Should we redesign our home? or move?
Should you redesign your home or move altogether? That is probably one of the most asked questions that our clients want answered.
Ultimately it is up to you but if you’re not sure about the pros and cons of each, you’re not able to come up with a well-rounded solution. We have taken an unbiased look at this topic because if we are being honest, the majority of the time we love projects where we breathe life into older homes and come up with a solution that will make them feel new, alive, and worth spending your time and energy in. Even so! Here are our pros and cons list of both redesign and moving.
We’re looking at moving
Pros
1. Fresh Start
Moving to a new home offers a clean slate and a fresh environment, allowing you to leave behind old habits, clutter, or even stressful memories associated with your previous home. It’s an opportunity to reimagine your space and daily routines. However, we do have to caveat this by saying, if this is the reason you were to move, then a new layout to your existing space can bring the same improvements to your life, without the cons of moving.
2. Improved Lifestyle
A move could bring you closer to better amenities, schools, workplaces, or recreational spaces. Whether it's a larger house, a quieter neighborhood, or more modern conveniences, moving can improve your overall quality of life.
3. More Space
If you’re outgrowing your current home due to family size or lifestyle changes, moving to a bigger home can provide more room for comfort, hobbies, and family activities. Alternatively, downsizing can offer a more manageable, cozy space. Again, we would be misleading you if we didn’t share that by improving the layout in your existing home, you can also create a space that feels bigger and grows with you and your family.
4. Better Location
Moving to a different location can help reduce commute times, put you closer to work, school, or loved ones, and give you access to better infrastructure or amenities such as parks, shopping centers, or public transport.
5. New Opportunities
A move can present new job opportunities, social circles, or business prospects. Being in a different area could expose you to fresh professional and personal growth opportunities.
6. Financial Gains
Moving to a new area might provide better real estate investment opportunities. If property values are expected to rise, purchasing in a new location can increase the long-term financial value of your home. Though it goes without saying, redesigning your home has the added benefit of improving your property's value. Many of my clients have renovated their house and sold it for a premium as it was architect-designed.
7. Improved Health and Wellbeing
Relocating to a quieter, greener, or more serene environment can have significant mental and physical health benefits. Access to better air quality, nature, or reduced noise pollution can promote a healthier lifestyle.
8. New Social Opportunities
Moving to a new area can introduce you to new neighbours, communities, and social groups. It can be a chance to meet new people and build new friendships.
9. Better School Areas
If you have children, moving to a neighbourhood with better schools or more educational opportunities could provide them with a higher quality of education.
Cons
1. High Costs
Moving can be expensive, with costs for real estate agents, property inspection reports, stamp duty, legal and conveyance fees and moving services, and potential home repairs or renovations. This alone, we would ask you which of the above pros is the reason for your move, and can it be still achieved with redesigning your home.
2. Emotional Stress
Leaving behind familiar surroundings, neighbours, and routines can be emotionally challenging, especially if the home holds sentimental value.
3. Physical Labour
Packing, transporting, and unpacking belongings is physically demanding and time-consuming, even with professional movers. How many times have you moved in the past? It sometimes feels like it takes a good 3-6 months to fully unpack and get settled into a new home.
4. Adjustment Period
It takes time to adapt to a new neighbourhood, find new services, and establish new routines, which can be stressful. Think about finding a new hairdresser, it sounds menial but finding just one service provider you trust amongst many that you’d need to find can be stressful.
5. Potential for Regret
There’s always the risk that the new home or neighbourhood won’t meet your expectations, leaving you dissatisfied with the move.
6. Disruption to Family Life
Moving can be difficult for children and family members, potentially disrupting school, friendships, and routines. Although, we should note, on the flip side if you were to redesign your home, this comes with its own disruptions. In saying that I help you plan for those disruptions and make it as stress-free as possible.
7. Hidden Costs
Beyond the obvious expenses, you may face unexpected costs such as repairs, replacing furniture, or utility setup fees.
8. Selling the Current Home
Selling your existing home can be stressful and time-consuming, especially if the real estate market is slow or you face negotiations and repairs.
9. Breaking Community Ties
Moving away from a close-knit community can leave you feeling isolated, as it takes time to rebuild relationships in a new area.
We’re looking at redesigning
Pros
1. Cost-Effective
Redesigning is often more affordable than moving to a new home, allowing you to update your living space without incurring the high costs of purchasing, selling, and moving.
2. Customisation
Redesigning allows you to tailor your space to your specific needs and tastes. You can create a home that truly reflects your personality and lifestyle without the limitations of a pre-built or pre-owned house.We are always coming up with innovative ways to create homes that are functional and beautiful with a house that has already been built. Does that mean it will look the same? Nope! A new layout could very much be the ticket to creating a home that has more flow and ease to live in.
3. Preserving Sentimental Value
If you love your current location or have an emotional attachment to your home, redesigning allows you to keep those memories intact while making the changes you need.
4. Increasing Property Value
Thoughtful renovations and redesigns can significantly boost your home's market value, which is beneficial if you plan to sell in the future.
5. Avoid the Stress of Moving
Redesigning means you don’t have to deal with the stress of packing, selling, and moving to a new home. You can improve your living space without the disruption of a move.
6. Maximising Space
A redesign can help you better utilise your existing space, making rooms more functional and efficient. This is especially helpful if you need more room but don't want to move.
7. Energy Efficiency
Redesigning your home gives you the chance to incorporate energy-efficient solutions, such as improved insulation, windows, or appliances, reducing long-term utility costs.
8. Immediate Changes
Redesigning offers immediate improvements to your living conditions. Whether it’s upgrading outdated rooms or adding modern amenities, you can enjoy the changes right away. More than that, you’ll feel the change right away. The flow of a house is really important to your overall mood.
9. Sustainability
Instead of building new or moving, redesigning can be a more sustainable option. You reduce the environmental impact associated with new construction or the waste of moving. We have a whole blog about our ten tips for designing with sustainability in mind!
10. Maintaining Stability
Redesigning allows you to stay in the same neighbourhood, keeping your social ties, schools, and daily routines intact, avoiding the disruption that comes with moving to a new area.
Cons
1. Disruption to Daily Life
Redesigning can be disruptive, especially if it involves major renovations. A major renovation involves temporarily moving out of your house. A small project may mean you have to deal with noise, dust, and workers in your home, sometimes for extended periods. That’s a dose of reality, however, when you work with me I pre-plan all of that with you. I help you navigate which rooms you can use and stay in while work is being done. There are ways to make the process more seamless than it may first seem.
2. Unexpected Costs
Some may think there are unexpected costs. And this can be true when you’re not renovating with a highly experienced architect in your corner. However, my job is to help you manage the project budget and to ensure that everything is going according to plan. I personally do not like nasty surprises, and neither do my clients, so when you work with me this headache is easily avoidable.
3. Limited by Existing Structure
Depending on your home's layout or structural integrity, you may be limited in how much you can change, making it difficult to achieve the vision you have for the redesign. This is definitely something you’d have to think about, but that is why we have an offer called a Feasibility Study. This will help you realise what is possible.
4. Inconvenience
Redesign projects can take months or years to complete, which can be inconvenient if you need to relocate temporarily or adjust your living arrangements. However, when you and I work together we can pre-plan these instances so that you’re never caught off guard.
5. Potential for Project Delays
Delays in construction, weather, or material availability can prolong your project timeline, causing frustration and potentially increasing costs. Note that this can occur with building a home or even moving into a home that needs redesign.
6. Stress and Time Commitment
Managing a redesign project can be time-consuming and stressful. From choosing materials to overseeing contractors, you’ll need to invest significant time and energy into the project. And this is why I encourage you to engage with an architect! This would then become a moot point.
7. Outdated Design Choices
There's a risk that the choices you make during a redesign might become outdated in a few years, requiring further updates sooner than expected to keep your home modern. I encourage you to read up on my other blogs that discuss design trends and sustainable design.
8. Overcapitalisation
If you invest too much in redesigning, you might not recoup the costs when you sell, especially if your improvements don’t match the average home values in your neighbourhood.
9. Unforeseen Issues
Once renovation begins, you might uncover hidden problems like faulty wiring, plumbing issues, or structural damage, which can complicate the project and add additional costs.
I’ve tried to be as transparent as possible to weigh both sides for you. However, it all comes down to the reason you’re redesigning your home vs moving neighbourhoods. As you can tell redesigning a home can mitigate the majority of your current problems with your current build, and the cons that are outlined in the above regarding redesigning your home can also be prevented when you have experienced craftsman and trades, and an architect who is with you from start to finish to ensure the vision from concept to design is realised.