned that I was currently in the throes of updating my own bathroom. That process plunged me (no pun intended) into one of the biggest challenges of remodeling. By its very nature, remodeling will update a given percentage of your house, and if you're not careful, the rest of your home will look shabby in comparison. What to do to avoid this problem? If you have unlimited financial resources, the solution is simple: You remodel your home from top to bottom at the onset. Before you select the starting date, you talk to your local real estate broker and ask him or her to find you a furnished rental. For the six months or so that's required for a remodel, you live in your rental. Afterwards, you return to your fabulous newly updated home, and you throw a housewarming party and invite your ever-patient neighbors, who endured the noise and the traffic congestion caused by the Dumpster and trucks parked outside your house. For the sake of argument and, well, realism, let's assume that the majority of us don't have unlimited financial resources. We, too, can remodel and, if we've planned well, we can successfully endure the experience. (Sorry if I'm raining on anyone's parade, but mere survival is the goal; all enjoyment comes only after the work is complete.) Homeowners need to go into the process with a clear picture of how much of their house they're going to redo at this stage and a realistic timeline for completing that work. Homes are designed to have continuity from one space to the next, and that's a critical factor to help you decide when to say "when" with your remodel. The adjacent spaces that are most affected by your remodel are the ones that maintain your home's visual continuity, such as the ceilings, floors, and trim. The most glorious of kitchen remodels is going to be tainted if your fabulous new travertine tile floor meets up with brown shag carpeting, and the recessed lighting within the stunning hand-troweled ceiling is flanked by acoustic ceiling tiles in the dining room and family room. For open rooms, you'll probably need to update the surrounding spaces enough to give them some pizzazz and polish. Stand in the space that you're planning on remodeling and consider how it will feel to have this view from your expensive remodel. If you find yourself staring with contempt at the worn-out sofa in the next room, factor its replacement cost into your remodeling budget. You might need to consider replacing the baseboards and trim on this entire floor. A fresh coat of paint and one new furnishing or eye-catching accessory in each existing room will often do the trick. In my case, bathroom remodels are enclosed rooms that have only a minimal effect on the overall continuity of a home's interior. It was immediately obvious that both upstairs bathrooms needed to be updated. For obvious reasons, I scheduled the work so that we'd have only one bathroom out of commission at any one time, and this weekend I'll pick out the floor tile and schedule its installation, and that's the last step. Even so, our kitchen has long since passed its expiration date, so that's on the horizon. Happy designing! Back to list of design tips.