The Snowball Effect

Projects have a tendency to snowball. My husband calls it "project creep". Simply put, it is the way projects tend to get larger, with more components added, than was originally planned.

My favorite example is a project I have with a young couple and an old house. They were new to the house, it needed some updates, and they wanted to start with the wall color in the kitchen. The cabinets were old and painted black, there is a red brick fireplace that they wanted to keep, wood floors, glossy beams overhead, black and white 4x4 tile checkered counters and a golden color on the walls.

Well, wall color was not really the problem with this space. I was unsure of their budget for the project, so I initially asked if they would be open to changing the countertops as well as finding a new wall color.  They agreed that new counters would help.  Within a few days they called me to tell me that they also wanted to replace the cabinets, as it really did not make a lot of sense to put new counters on the old cabinets.  At that time they decided to replace all the appliances.   We clearly needed to address lighting and a new backsplash along with the cabinets and counters.   They also decided that it would be the right time to deal with some of the odd architectural elements in the space, so we added that. 

Then homeowners decided to tackle the mudroom at the same time.  So we had the Amish cabinet maker make lockers and shelves for that space.  Once the old pantry in the mudroom was removed, we needed to deal with the flooring, as part of it was missing.

As the kitchen and mudroom renovation progressed, the homeowners had an increasing sense of dissatisfaction with their living room.  There was some work on the mantle that needed to be done and they did not like the start white paint on it.  So we updated the fireplace by having a wonderfully talented artist (Laurie Many) paint the mantle and brick surround. We added a built in cabinet where the old wood box was. It looked great.

After the improving the fireplace the homeowners could no longer live with the white built in bookcase next to the newly painted and distressed fireplace.  So it is being rebuilt. The homeowners had an armoire in the living room that they did not like the color of, so the same artist painted both that and the dining table, which had been a start white.

With the living room now looking updated, the homeowners decided not to wait on making some other changes.  The floral carpet that ran up the stairs and a new wood floor was installed. The upstairs office was also treated to a wood floor and new paint.  The girls' bedroom upstairs needed to be repainted and carpeted, so they decided not to wait on that. The hall was added to the paint list. The back sunroom was added to the paint list. Glossy wood trim was repainted in a satin finish (this took years off the age of the house).

Since most of the interior of the house is now either done or about to be done, it was mentioned to the homeowners by some of the construction workers  that they were going to need a new roof soon. Well, when you add the new roof it is your opportunity to change the exterior color scheme too. So, siding, paint, roof are all being planned for.

Now, it must be said that all of these projects really needed to be done.  The homeowners expanded their initial goals and budget in order to get the house the way they wanted it now, rather than later.

Not all projects creep, especially to that extent.  But since their budget was able to handle it they decided to move quickly throughout the house.  It is my job to be respectful of the goals and budget of all homeowners to help them accomplish what they want, when they want, within budget.

These are some of my thoughts, share yours.  -MaryBeth