non-negotiables

One of the pieces of advice that I was given and have kept in mind throughout this process was something J told me at the beginning of this adventure. He said to make a list of my “non-negotiables”, those things I really wanted to be included in the final project, even the “splurges”. Then once fully decided, go ahead and purchase/commission/pay for those early on. Because I would probably run past my budget, as most people do in situations like these, and by the end it becomes easy to make compromises - even on those things that originally were “non-negotiables”. And these are the things that one could really regret not moving forward with, and could take away that extra “wow” that you had dreamed of when the ideas were all new and sparkly. 

From the very beginning of this idea, even before too many things had been put down in (figurative and literal) concrete, I knew there were a few things that I’d made my mind up on. For example:

pivot front door
marble kitchen island
“invisible” no-frame interior doors
japanese style toilets

I committed to a few of these early as was recommended. As the process has gone on, there are things that have been added to that list…and other things that have been adjusted a bit so that they could work out within a reasonable budget (for example I didn’t splurge for the Japanese style toilets with heated seats, musical selections, and scent diffusers since these are equivalent to the cost of a small car, but I did find some simpler options instead).

Even though so much of any type of project like this comes down to budget, I don’t want that to dictate the overall storyline. And it’s been interesting to notice that the more I’ve gone in financially to this, the more it makes me want to be sure to do it right. 

It seems like when you’ve already spent a lot of money that this would make you want to tighten up a bit and skimp on the details that follow as to not go too far over budget. But it has the opposite effect for me - since I’ve gone so far in, the last thing I’d want to feel at the end was that even with all of that sacrifice it still didn’t end up being what I envisioned because of the compromises I felt I had to make.

Most people who know me say that if I want to do something and have made my mind up about it, I’ll find a way to make it happen. I just don’t see another way, nor do I see why I’d need to see another way. I feel like all things are do-able and that it may just be about changing perspective on how to get it done.

So now instead of taking things out of the project, I’m finding ways to save while still being able to include them. One example is doing a lot of the finishing work ourselves, helping with the plastering, or spending extra time sourcing the best possible deal for an item or getting multiple quotes for each step of the project.

But as the interior details are beginning to be planned and produced, one of these main non-negotiables is in the works…the marble slab for the kitchen island has finally been chosen and I can’t wait to write more about it. (stay tuned!)