Renovating your home without help: a good idea… until the work begins

There’s a topic we’ve been discussing a lot lately at the studio: “Renovating isn’t decorating, nor is it playing The Sims: it’s managing.” And when you decide to do it on your own, that phrase takes on its full meaning. Let me explain.

Sometimes, after an informational meeting, people tell us:

“In the end, we’ll use a builder we already know, and we’ll buy the materials ourselves. That way, we’ll get a better price.”

And of course, we understand that wanting to optimize costs is logical. But honestly, we also know what usually comes next.

From the outside, designing a space seems easy (especially with all the apps that can help you), and coordinating a renovation project shouldn’t be that complicated… until the doubts, setbacks, and problems start to arise due to a lack of knowledge about the technical and methodological aspects of a renovation, leading to calls during working hours, delays, defective products, and the famous “this doesn’t fit.”

When saving money turns into disappointment

A few years ago, a customer told us about a brand of faucets she had found online. The models were almost identical to the ones we had suggested, but they cost three times less. She decided to buy them. And this is what happened next:

• The installation was more complicated than expected.
• The black paint on the faucets began to chip off within a month.
• The joints and threads on the materials began to give way four years later.
• And to top it all off, the brand refused to take responsibility.

In the end, the supposed savings ended up costing her dearly.

The other side of renovation

What may seem like a creative adventure from the outside is, on the inside, a constantly changing logistical puzzle. Every day there are new decisions to make, suppliers to coordinate, measurements to review, materials to request, deliveries to check, and prices to reconfirm.

And yes, there are also mistakes that, if not detected in time, can be very, very costly in terms of money, time, patience, and nerves.

Choosing whether the floor will be wood or ceramic is easy. The difficult part is understanding how it will behave over time, how it will react to light or heat, or what maintenance it will require. And that’s where experience is important if you don’t want to make the wrong choice, because a material can be beautiful… but it’s not always right for the life you’re going to have at home.

Believe me when I tell you that we have seen a woman who was very upset because she had installed a white country marble countertop in her new kitchen, and she couldn’t accept that on the first day of use it had already been stained with tea, and two days later with lemon.

She expected the marble to retain its original white color forever, and when she complained to the marble installer that the product he had installed was defective, he checked it and concluded that the material was perfectly fine and that there was no reason to replace it. The woman felt cheated and very disappointed.

Over time, she told us that the problem had been solved because the stains faded on their own when exposed to sunlight. Today she is happy with her countertop, but she could certainly have saved herself the hassle if someone had advised her on the characteristics and requirements of the different materials from the outset.

When you have a team, everything flows

In a comprehensive renovation, it’s not about controlling everything, but knowing who to trust with each phase of the process. So, when you have an interior design team, what you’re really doing is investing in peace of mind:

• Peace of mind knowing that the workers are well coordinated.
• Peace of mind knowing that someone with technical expertise and experience is in charge.
• Peace of mind knowing that orders are scheduled with sufficient time.
• Peace of mind knowing that there is trust and a good relationship with suppliers and workers.
• Peace of mind knowing that the interior designer checks the measurements after each phase of the work to avoid any discrepancies.
• Peace of mind knowing that you will get the best possible result because everything has been analyzed and controlled from the outset to ensure this.

During the pandemic, for example, Jaume and Arlet commissioned us to renovate their apartment near Francesc Macià. They couldn’t come in even once. Even so, they followed every stage of the process, chose materials and furniture, approved decisions, and today, five years later, they are still satisfied with how everything was conducted and managed.

Cheap (and easy) is almost never high quality or long-lasting

Renovating a house on your own may seem like a way to save money, but it rarely is. Often, the “best price” hides omissions and is not the best price, but the price of something incomplete. And we’re not just talking about money, but also time and energy.

A smooth renovation project is no easy feat, and achieving it does not happen by chance: it is the result of many attentive eyes, years of experience, and a methodology focused on foresight and problem solving.

Because, as we say in the studio: a well-managed project is not one that has no problems, but one that solves them before taking the next step.

As a client, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether the furniture fits or whether the transport company has lost an order. Your role should be different: to enjoy the process and see how, little by little, your home becomes the place you imagined from the beginning.

In short: a renovation is not just a project in your home, it is also support

Doing a renovation on your own may seem like an adventure, but most of the time it ends up being a test of endurance. Having an interior design team means having someone who thinks of everything, even what you didn’t know you needed to think about.

Because changing the interior of your home should be as enjoyable a process as the final result.

“Behind every stress-free project is a team that anticipates, coordinates, and carefully resolves every detail, so you can enjoy both the process and the result” — Sezam Studio Team