The number one mistake that people make during a renovation is not developing an initial furniture plan prior to locking the architectural plans.

Truly, I cannot stress this point enough. It is the issue that causes people the most disappointment and the greatest challenges post–renovation.

I have also learned that it is the topic that can anger people the most, often because they have had the expectation that their architect and/or contractor has thought of these points in the process; however, these members of the team have not thought of a furniture plan because it is simply not what they do as part of a renovation.

I have walked into meetings after a renovation has been completed without me and asked what I consider to be extremely basic questions, only to learn that these questions have not been considered. Sometimes, the architecture is inadvertently perfect; sometimes, we have challenges that I can “design around”; and, sometimes, despite all of my best efforts, the homeowner will never be happy because what looks good in plan may not be great in experience.

Each room should be considered according to the desired experience. With this approach, you understand PRIOR to spending the renovation dollars what you can expect the experience to be AFTER the renovation. The goals are to have as much data as possible and to avoid as many surprises as possible.