Are there times when you should compromise during a renovation?
Compromise during a renovation
Product compromise
When I start to pull a budget together, that's when the numbers start to roll in and I am given a clear indication on how things are coming together. Typically, the labour budget is the labour budget. There is no bartering with my trades and their cost. They already give me great contractor rates so asking for any kind of 'discount' does not happen. Period.When it comes to products, however, that is where we can really manipulate the budget. I believe,
this is one place that a compromise during a renovation can happen.
Thinking glass half full, the cool thing is typically my clients are I are the only ones who know we have made a compromise. No one else is the wiser (and quite honestly, it really is none of their business either).Take an apron sink for example. I am currently sourcing items for a Butler's Pantry. Here is the conceptual design for this space:
Here are 2 apron sinks:
Here are the details of each sink:Sink A
- 25" X 19" are the measurements
- The sink is ceramic and is colored glazed
Sink B
- 25 1/4" X 8 5/8"
- The sink is fireclay
We are clearly not comparing apples to apples. Sink 'A' is larger while both sinks are made with different material. The look of the sinks, however, are very similar. What do you think the prices are for these sinks?Sink A: $289 (IKEA Canada)Sink B: $2254 (Kohler Canada)My client does not wish to spend over $2000 on an apron front sink. We are currently looking at the IKEA sink as it works with her budget.
Colour Compromise
If you have followed my blog or know me, you will know this is a hard no! I am so anal when it comes to colour it's not even funny. In a recent project, there was a little mix up (ok - a big fuck up) with cement floors. I was having the cement floors redone in a really cool metallic finish. We chose a colour called Steel Metallic. Here is the sample of the floor with the rest of the items we chose.
We had some issues with filling in the lines (the cement floor looked like tile due to lines that were etched into the cement). After a couple of attempts (and delays), it was finally time to get the metallic coating on. Here's my Facebook Live video where I go into detail about how my bubble was totally burst!
Just Say No!
When it comes to colour, and you clearly have a choice, here is my thought:
Never, ever, ever compromise.
For these clients, even though the floor magically works with everything we picked out, the floors are being changed out. Here is what I said to my client,
I don't want you coming down to your new basement and hate the floors. I want you to love your space. Our hearts were set on the colour we chose. It is my advice we have them change it.
As my client wrote,
One more week to redo the floor, years to love it. Big picture thinking! It’s the right decision!
Here is how I explained things:https://youtu.be/aKV7XhXJlqY
Can you tell I wasn't getting a ton of sleep over this project!
When I was working on another very large renovation project, we had an issue with the quartz colour. You can read all about that here. In the quartz counter case, the quartz that was delivered and installed in my clients' home was nowhere near the sample that we received. I provided my clients with advice and the decision was to have the counters changed out! Was there a delay? Yes. Do my clients LOVE their new counters? Absolutely.
Compromise during a renovation
Back to my initial question. Have you ever had to compromise during a renovation? While some compromises need to happen, can happen, and should happen, in my opinion, there are times when you should never compromise. It's important to weigh the pros and cons (how does this affect the budget and timeline). In the end, the goal is to love your new space! If that means a little delay to get it right, then I say,
DO IT!
I would love to hear if you have had to compromise and if you are happy with your decision to do so.