Looking to start a home renovation project this year? You aren’t the only one. Remodeling in place is on the rise!
With the housing market continuing the trend of rising prices and favoring sellers, folks are turning to remodeling with room additions and accessory dwelling units to get the space they need in their home.
Also let’s admit it; we may not be in quarantine anymore, but we’re all still spending a lot more time and home. So, is it the perfect time to start a home renovation project?
The world has certainly shifted over the past few years. People are getting back to basics and spending time with family. People are cooking at home more, working from home, and distance learning. This is a lot of change in life and habits while living in the same space. According to the National Association of Home Builders, this is a big reason why home remodeling is on the rise. People are redefining spaces with the help of professional designers that have the eye to reformat spaces to your new functional needs.
If you need help coordinating a home renovation project, contact Sea Pointe today.
Related – 5 Functional Features You Need in Your Kitchen
Before You Begin Remodeling in 2025
Because home remodeling is such a big and costly project, we’ve organized a checklist you can use to start deciding where you can get the most out of a remodel. This checklist is intended to help you keep conversations and details in order to ensure your residential home remodeling project stays on-time and on-budget with all details tended to.
✔ Create a Plan
You want to get your priorities, budget, and ideas on paper. This is the beginning of your home remodeling organizer. Every project has a plan no matter the industry and home remodeling is absolutely no exception, just ask a home remodeling project manager. You’ll want to start with why you want to remodel – what is your pain point or motivation to remodel? For some people it simply may be to update an outdated space, and others may want a totally new home workspace for a new work-from-home lifestyle. Some folks may be considering Universal Design options to improve accessibility. No matter your purpose for remodeling, get it on paper so you always remember the why and make your design to this purpose.
✔ List Your Priorities
Now that you’ve nailed down why you need to nail down your non-negotiables. These are things that you must have to accomplish your “Why am I remodeling?” needs. Often times the “why” maybe that grandma is moving in, which means you may need accessibility provisions such as a zero-threshold shower entrance. Another priority for a home chef may be to have a sub-zero refrigerator or walk-in pantry. Your priorities should support meeting your goals and you need to write these down to ensure you communicate effectively with your remodeling firm or contractor.
✔ Document Your Budget
Home remodeling is not a low-budget item in the least, especially remodeling in Orange County. For this reason, it’s very important to understand where you will be getting the money from and how much you expect your remodel to cost. We often find that prospective remodeling clients are not at all aware of costs or how to budget for a project. Your remodeling firm will manage expectations with ranges that will vary based on the materials you choose. Figure out your bottom line and stick to it.
Related – How Much Does a Bathroom Remodel Really Cost?
✔ Look at Remodeling Ideas
This is the fun part of your project! Document what features you want and save images to share with your designer. We always ask clients to show us 3 projects they love and 1 they do not like; this helps your designer understand your personal style and that makes designing much easier. You can include fabric swatches, paint colors, tile materials, and any design features that meet your fancy. You can get a jump start on this process by looking at our kitchen, bath, and whole home remodeling portfolios.
✔ Find a Contractor
The next step is to find your contractor. This may be the most daunting task involved in your whole remodeling project. There are over 600,000 contractors in the US of varying skill, honesty, and reliability. One of our clients shared that her Laguna Beach city inspector told her she made a good choice going with Sea Pointe Design & Remodel because there are plenty of general contractors that don’t complete the jobs, leaving clients with demolished spaces and pocket the deposit. Researching your general contractor is a must as there are too many unlicensed and uninsured people posing as licensed contractors. Be sure to ask plenty of questions. Ask to see the general contractor’s license, proof of insurance and California ID to make sure it’s the same name on all three documents. Check their reviews and ask for former clients you can contact to verify customer satisfaction. Ask to visit a job site to see how they keep their active construction jobs. There are plenty of great general contractors out there as well as design build firms pending your remodeling style. We created a handy checklist for doing your research before hiring your contractor: 15 Review & Reference Websites for Contractors>>
✔ Determine Type of Remodeling
You also want to determine what type of home remodeling client you are.
Complete DIY Remodel
Do you love home improvement and like getting your hands dirty? If the job is small enough, you can consider a DIY project! Be sure to scope out proper time and available hours in the days and weekends to accomplish the task and ensure everyone using this space is onboard with this timeline as DIY projects can have unexpected circumstances that stress the situation. If you don’t plan ahead for the time, space, and materials you’ll need, you may end up with an unusable space and interruption much longer than you anticipated.
General Contractor Remodel
If you’re not so handy but have the time to project manage the job yourself, you can hire a general contractor and a designer to accomplish a remodel. Pending the scale of your remodel, you may also need an architect; so consider the fact that at the initial project management phase you’re hiring 3 different construction professionals. Keep in mind on top of this, you’ll need to do your own shopping and have the materials on the jobsite when your contractor needs them.
Design Build Firm Remodel
An alternate approach is to hire a design build firm like Sea Pointe Design & Remodel. This is where all of your construction professionals are under one roof, including your designer, your project manager, draftsmen, materials purchaser, your builders, finish carpenters, and trade specialists. This is an all-inclusive approach to remodeling that takes a lot of the headache out and manages expectations the whole way through. With design build, you don’t sign a construction agreement until you have selected all of your materials and this way you will not get change orders or surprises along the way. General contractors on average have 30% in change orders, meaning you pay 30% more by the end of the project than you had anticipated. With design build all surprises are handled prior to the agreement.
Popular Home Remodeling Ideas
Understanding what is on trend and which items go in and out of style faster will help you keep your remodeling trendiness on the level you want. You want to keep the real trendy items to options that can be replaced affordably and without disturbing other parts of your remodel. For example you may consider exotic and trendy lighting features as these can easily be replaced in 5 years as opposed to having to tear out cabinets for replacement. Paint color is another opportunity to use trendy colors and update with relative ease when you grow tired of the color.
Minimalism
Minimalism has been on trend for years now and popular design seems to be continuing down this path. Because it allows you to transform any space very easily, this trend is growing among homeowners remodeling. With more people working and staying at home in recent years, homes across the US have been deep cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of unnecessary clutter. Creating minimalism in your home is quite simple; you start by eliminating items in your home that you do not need or use. This could include the Marie Kondo approach of: if it does not bring you joy, eliminate it. Minimalism also requires you to embrace white space, clean and clear countertops. So keep in mind that ample storage is definitely necessary for the minimalism design style.
Two-toned Cabinets
Breaking away from tradition, 2025 is embracing the trend of two-toned custom cabinetry. And dare we say it — our designers have even played with three-toned cabinets! This elegant design style lets you enjoy that bright white kitchen you dream of with a pop of color by having white on top and a color of your choice for your lower cabinetry. Two-toned cabinets are specifically popular in kitchen design and remodeling. There are so many options to choose from, check out the two-toned cabinetry installs below to see if any of these suit your fancy.
Statement Piece
Statement pieces are fantastic ways to stay on trend and have items that you can easily replace when a hot new trend catches your fancy. This is the piece that differentiates you, your home and personality from everyone else on the block. This is the one item you place in a space that stands alone and stands out boldly. You could say the pattern on the above backsplash is a statement piece or the hanging wicker pendants above are also statement pieces. A large piece of art can be a statement piece or an incredibly exotic lighting implement or consider physical art that takes up physical space on your floor, like a sculpture or ceramic display. There are so many options to choose from and these are the fun ones to shop for; it’s the one item that jumps out at you and steels your heart – this is your statement piece for your home remodel.
Large Windows
Open clean spaces are on the rise along with minimalism design. Large windows let in the light and nothing makes a space feel more open, airy and inviting than plenty of natural lighting shining in your home. This gives you another accessory to add to your remodel list; when you have large oversized windows with plenty of light, you also want to have the option of privacy. Whether you choose shutters, blinds, or curtains, there’s plenty of fun to be had in selecting window coverings. Window coverings for your new large and oversized windows are also necessary to prevent bleaching of your furniture from too much sun exposure. You want to protect your investment but let the light in when you’re entertaining.
Related – 5 Ways to Stick to Your Remodeling Goals
The 2025 Home Renovation Checklist
You are more than well on your way to being prepared for a 2025 residential home remodel. Be sure you’ve documented everything we’ve shared and you have combined all of your documents into your 2025 personalized remodeling guide so you can share with your designer, draftsmen, and general contractor or your design-build firm of choice.
Outdoor Entertaining Spaces
Living in southern California gives us the greatest ability to enjoy our backyard over any other state in the US. We have sunshine over 350 days a year and the few days it may not be sunny, well heck we can accessorize your outdoor entertaining space with free-standing heaters or overhead heating devices. The available options for designing outdoor entertaining spaces in 2025 is incredible; you can add ceiling fans, a television, surround sound, beverage center, kegerator, barbecue, oven, sink, beverage center, smoker, outdoor griddle, soft serve ice cream is you so fancy that luxury. Designing your outdoor space to your needs is exactly how you do it – what do you and your guests enjoy doing outdoors? Are you ready to add some fun to your backyard? Ask us about California Rooms.
Floor Plans
This may be one of the items that escapes you if you’re not a professional designer. Space plans and floor plans are everything when it comes to defining the function of the space, and how its used. You may simply be going for a design refresh but have you thought of moving things around to make your home flow better. We often find that when you share your goals and challenges with a designer that they can turn around a solution that’s pretty mind blowing by moving a few things around. Your designer will provide you with a new professionally designed floor plan to meet your form and function needs to make your home a better place to live in.
Kitchen Renovations
Kitchen remodeling is where we started our design build firm in 1986 and how we have grown to do whole home remodeling. Kitchen renovations are in big demand right now with new space needs due to shelter in place orders. Some folks are adding filing cabinets to one side of their island to use this space as multi-purpose space. The options available for design in kitchen remodels in 2025 is incredible. There are 40 different custom cabinet insert and accessory options alone. If you are selecting to remodel your kitchen in 2025, consider discussing the redesign with a professional kitchen designer to get the most function out of your existing space or even consider re-configuring the space for better kitchen function.
Bathroom Remodels
Bathroom remodels are also in high demand with trends shifting from the big deck tubs of the 80s to free-standing tubs. Free your tub! Some folks are ditching the tub idea altogether and opting for an oversized shower with frameless shower door enclosure and floating bench. Some folks are adding saunas to their bathroom remodel and some incorporating steam showers, The amenities available to your bathroom remodel are limitless these days. Take a peek below at a couple incredible bathroom remodels that Sea Pointe Design & Remodel has remodeled in the past year. Some stunning tile work as well as beautiful design.
Flooring
Flooring options are also changing with time. Real wood used to be the end all, be all and now folks are favoring manufactured material that is much more durable than wood but looks exactly like natural wood. Vinyl flooring is the newest trand in flooring and you cannot tell the difference with the naked eye. Vinyl flooring comes in a variety of shades and textures just like real wood and gives you an easy to maintain floor. You can mop vinyl floor and not worry about spills. Vinyl flooring also stands up to wear and tear much better than traditional wood flooring.
That’s not to say that there aren’t thousands of flooring material available and plenty outside the vinyl flooring options. There are many stone tiles that have beautiful design. These stone tiles come in cement, ceramic, natural stone, and porcelain. Talk to your designer about your tile material as certain tile is more porous than others and more difficult to clean. Plan up front to get flooring that’s easy to maintain while also beautiful.
Appliance Upgrades
Another item to look into when remodeling your home is appliance upgrades. There are so many new features that make your home smart home enabled that you really want to evaluate what to put into your smart home. Do you want climate control that you can manage with an app? Would you want to have a teppan grills on your range? How about a smart refrigerator? There are so many ways to make your home function for you better. Work with your designer to learn about all the changing features in smart homes. Check out the marble lined custom beverage center designed by one of Sea Pointe’s professional designers. Or the custom range and hood in the kitchen; this is definitely over-the-top custom appliance upgrades.
Exterior Updates
Curbside appeal is one of the highest returns you will get on your investment when you remodel. There are some exterior stones that can increase your property value by significantly more than you invested. It’s your first impression of your home and it impacts the whole neighborhood. Consider some stacked stone siding, manufactured cement siding is a big win for avoiding termites too. There are plenty of exterior enhancements you can do to your home to class it up for your neighborhood.
Ready to Start Your Home Renovation?
As we have pointed out in this article, you don’t necessarily need a lot of money to start a home renovation project. All you need is to first realistically assess you and your home’s needs, then take the time to plan out the renovation project and envision how it will improve your home before you start work.
Also, don’t try to take on a home renovation project on your own, especially if you have no experience.