01. Renovations Can’t Be Stress-Free! Or Can They? 3 Steps to Preparing for your Home Remodel

I just want this podcast to be one tool that you can use to start educating yourself on all things remodel. And learn what goes into a remodel and what do you need to do to prepare for a remodel so that it can run smoothly. You know what you like, but the thought of pulling it all together leaves you feeling totally overwhelmed. Sound about right? Hey, I'm Jen, your go-to remodel specialist. In this podcast, you'll get practical tools to skip the overwhelm and plan smart. Pause that home improvement show because your dream home is closer than you think. Renovations can't be stress-free. Or can they? I am here to tell you that they can't be. Remodels can actually be easy and run smooth. Now, not all of my renovations have been easy or run smooth. I can remember one of my very first renovations as a junior high/high school kid in my parents' home scraping the popcorn ceiling off of my bedroom before I knew a thing called asbestos existed. I'm still here, but I scraped that popcorn ceiling down, not knowing what I was doing and repainted the ceiling. You guys, I looked back on that. I didn't even add new texture to the ceiling. I had no idea that the popcorn was the texture to the drywall. And when I scraped it, all that was left was bare drywall. I didn't even prime it when I put the fresh coat of paint on. So I have made my fair share of mistakes, but design and remodeling is in my blood since I was a kid. I took down all my parents' kitchen cabinet doors, took them down to the barn, sanded them, repainted them, forgot to label where these doors were supposed to go back to. So the cabinets were never the same. But remodeling has always been in my blood, it's always been in my heart and passion to just renovate homes, make them alive again, and be able to create spaces that are beautiful and we can enjoy. So I'm here to tell you that remodels can be easy. It's been a long journey, but I have figured out a few things along the way and I cannot wait to share those things with you. So who am I, who is Jenna, and why should you listen to me? Really? I mean, what makes me qualified to have a podcast? Everyone in their brother has a podcast these days, right? So why am I doing this? Here's the thing. I am a person who has had a lot of experience in the industry. I got my bachelor's degree in interior design. But I was a general contractor for a company I have worked for other design companies and I have run my own business for years as a designer and a project manager. And this is what I do all day, every day. And I have made a lot of mistakes along the way. I got a second, a third, a fourth chance by the grace of God. People kept hiring me. And I got more chances to get better and to improve. And as a homeowner, you typically get one chance to do the remodel, right? So I don't want your one chance to be my first remodel experience. Let's do it better. And we can do it better by just gleaning from all the mistakes that I've made over the years and all the things that I've learned and my experience in the field with contractors and subcontractors and clients to just really glean from how do we make remodels easy. Now listen, I don't want to just be this person on the other side of the microphone. I am a real person who wants to help you and serve you and engage with you. I'm on Instagram. You can reach out to me. I'd love to see your project that you're getting ready to embark on. My Instagram handle is Studio Red, our ED interior design. And I would love to see you there. So hop on over and say hi. Okay. So what is this podcast about making renovations easy? It's as simple as that. I really want to make your renovation experience be simple and easy. And the reason why I started this podcast is because I'm a designer. And yes, it is true to an extent that design is a luxury service. You don't have to have a designer in order to do a remodel. However, you do need a design. So whether you hire a designer or not, the work still needs to be done. I understand though that not everybody has the budget for it. And I just want to be that resource and be that person that can give you guidance and direction. And you still be able to have a beautiful remodel. Even if you can't afford someone the white glove service to just put it all together for you, that would be great if we all had millions of dollars. But it's just not everybody does. And in fact, majority of the people don't have it in their budget. The budget is already tight for remodels. Remodels are already expensive. And so most of the time we're looking for ways that we can save money. Where can we cut the scope or where can we save money over here so that we can get what we want in this part of the remodel? So it is my mission to save you money and to equip you with the tools that will make your remodel easy. How do we do this? How do we make remodels easy? I believe that there's three main things to a remodel that if done well and done right, they can literally change the trajectory of your remodel. Those three things are going to be the essence of this podcast and what I will be talking about throughout the episodes. And they're going to build what we call an easy remodel. So what are they? Number one, budget. Right? I know. All do we have to talk about the money? Yes, we have to talk about the money because you all have a budget. You all have a budget. But here's the beautiful part in this podcast. I want to share with you and show you how to save money in your remodel. I'm going to pull back the curtain to contractors and charging and invoicing and all of the things in order to show you how you can save money on your remodel and be able to spend your money on the things that you want to put in your home to make it beautiful. Okay? Number one is budget. I know it's not glamorous, but number two is design. Oh, my favorite design. You know, whether you DIY it yourself and you pick the things and you do it yourself or you hire it out, like I said, either way, you have to have a design. You have to have a plan. If you don't have a plan, oh my goodness, so quickly things will go off the rail and you will end up regretting decisions. You will end up not with the remodel that you had envisioned and dreamed. You have to have a design and a design. Really all that means is a plan. What are we doing? What are we, what products are we using? What plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures, materials, design is the plan of what we are going to do and accomplish. And then the last thing is organization. I am not always the most organized person in the world. Maybe I shouldn't admit that, but here's the thing. If I can be organized, so can you, because when your project is organized, that is where we take out the stress. When it's not organized and it's chaotic and we don't have things where we can easily find them, grab them and know where they're at, that is when the stress kicks in. When the contractor standing in front of you asking you a question, you can't remember and you can't find it. Ugh, that is where things start to really get stressful. So in this podcast, we are going to be discovering and going through all of those things. Budget design, organization, in order to make remodels easier, you guys excited. I'm excited. I hope you are too. So in order to have a successful remodel like anything else, you have to learn what goes into it. You get one shot to get it right or to live with whatever it is you end up with. And it's my plan and desire that you get on the other side of your remodel without the regret because you don't know what you don't know. Me as a junior high and high school kid, I didn't know what I didn't know that I should label the cabinets when I took them down so that I knew where they went after I painted them. I just want this podcast to be one tool that you can use to start educating yourself on all things remodel and learn what goes into a remodel and what do you need to do to prepare for a remodel so that it can run smoothly. And I hope that this podcast can be a starting point that you can learn and glean because we will be talking about all things, remodel related, kitchen remodel's bathroom remodel's full home remodel's you name it and we will be covering it. So I thank you guys for showing up and tuning in and giving me the opportunity to just share with you a little bit about myself and my heart to serve you in your renovation journey. And if you're seriously planning on renovating someday or you're in the middle of it now, then you're in the right place. I want to equip you with practical tools that you're going to need in order to make your remodel easy. And so in the next upcoming episodes we're going to be diving in to that budgeting, how to save money, having a clear design plan going into your remodel, and how to organize everything so that we can eliminate that stress. Hey, if there is something that you would like for me to talk about and share, I would love to hear from you. Again, you can message me on Instagram, studio red, interior design. If you're not on Instagram, I don't blame you. You can shoot me an email. My email is Jen, J-E-N, at studio red dot homes. That's dot homes H-O-M-E-S. Studio red dot homes. I would love to hear from you guys. I would love to see your photos of your remodel of your your before photos of what you are about to embark on. It is so exciting for me. You guys, your dream home is not that far off. Let's get you there. Hey, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. I am on a mission to make remodels easy for as many people as I can. Reviews help others like yourself have find this podcast. So it would mean the world to me if you took a moment to leave a review so that others like yourself can find me. Also, if you know someone who is thinking about doing a remodel, please share the love and send this episode to them. I can't wait to dig into more renovation strategies with you on the next episode. See you then!