Any articles that have been written over the past year have included a distinct reference to planning. I cannot stress this strongly enough!!! We plan our careers beginning in high school, some even earlier, depending on your personal interests and passions. We plan our families, how many children were you thinking? How close would you like them to be in age? We plan our meals via shopping lists... My goodness, why is proper space planning so often overlooked?
I certainly would never claim to be an expert on the human psyche; however, in my experience I have learned that this is clearly an area of which people stress! It's like anything; it is always simple to an expert.
As a rule people fixate on a strategic order, builder, plans, square footage requirements and costs. Before a single moment of energy, consider the inner core. Design, space planning, storage needs, layout or existing pieces, budget, including interior elements. If you are working hand-in-hand with a professional post-build, often errors and/or miscalculations as I like to refer can be reworked, although wouldn't it be interesting to look at this from a totally different perspective? BACKWARDS!!!
Often time working backwards allows you the foresight to expand your thought process. Think about it! If a plan was devised to factor most of your requirements surrounding décor, furnishings, seating needs, living space required, would it not simply define the square footage needs of each room? Or better yet, the project in its entirety? In a nutshell, if there is a great understanding of core decisions, all else that surround those key factors simply falls into place. Next time you are thinking of redoing a room, adding an addition or building a home, begin from the inside out.
Frequently I am asked on-site to oversee working drawings and/or preliminary plans "pre-project" before the actual construction and/or working stages commence. Often when I begin I ask three key questions.
Most common answer, I have no idea. Or, I hadn't thought about that.
Ask yourself a few key questions, you will be glad you did. Take the time, think it out. Be true to how you live, how you entertain.
Walk a space comparable to what you were thinking; visualize all of the elements you would like the space to have within that area. Will it work? Perhaps not, but at least you know now. Plan early! Many costly mistakes can and will ultimately be avoided.
Good Luck! Happy Planning!.