Tackling Spring Projects One Round at a Time
Two things come to my mind in March: Spring projects and NCAA basketball tournament time. A little fun fact for all of you sports fans, CFD is in the heart of basketball country, located walking distance from last year’s National Champions - the Tar Heels, and just a short driving distance from Duke - the 2016 champs! However, if your focus for March is tackling a spring refresh project like organizing, gardening, space planning, redecorating, or painting, we can help you tackle that one “round” at a time.
Round one: Set a Goal
No matter what your goals is from winning a national championship to remodeling – A goal or dream is where it all starts. It can be a small goal like re-painting a room or a large goal like a total kitchen remodel. Having a clear picture where you want to end up is key to the start of any process. No team goes into the tournament without dreaming of the championship game and getting a clip of that net. Let's say you are taking on a kitchen remodeling project. Look at pictures of kitchens you like. Get your ideas together. What is your budget? This goal would sound something like this: My goals is to update my kitchen with new cabinetry, tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances for under $60,000.
Round two: Make a Plan
Any good team that makes it to the big dance got there by having a game plan. It’s written down, talked about and reviewed. Let’s say your “big dance” is having freshly painted walls and new artwork. How do I make this happen? You simply must have a plan. Are you a DIY-er that can handle these decisions on your own, or do you need professional help? Just remember even a talented basketball team needs a coach, so don’t be afraid to ask for help! Clear steps make for a smooth process. Step one: select the paint colors. Step two: Hire a professional (or tackle it yourself). Step three and so on. The idea is to know what you are doing ahead of time. Have a back-up too. If you want to tackle the painting labor by yourself but quickly realize you are not good at it, have a professional give you a quote. A power forward may want to be the point guard, but his skill is not dribbling…you get my point! I may want to save a few bucks trying to paint the walls myself, but in the end if I got more paint on the carpet that on my walls, I only caused more issues. I know what my talents are and aren’t!
Round three: Execute the Plan
Round three is the action phase! You’re in the game, it’s time to put into action all of the things you planned out. So, if step one in the plan is picking a paint color, what things do I need to consider in order to pick the perfect color: What colors are already in the house? What colors do I like? How does that look in the different times of day?Do I need to contact a designer or ask a friend for help? If you are tackling the job yourself, map out your supplies - I have rollers but I need trim brushes. If you are hiring a professional, call around and get quotes. Execution of the plan pulls it all together, just like executing a play puts the points on the scoreboard. Applying all of the steps take you towards the goal.Need help with your game plan? Reach out to us at hello@catfrenchdesign.com. We’d love to help you with your space!Images:1 , 2, 3