Living in a Renovation

Dear Beyoncé and Jay-Z*,

Do not be tempted to live in your house during a major renovation and / or addition. And, don't be tempted to leave anything in the house. Our experience is that this decision is a strong determinant of the success of the project. We have never had a client regret moving into a temporary home for the duration of the work and we have never had a client regret moving all of their things out of the house for the work. Ever.

There is the added cost of a temporary home, moving, and storage. These costs are offset by faster and easier construction and much lower likelihood of accidental damage to your belongings.

Even though there is a strong financial argument to move out, the key is your family's safety, security, health, and sanity. All of the relationships in the process (client, client’s family, builder, designer) are positively reinforced by living away from the renovation environment. You'll feel safer with a dust-free place to retreat, your things will be more secure, and you have the ability to live a normal private and work life.

Respectfully,

Randall Lanou
Company Lead

P.S. Lemonade is life changing. If you do something crazy like live in your home during a renovation, just listen to the album every evening while you are vacuuming and dusting.

*Full disclosure: not only have we never worked for Beyoncé and Jay-Z, we've never actually met them. Indeed, I'm not sure we've ever been in the same city at the same time. They seem like fun people, though, and we would be happy to build a home for them. If any of you are close friends with them, we would be grateful for an introduction!