The greatest innovative thinkers among all business visionaries may be those sitting behind the expansive wooden conference tables whose jobs it is to conjure up a plethora of do-it-yourself (DIY) television shows that dazzle, educate and entertain us. These shows fascinate us time and time again by showing us how our very own everyday spaces can be easily transformed from drab to dynamic, with minimal money – all in just a simple thirty-minute segment.
But before you get too excited about how you, too, can pull off these extravagant “updates” and wondrous “how-to’s” from the handsome TV gurus of home improvement, there are a few things that you may want to consider. There are things that they may be forgetting to tell you about regarding some of the most popular projects:
Painting Cabinets – Even though painting cabinetry can be a huge new look as well as a huge cost savings, do not be fooled about how “easy” it appears on television. Just like everything else, it is all about the details. The lineup of tasks for this project includes the following: all cabinet contents need to be temporarily relocated; all doors have to be removed; all hardware has to be removed (hinges, handles and knobs); all cabinets need to be thoroughly washed and degreased (inside and out); a coat of primer has to be applied (inside and out, depending on your own level of transformation desired); finally, up to three coats of paint have to be applied to all the boxes, interiors, bottoms and doors. This is not even close to a weekend task, even for the extremely motivated!
Removing Wallpaper – Old-fashioned wall covering was never invented with the thought of removal, so this task is daunting at best. There are an overwhelming number of accessories sold on the market to assist with this undertaking, but in the end you will still be picking and peeling off dime-sized pieces of paper for days on end. And after all of the wall paper has finally been removed, you will need to saturate the walls with another solution to remove all of the leftover adhesives not visible to the eye, but only to the touch. This is more of a mind task than a physical task, since picking and peeling at such a slow pace can drive you bonkers if you let it. Considered to be a nightmare of a chore in the business; a better solution to removing the paper would be re-drywalling the entire room!
Removing Walls – Magically removing and relocating interior walls inside of your space requires more than a top hat and a rabbit! You may want to remove just a single wall, but that single wall has many working parts that need to be addressed. It actually requires professionals that are educated about the wall’s structural integrity, the electrical, plumbing and gas components concealed inside, as well a local city inspector to verify that everything was done correctly. By the time you add up all the professional tradespeople needed to evaluate and actually disassemble a single wall, your do-it-yourself project could easily disassemble your bank account. The “1-2-3, heave-ho!” process will not work in this application, since any false move could injure or even kill you.
Installing Tile – Whether you are contemplating a new backsplash or new flooring, tile installation is not as easy as it looks from the pros wearing kneepads on television. In order for tile to look aesthetically appealing, it needs to be the correct material for the desired application (suitable coefficient of friction), needs to have the proper substrate for the start of the application; then each piece needs to be tediously cut, set straight and/or plum with the proper sundries, spaced adequately, grouted and finally sealed . This job is something that only very few qualified tradesmen are detailed enough to master.
But who can resist the astonishing “before” and “after” footage that lures us into waves of daydreams about the potential of our own existing spaces? The thing to remember is that while these images are attainable, they can’t be accomplished in between television commercials – doing them correctly takes time and dedication. Move carefully and research everything that at first glance seems so simple, because to your surprise, you may find out otherwise. As a practicing certified and licensed interior designer with years of experience, my advice is this: Triple the time you estimate that any project is going to take, and quadruple the budget!
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