Enhancing the livability of our homes is a big passion for Laura Grist Interior Design and Jedan Brothers Contracting. Focused on exploring what’s possible within your budget, Laura and Dan explore partial renovation solutions and trends, noting the benefits of defining the construction budget first, followed by design solutions to stay on plan.
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Co-Host: Mike Freedman, owner, AI Technology & Design
Co-Host, podcast editor: Jennifer-Lee Gunson: jPod Creations
Powered by Rami Films
Distributed by Buzzsprout
About the Speaker
My favorite childhood toy was an apartment block that came with furniture, cabinetry, bathtubs and sinks, and a working elevator… I loved that toy! The only thing I was not happy with was some of the layouts of the rooms. If only I could redesign some of the floor plans I would be set, but how? Fast forward a few years and here I am, enjoying my life as an Interior Designer and getting to live out the dreams of my childhood! How did my dreams come to reality? I went back to school and earned my Interior Design Diploma from The Art Institute of Vancouver and began my practice as a Designer in a firm in Port Moody. Since 2008, I have opened my own studio and have enjoyed helping my clients transform their spaces into a vision of home.
Dan and Jesse Klassen were born and raised in the Lower Mainland. Their experience on a construction site began early in life. What started as a chance to make a few bucks working for the family business grew into a passionate career for both. Early on, quality and efficiency were hammered into their work ethic as critical to success.
After a combined 35 years of experience building homes, Dan and Jesse have a keen attention to detail and a perfectionist approach to finishing projects.
Jedan Brothers Contracting believes in working with certified carpenters/trades and actively invests in upgrading industry relevant education and certifications. Dan and Jesse are passionate about building homes and creating functional, fashionable spaces for families and look forward to bringing their expertise to your new home or renovation.
Listen and like for your chance to win a gas BBQ compliments of our Podcast Partner FortisBC.
Here's the Full Transcript of this Episode
Jennifer-Lee:
Welcome to Measure Twice, Cut Once the podcast from HAVAN, the Homebuilders Association Vancouver.
Mike:
It’s season three, and we’re exploring how our homes can improve our wellbeing.
Jennifer-Lee:
We’ll be looking at the impact of the air we breathe
Mike:
The water we drink
Jennifer-Lee:
and the acoustic levels in our homes,
Mike:
Smart kitchens,
Jennifer-Lee:
Award winning designs,
Mike:
And leading-edge building construction.
Jennifer-Lee:
We ask the questions.
Mike:
So, you know how to make your home work for you.
Jennifer-Lee:
I’m Jennifer-Lee Gunson
Mike:
And I’m Mike Freedman. Now that you’re here why not hit subscribe and you’ll never miss an episode.
Jennifer-Lee:
Hey Mike, here we are again. It’s Measure Twice, Cut Once Day.
Mike:
Hello, Jennifer-Lee. And yes, in this episode we’re going to explore a very important topic. And one, I wished I’d explored a lot more closely when I did work on my house seven years ago. That is of course renovation.
Jennifer-Lee:
We really haven’t explored partial renos.
Mike:
That’s a good point, Jennifer-Lee, not everybody is going to be taking a look at a full-scale renovation, and I’m sure there are a lot of design ideas and building solutions to upgrade parts of the home, to improve the livability.
Jennifer-Lee:
Absolutely. Just think about what Aleem shared in the last episode about bathrooms. That would be a perfect reason to stay put and not move.
Mike:
Totally agree. Well, let’s bring on today’s guest. We’re going to welcome Laura Grist principal interior designer of Laura Grist Interiors Incorporated, and Dan Klassen of Jedan Brothers Contracting.
Jennifer-Lee:
Welcome Laura. Welcome Dan.
Laura:
Thanks.
Dan:
Hello. Thank you.
Jennifer-Lee:
Thank you for joining us in the studio today. And of course, because everyone doesn’t know you guys, we get the pleasure of getting to know you guys through HAVAN, but, Laura Grist, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your business? What made you want to become an interior designer?
Laura:
Well, it’s funny because you know as a child, I loved playing with doll houses and, you know, was kind of irritated when I couldn’t actually revisit how it was laid out for me. So, skip forward, I had kids, job at a law firm, worked very many years at a law firm and was one day watching TV and on came an ad for an interior design course. And I was like, oh yes, that’s what I wanted to do. I forgot. So, I went back to school at age 40, the oldest one in my class, most of the teachers as well, and decided, you know, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. So, new career at age 40 and just loved every minute of it. We’re a full-service interior design firm we’ve been around for 14 years is coming up our 15th year and we started out small and we’ve now grown. There’s five of us in the office and really enjoy doing renovations principally we do some other commercial work as well as renovation work for new builds and things like that. But we generally, I love doing renovations because I like to get in there and get out. So, see a huge transformation and really spectacular for the people that are in the home. So, it’s great. It’s lots of fun.
Mike:
And I would imagine trying to figure out how to make a renovation work in an existing space is probably a little bit more challenging than starting from scratch again too. Isn’t it?
Laura:
We have a footprint, and we have to live within that footprint. So, uh, it, it really is. It’s not as challenging. It, it gets to be a little bit more creative. I think when someone says you have full reign and you can build a house by scratch, you can do anything you want. You know, it, it’s a little boring, you know, just for me anyways, but for doing a renovation, it’s fabulous because we need to be creative in a space. So yeah, it’s really right up our alley
Jennifer-Lee:
And every interior designer has their own flare. What is your design philosophy?
Laura:
My design philosophy. Well, there is no such thing as a design emergency because we want to make sure that things are very well organized and ready for the renovation. So, what we do is we do a lot of back work. So, before the renovation starts, we get to know our clients. We get to know what they’d like. And my personal design style is mine. And I look at people’s houses and I see what’s going to go best with their personal design style. I’m not there to put in my style, I’m putting in their style at an elevated kind of place so that they can enjoy it on their terms.
Mike:
We’ve met a lot of other guests on our show who have had second careers in this space. And we love talking to everybody, but folks like yourself, who’ve come to this at a different stage in life have I think a very different philosophy than people who’ve been doing this all along. How would you say your past experiences lend themselves well to what you just talked about, helping a client discover what their style is by using your skills and experience?
Laura:
Well, I think that, you know, I’m old. I mean, let’s face it <laugh> I think what happens is, you know, I can go into a space and really there’s hints everywhere of what people’s style are. And people always say to me, I don’t know what my style is, and I’ll walk in. And very clearly, they’ve got some mid-century modern pieces there that they’re like, this is, was my grandmother’s and I love this. And it’s like, okay, you have a style. You just don’t know what it’s called maybe. Or you don’t know how to explore it more. Everybody has a style. And I think instead of me going in there and saying, this is going to be your style, I want to pick up on their clues and their likes and dislikes and make sure that we’re doing exactly what they want, even when they don’t even know they want it. So that’s kind of fun actually.
Jennifer-Lee:
And you make a good point too. And that’s why they need an interior designer to help guide them because we have a client and they’re lovely, but we show them modern and they’re like, no, I don’t want modern. They’re like, I want traditional. And then we show them traditional. And they’re like, no, I don’t want traditional. So, it’s trying to find that balance because hey, I had the luxury of growing up as a daughter of a contractor, but I don’t know much about interior design. That is not my wheelhouse. And a lot of people are like me, and that’s what we need your help when we want to have a beautiful home, because we don’t know exactly what all these things are called.
Laura:
Yeah. I think that’s, you know, a lot of people are reading magazines and watching the shows and things like that, which is great. But I think they forget what they can live in because living in something and seeing something on TV doesn’t generally, you know, kind of go hand in hand with how you live in your house. So, you get a lot of this, you know, people saying, you know, I love this beautiful chandelier and it’s like, but everything in your house is, mid-century modern and they kind of go, oh, yeah, I guess you’re right. And then when they, when we explore the topic more, they’re very happy to see that we do have a style that’s meant for them. So that’s always fun.
Jennifer-Lee:
And like I said, they have to live in it, but also the things have to last like, so a lot of the times when you do watch shows on TV, it looks beautiful for the camera, but it might not be able to endure the wear and tear of like, if you have five dogs and children and all that stuff. And so, people are like I want that for my kitchen or that countertop looks beautiful, but it’s like, how does that countertop function for your life?
Laura:
Oh, a hundred percent. I mean, this is why this is the difference between having a flare and saying, you know, I have a flare for design and really knowing the products that you have. I mean, if we’re talking about doing renovations for people in the house, of course I look at, do they have two big dogs? Well, there’s certain floorings. I’m not going to suggest. Do they have kids? Well painted cabinets with kids under three are a little bit more difficult because they’re going to run into them with their scooter. And for me as a family woman, I had four children, I want to make sure in my own house, I don’t want things to be so precious that my children can’t grow up. And I think that a lot of clients, when we talk to them, I want to make sure that, you know, they’re living in this space. You know, it’s not for show it’s for living and make sure that the living area and how we work and grow in the space is conducive to the materials that we choose, which is really important.
Mike:
Well, I’m really glad you, you talked about that because you know, there’s a few things at play here. Number one, people doing renovations in the city. I mean, yeah. We like to see these big, giant ones where money isn’t an object, but for most of us, it is. So, the fact that you can take existing elements of our house and incorporate them into your design to create something totally new and unique, that has that fresh perspective you have while still using what we have is really, really important. And the second thing you talked about, what we see on TV and the reality is, is most of us don’t have the luxury of living in a showroom. Most of us have kids. Most of us have animals. So, it’s really nice that you’re designing places to live in and not just to show, because I think that’s a common mistake that people make when they’re designing their places. And not really thinking in terms of long-term implications. You guys have been working with Jedan Brothers for a while. Your company has been. How did you come to meet these guys?
Dan:
Oh, which job was it? The one out in Maple Ridge?
Laura:
Yeah. The one out in Maple Ridge where the woman had a different interior designer.
Dan:
We’ve used a few over the years.
Laura:
<laugh> and we, or she had called, I think.
Dan:
You met with her first and then somehow, she got ahold of us and then we just kind of came together. And that was probably what, four or five years ago?
Laura:
About five years ago now.
Dan:
Yeah. So yeah, we’ve been working exclusively for Laura for five years and it’s been fantastic.
Jennifer-Lee:
And you also work with your family, you work with your brother. How is that? Because I work with my brother, mother, and father at our contracting company.
Dan:
<laugh> well, everybody always asks that. How do you guys work together? And I think the way it works is, we’re not together every day. <laugh> he’s onsite, way more than I am. So, my role in the company is kind of behind the scenes. I’m budgeting, I’m meeting clients, trying to get the work. And he’s more in the execution side. We’re not seeing face to face every single day, which helps <laugh>. But, no, we have a great relationship. I mean, we’re constantly on the phone, texting behind the scenes. There’s so much going on back and forth, but, yeah, it’s definitely a question that comes up. How do you guys work together? And it just, I don’t know, it just works. We’ve got a great thing going.
Jennifer-Lee:
When it works, it works. It’s the same question I always get. I’m like, oh no, I just can’t explain it. <laugh>
Mike:
Well, don’t sell yourself short. It works incredibly well. I’ve worked with you guys before, and I love the way you communicate both with each other, which is very entertaining as well as informative, but also just the way you both work together to relate to the clients’ need and making sure that high level of services in place. And that’s something that I think is we could all learn something from.
Dan:
I mean, our client’s experience is number one and that’s from the get-go. When we started our business, we wanted the client experience to be fantastic. And we’ve got some tools in place to help with that. Laura has mentioned in the past that we use Builder Trend, which is a construction software that gets people engaged with the project. So, they can track the schedule. We upload photos from our mobile devices and all our documents that are created. A lot of the documents that Laura creates from a design perspective are on there. And everybody has access to that from our trades to our clients. So, when we’re doing say a larger home renovation and the clients have to move out of the house, they’re able to stay connected with the project through the software. And it just helps with the entire client journey and just making them happy and feel comfortable and stress free.
Jennifer-Lee:
So, I know both of you do the majority of your work in the Tri-Cities, what are typical homes that you guys tend to renovate?
Dan:
I think the average home, like in our area, in the Tri-Cities is probably 2,500 to, to 4,000 square feet in that ballpark. So, these aren’t massive homes. People don’t have massive budgets, but, yeah, I mean, our job is to always maximize what we can do within the budget. where me and Laura, we work together behind the scenes on what we can do. We’re communicating back and forth because dollars need to be stretched in a lot of cases. So, that’s always a challenge and it’s a fun challenge. I’m sure for Laura to try to maximize what we can do within the walls with a certain budget. Sometimes we go outside the walls, like we’ve done a lot of projects recently where we’re adding doing an addition. I think Mike, you were involved in one in Coquitlam where we did an addition, so it happens. But in generally speaking though, we’re working within a defined set of space with a tight budget
Jennifer-Lee:
And talk about stretching those dollars. Of course, we’ve just gone through this pandemic, which has had its own challenges, a lot of inflation, especially when you go to the grocery store and you see how much tomatoes and everything costs now, but you know, the housing is still a big issue here in the Lower Mainland prices are just going up and up and up. And I know a lot of people are having to stick where they are. So, Laura, I know that we’ve had a few talks before, but are you’re seeing a lot of people are not moving out, but they’re moving up rather?
Laura:
Yeah. I just find that the trend right now is, you know, you sell for you know, a million plus and what do you get for a million plus? Well, you’re not moving up as you used to. So instead of doing that, they’re taking their money, they’ve got invested in their house and deciding, you know, what, we could make this, the perfect living space. Before we needed to have a formal dining room where we had a formal living room. Now we want to open up that space, use the exact same space in a different context. So, it makes for some really interesting upgrades in the house because we can take it right down and completely renovate it so that you don’t even recognize your own home, which is fabulous. And we’re also making sure that, you know, the space now that they need, we can put in the new offices, we can make the kitchen bigger. We can delete the dining room. So, it’s a way to really move into a new house. Honestly.
Mike:
Would you say those are the most popular trends in renovation right now? Like if I was considering to renovate my home, what are some of the most popular things that you guys have executed on in the last year or two that maybe we wouldn’t have thought about prior?
Dan:
I think a lot of people are looking at indoor outdoor spaces and how can we bring the outside in. I mean, through the pandemic, people are trapped in their homes and we just, weren’t getting out very much. So, I know we’ve had a few projects in the design phase right now where we’re creating that indoor outdoor space and opening up walls to kind of give that feel that you are extending your home onto the deck right into the exterior. So that’s a big trend. I mean open concept has always been a trend. I don’t think the pandemic has increased that much. I don’t know, Laura, what else did we see?
Laura:
I think home offices, I mean, we’re doing a lot more home offices and, and with the home office, they’re always, it’s so funny because they’re always interested in what’s behind them because everybody’s doing Zoom and things like that. So, it’s like, could we put some wallpaper or something interesting behind us or, you know, and making an area where they can work. That’s kind of more intuitive to, you know a good feeling, you know, that you want to make sure that you feel good in your office and now while your office is in your home. So, there’s a few things that you need to put in place. And one of them, like I say is like, how do I look on camera? Which is funny because we never ever had that before. No one ever asked what I was going to look like on camera.
Mike:
Well, it’s been a big change because when I first started using zoom eight, 10 years ago, we pretended we were in a corporate office, and you couldn’t let your family come in. You had to pretend you were working in an office and now everybody’s got their kids running and you could tell they’re at home. And I think this is one of those paradigmatic shifts, almost like when we stop wearing ties at work, like this is the new way of working. So, I think you’ve highlighted a huge investment that people could make in their homes. So, let’s talk about, since we’re talking about money and renovations, can you talk briefly about if people are monetizing their property now, doing things like adding suites or multi-generational living, has that been something that’s been more or less during the last couple years that you’ve seen? Well, you know, we were talking about, you know, whether people are adding suites and stuff. So, as you’re saying, like, you know, if we have kids living at home, that makes sense from the monetization aspect of it, is that more, less prevalent now than it was a few years ago?
Dan:
I think it’s more prevalent, right? Because people can’t afford to, everybody can’t afford their own home now. And you are seeing multiple families within one dwelling, which obviously is going to help offset the cost. So, we’ve done several things. I mean, I think back to a project we did a year and a half ago in Port Moody where the daughter was living in a nice home in Port Moody and her mother thinks she was divorced. And she was living in North Van. She ended up selling that home and she moved into the basement of her daughter’s place. So, she could be with the grandkids and kind of take care of retirement by selling off her asset. And now they’re in a multi-generational living situation and they’re all loving it.
Jennifer-Lee:
Well, not just multi-generational living. I know like when you watch a lot of the real estate shows or you read a lot of things online, a lot of younger couples are looking for income helpers too, because it’s the only way they’ll be able to afford a home is if they have a basement suite or a coach home or something else. So, a lot of times they’ll sit down there with their financial advisor and they’re like, you need an income helper.
Dan:
Yeah. And a lot of banks will look at that right away. They’ll look at what’s your potential for rental income and, and not all of them do, but some of them are looking at that right at the gate now when you go to qualify for a mortgage. So yeah. It all helps, especially nowadays you need every dollar you can grab.
Mike:
Have either of you seen instances where people maybe had suites either legal or illegal or renovations that they’ve done where they’re reverting back to getting more space, as opposed to doing the opposite, which is losing space for, for income property.
Laura:
Oh yeah. A lot of people, if they can afford it, they’d like that space back, especially during this pandemic, you know, they want another place for the kids to go or for mom to go to, you know, have a sewing room now. And you know, there is other places in your house now that they want to take over because we’re stuck at home, you know? And, now that you’re working at home as well, because I think a lot of companies are not going back to that traditional office. So now you’ve got even more time that you’ve got at home. So, they want even more space. So, it’s, it’s good that when they can take back a space, in their own home and repurpose it to something that they’re more, you know, they need more of like an office or a playroom or just a getaway.
Jennifer-Lee:
Are you finding Dan too because of this? More and more people are having decks again, because I know during the pandemic a lot more people wanted to have outdoor spaces and a lot of people wanted to have people over, but I know when I went to visit people, they’d be like, we’re going on the deck. And like a lot of them don’t have these spaces. I’m just wondering if they’re coming up in popular demand now just in case, we ever go through something similar.
Dan:
Yeah. Like we’re designing one right now. Laura just dropped one in my lap this week where the deck is going to increase by, I think 50% or a hundred percent. So yeah, definitely decks are being added, increased in size. There are always invitations with decks. You can only go so big given the size of your lot. So sometimes you can’t do exactly what you want, but yeah, definitely people are looking to create larger spaces where they can entertain at home and not have to leave the house.
Jennifer-Lee:
And be outdoors, which is technically safer as we’ve all learned.
Dan:
Yes.
Mike:
Yeah. Well, it’s, it feels like we’re talking about wellness now, doesn’t it? Because it’s not just the aesthetic of living outside of the social element. It’s the health benefits and the fact that statistically, if we were going to get together in the past two years, it was safer and more comfortable for people to be outside. So having a space to entertain is really important and obviously outdoor space is incredibly important under the topic of wellness in the home, both inside the home and outside the home. What are some of the things Laura and Dan that you’ve seen over the last couple of years that have been trends that have focused on specifically wellness and feeling better in the home?
Laura:
Well, I think, there’s a couple of things that come to mind and one of them is definitely for your kind of getaway in your bathroom is a steam shower. I think a lot of people recognize that the benefits of a steam shower and it’s easy to put in. If we’re doing your bathroom, we may as well just pop one in really takes over, a lot of you know, it’s good for stress. It’s good for feeling better. If you have a cold or a flu, it helps get out the toxins in your body. So, something like that, putting in fabulous. I mean, it’s, it’s really good. They also have, you know, bathtubs with chromotherapy and things like that. So, your bathroom can be a real wellness retreat in your own home. You don’t have to go out to a spa or anything.
Laura:
You literally have got a lot of things that you can do right there in your own house. And as far as wellness, the other thing I think that we we’re doing a lot of that really helps people. It’s one of those funny things that you just don’t think about, but the lighting in a house, if you have a really well-lit place, it makes people feel better. Like they feel like they’re, you know, it’s good, it’s bright it, you know, with the windows open and the door’s open and the light on it’s, it really helps the space overall feels a lot more healthy.
Dan:
Well said. I think another thing in terms of wellness, air purification, a lot of people are concerned about air quality now. So, we we’ve installed air purification systems that basically attached right on to your furnace. So, you’re getting the air filtered right from the right from the source. So, that’s one thing that definitely can contribute to wellness. Other things like you mentioned, lighting on demand, tankless water systems. So, we definitely put a lot of those in terms of wellness. I mean, you can imagine a household with three children like you have Mike. If everybody wants to shower at the same time, you’re not going to have enough hot water by the end of the morning. So, tankless water units definitely can help with sanity in the home and making sure we’ve all got hot water for the entire day. So, we do a lot of that.
Laura:
Well, if we’re talking about sanity, a place to close the door so that you can be away from your children. That’s my big must have in my house. We had four children. They’ve all since grown up. I’ve got four grandchildren now. And let me tell you, I am used to the noise and the people coming and going. So, when my office is open, I have anywhere, you know, from 10 or 15 people come through a day sometimes. So, for me, it is going upstairs to my bedroom, closing the door and I have a lock on it. So, my husband will even have to knock, which I appreciate.
Dan:
<laugh>. And maybe we’ll throw some soundproofing in those walls.
Laura:
Oh yes.
Dan:
And give you a solid core door.
Laura:
Yes, please.
Jennifer-Lee:
I love that you have a lock on your bedroom!
Laura:
I know
Jennifer-Lee:
You could lock your out your husband.
Laura:
Yeah. I mean, there’s only two of us in the house. Who else am I going to lock out? <laugh>
Mike:
We will not be playing this episode at my house.
Laura:
I think it’s a must for any married couple. That’s just me.
Jennifer-Lee:
I agree. Laura says get a lock on your door to save your marriage.
Dan:
<laugh> I think something else that we’re actually in design process right now is, it’s called a Zen Garden. So, this is going to be at the center of the home, and it’s surrounded by glass, floor to ceiling. So, you can actually see the, the garden from anywhere on the main level. So, yeah, I think that’s going to definitely add to their wellness just every morning you wake up and you can see the garden right there through the glass.
Jennifer-Lee:
So, what’s the maintenance on that Zen Garden?
Dan:
<laugh> I don’t know it’s to be determined. I think this is actually a multi-generational project. So, I think the retired father is going to take care of the garden.
Jennifer-Lee:
Ok, because that doesn’t sound relaxing if I have to look after the Zen Garden.
Dan:
No, that’s why your dad would look after it because he’s retired, and he has time.
Mike:
Well, the good news is folks in an upcoming episode, we actually have a landscape company and to talk about this stuff. So, if you keep listening, you’re going to have the answer to that question in the future episode.
Jennifer-Lee:
Perfect. And speaking of spaces and hiding away from different people in your household. Because when I grew up, I lived in a half a duplex that my dad built. I had a family room, which was like the TV room. We had a kitchen and then we had a dining room and then we had a living room. That’s a lot of space now that I think about it, that we probably never utilized. Are you still seeing the home being kind of compartmentalized? Because I know we have different things that I didn’t grow up with. Like, I did have a TV in my bedroom, but now kids do have tablets and they kind of can move about the house more freely or phones.
Laura:
I mean, it’s because I have grandchildren because I’ve already lived, like I know I’ve lived through the sixties and the seventies and the, you know, we could go on and on, but because of that, I’ve actually experienced a lot of different kind of living types. So, when I was younger, just like you, we had very compartmentalized places in the house and then through the ages, we’ve gone now to a very open living plan, which I, I love, I think it’s fabulous now we’re seeing that the kids and tablets and devices, I think we’re starting to see a lot more people. And my daughter’s included saying, look, we don’t have electronics at the table. We don’t have electronics in our rooms anymore. We are kind of trying to get back to being healthy and outdoors, which I love.
Laura:
I mean, the kids are outside all the time, and I think it’s just a sweet spot now that we’re getting back to sitting down as a family for dinners and meals. So, the home is actually taking a new landscape, which is more of a family-oriented space. When we have the first inclination of having TVs in the kids’ bedrooms, that’s where they’d go, and we wouldn’t see them. So now we’re trying to get them back at the dinner table and back with the family and back doing outings and you know what, I think it’s the best thing for the health of a family, as well as the health of a house that we use the rooms as a family, instead of individually going off into our spaces. And that’s not including my husband, which needs to be outside the bedroom door. <laugh> that’s just me though.
Jennifer-Lee:
I think COVID taught us too. Yeah. How do you deal with your family? Because when there’s a pandemic, you’re going to get to know a lot about those people living in your home. <laugh> yeah. Dan, Laura, I’m really enjoying this conversation. I’m sure there are a lot of homeowners out there who are appreciating your insight and practical approach to renovating. I want to explore more of the renovation design process, but first we need to thank our sponsor
Mike:
Measure Twice, Cut Once is grateful for the support from our podcast partner Fortis BC. Their support helps us share expert knowledge and resources like you’re hearing today from Dan and Laura, to help you design and renovate the right home for you.
Jennifer-Lee:
Speaking of resources, the BC Energy Step Code program is a provincial standard that is moving the entire home building industry forward to build homes to better energy efficiency standards, which means better comfort, health, and safety. Be sure to check out www.betterhomes.bc.ca, where you’ll find a variety of rebates for construction materials, home, energy evaluations, plus mortgage and tax refunds.
Mike:
Very good segue as we talk about numbers and we get back to talking about Dan and Laura, because let’s talk about budgets and defining the project next.
Jennifer-Lee:
I don’t like the word budget, but that’s okay. That’s why we have people to help us. So many homeowners have ideas of how they really want to have their home look and feel, but how does a builder help the homeowner refine what is actually possible?
Dan:
Good question. Anything’s possible if you throw enough dollars at it. So, half of the time, my job is educating clients on what things cost, what they can do, because, in a lot of cases on a first call, I’ll get with somebody they’ll say, I want to do my kitchen. I want to do three bathrooms, my entire main floor and I want to enlarge my deck and I have $75,000 and I’ll be like, we could probably do your kitchen. So, an example like that, where I’m educating them on how much a kitchen could cost, how much a bathroom could cost. So, we do some simple math on a first phone call and very quickly they realize what things can cost. So yeah, there’s, there’s a lot of people out there that have no idea what renovations should cost, and I don’t expect them to know what they should cost. So, yeah, that’s, that’s part of my job is to educate them on what things can cost.
Mike:
Since we’re on the topic of renovations and how much they cost. I know you can’t give us exact figures because every home is different in every situation is unique. But as sort of a rule of thumb, if someone were thinking about doing a renovation in their house, what would they be looking at to do a kitchen and say a bathroom? Cause that’s, those are the main starting points a lot of people start with, right?
Dan:
Yeah. So, kitchens, I mean, it’s, it’s difficult with a kitchen because nowadays we’re doing open concept. So, the kitchen is more than just a kitchen. It’s always, you’re doing maybe the family room fireplace that you can see from the island of the kitchen. So, it’s always more than the kitchen, but if I was to just narrow it down to this little room here and we were just doing this kitchen, I mean a minimum $60,000, right. And that’s going to be a basic small kitchen. And then it just goes from there depending on what we’re adding to, that bathrooms, those are a big wild card too. There’s a ton of different things you can do in a bathroom. You can have a steam shower, you can have a free-standing tub in floor heat, all this kind of stuff. Right? So, bathrooms, they start at $20,000 to $25,000 and they go from there. I mean, we did a bathroom, not too long ago. I’m thinking of the one in South Surrey with Laura. That was, it was a hundred thousand dollars bathroom. It was huge. It was like a bedroom, but it was a bathroom, the size of a bedroom, but it was a bathroom free standing tub, huge walk-in shower. There are dual vanities, dual sinks, everything was heated.
Laura:
It was spectacular and wallpaper.
Dan:
The toilet I think was like $2,500
Laura:
Yes, it was
Dan:
More buttons on the toilet than my oven.
Laura:
Exactly. You could, you could do remote control so it could start without you.
Dan:
There’s no cookie cutter price to any project. So, it’s difficult to, to say, this is how much it’s going to cost, but I could tell you the minimum, here’s where we’re going to start, and it could really go anywhere. And that really comes down to the design side from what you and Laura come up with. But it’s a constant battle though, trying to educate people on what things can cost. And I do crush a lot of dreams on a first phone call. So, time is money. Like with me, my job is to go out and meet these clients. So, I really do sift through clients over the phone and talk numbers with them on a first call, which some guys aren’t comfortable with, but I do that. And then, based on the results of that conversation, then I’ll set up a meeting and then we really dive into the details and the scope and the budget.
Jennifer-Lee:
I think it’s important that you’re creating a realistic expectation. Because I think it’s great that we have all these tools that we have like Pinterest and Houzz out there. But a lot of us aren’t seeing the price tag of these things. Yeah. And so, when we’re wanting to renovate room, too, people are forgetting that you got to renovate the guts of it first before you put all the fancy stuff in it. And then the fancy stuff costs extra.
Dan:
Yeah. And then with older homes, there’s things that are hidden that you may necessarily see right. There might be an insulation value in the walls that’s just not cutting it in your home. There could be asbestos. So, you may need to hire an abatement contractor to remove all asbestos, which can cost thousands of dollars. Maybe there’s old plumbing pipes in the walls, water lines that need to be changed. Maybe there’s copper, poly B. That’s been there for a long time that’s going to be a threat to leak.
Mike:
You never know what you’re going to get when you open up those walls. But what I really like is that you were talking about numbers from the initial consultation, with the client.
Jennifer-Lee:
And Laura on your side because there’s so many beautiful fixtures and you can spend a lot of money. How do you kind of reel everybody in and kind of give them a more realistic expectation of what their budget can really afford them, opposed to them picking like gold faucets or like this massive, beautiful Japanese stone tub?
Laura:
Oh yeah. Well, you know, the funny thing is we still have those beautiful fixtures. We can do a gold or, you know, make it look very Luxe within a budget. I mean, we don’t all have to go out and, and spend a fortune on a faucet because it’s the name brand. What I’m looking for when I’m looking at products for a home is how good they are in the long run. Do they have brass fittings like for faucets and things like that? What are the reviews online? I want to make sure that people are happy with the product because I don’t want them phoning me up in two years saying this is broken or this isn’t working. So, there’s a few items that I say we’re going to splurge a little bit on, which are usually the plumbing fixtures, because that is an important one.
Laura:
And it’s really hard to go back and get a new faucet in. It’s not an easy fix. And the things that I keep the budget tight on are things like tiling, you know, things that like we can kind of do the jewelry stuff a little bit less expensive. There are some beautiful lights out there that are, are not an arm and a leg. So, if it calls for the budget that we have something that’s going to be $200 or $300 to spend on a couple of light fixtures, trust me, we’re going to find something unique and beautiful and no one’s going to know the difference. And then when we need to up the budget, or if we have a bigger budget, then we’re going to say, hey, good, we’re going to try this with the back splash, we’re going to get some extra kind of tweaks like an iron tone sink in the kitchen, which is a beautiful product by Kohler that, you know, gives it a little more lux. So, budget’s easy to get as long as I know what the numbers are.
Dan:
And that’s where I step in. Like I set the budget out of the gate. So, our relationship is quite fantastic. The way we operate is I come in first, typically sometimes it’s the other way around. So, I’ll bring the client in, and I’ll create a budget with a scope. And I’ll put in some allowance, figures, for things like lighting. Sometimes Laura hates me because the number’s too low. But so yeah. So, then I’ll give that budget to Laura, so she has a script and a kind of a guide of what to work with. So, this way clients are able to stay on the budget a lot more. There are other ways you can approach a project. You could dump a whole bunch of money into design. First, you design this big, beautiful project and then you get a contractor involved, put some numbers on you realize, you know, we can’t afford what was designed. So, we kind of have approached it that way and been quite successful. Then Laura kind of has a guide to, to stick with the budget.
Jennifer-Lee:
So, we talked a little bit before during this episode, but obviously the relationship that you guys have as builder and interior designer, because you can’t do one without the other. Well, you can, it just, it’d be very difficult. <laugh> and I guess to you guys is just like, what do you think is the most important thing that maybe the consumer, the client doesn’t know about your relationship
Dan:
That we actually get along? <laugh>
Laura:
Yeah.
Dan:
Yeah. I mean just the behind the scenes, there’s a lot of behind the scenes that they don’t realize all the texting and the phone calls, and the issues will come up throughout a project. Every project has issues, and our goal is to not let the homeowner know about those issues. So, we’re dealing with those issues behind the scenes and if we didn’t get along, then those issues would be hard to deal with.
Laura:
So, I actually like to work with Dan because he’s got big blue eyes and that’s it. <laugh>,
Jennifer-Lee:
That’s why you’re locking your husband out of the basement.
Laura:
My bedroom. Yeah.
Dan:
Thank you, Laura.
Laura:
I know you’re just, you’re a sweet talker
Dan:
But you’re with Jesse more than me.
Laura:
I know. I know. Yeah. And he’s cute too. No, they’re, just great guys to work with and you know, what I love the best is that we’re casual with each other. We are professionals, but you know what, when problems arise, we manage to work things out and the homeowner gets really the best of both of us, which is great.
Mike:
My observation is you guys both love doing what you do, and it shows in how you talk about it in your pride, in what you do, but also how you relate to homeowners and how you relate to your clients as well. And it’s very clear with the level of reviews you’re getting in the quality of reviews. You’re doing that. So, we all got a job to do. We all have to work every day. When you have fun doing it, you get great results, and you have fun doing it.
Jennifer-Lee:
And you guys have been so fun during this interview. Laura, Dan, thank you so much for joining us on today’s episode of Measure Twice, Cut Once. It’s been a great conversation on the benefits of taking back one’s space and enhancing where you live to avoid having to move, which we all don’t like doing,
Mike:
Oh, moving is the last thing I want to do. And I love where I live, and I think a lot of our listeners do as well. So, this has been a great episode where we’ve learned about how to get more out of our space and how to think about making our space work for us and have learned so much today. We’ve talked about renovation trends, including outdoor kitchens, and opening up spaces to bring families back together. But at the same time, defining budgets to help determine what is possible, noting that working with professionals, always the recommended approach to ensure you build it right the first time. And of course, the value of design, the benefits of livability in the home and the bottom line.
Jennifer-Lee:
Dan, Laura, you’ve shared so many great tips throughout this episode, but do you have one more piece advice from each of you to share with potential homeowners that might be renovating?
Dan:
It’s tough because we’ve touched on a lot of the different topics, but I think I’d have to go back to really doing the research on who you’re hiring and making sure they’re members with places like HAVAN, that they’re certified, contractors and they’ve got their things like their liability in place. That’s a super important thing, especially right out of the gate. You want to make sure you’re hiring the right person.
Laura:
And I think that’s the same for me but hiring the right person for me means that you’re able to be honest. You know, if you can talk freely with your interior designer, tell them what you like, what you don’t like and really keep open communications because the more we know about you, the more we can service you. So, we really love it when people are just forthright. We love that.
Jennifer-Lee:
And if you want to know if they want to lock on their bedroom door.
Laura:
<laugh> no, that’s a, that’s a guarantee. You get one. <Laugh>
Mike:
Well, it’s been a real pleasure talking to both of you. And I just want to say, on behalf of the rest of us here, best of luck in the upcoming awards to both of you and to our listeners. If you enjoyed this podcast, please like follow, share, tell your family, tell your friends the more followers we have, the more people will find out about our podcast and the excellent resources our guests are sharing. If you want to check out other award finalists’ winners, head to www.havan.ca/awards
Jennifer-Lee:
And for notes and links to everything mentioned on today’s episode, including pictures of den and Laura’s amazing projects go to www.havan.ca/measuretwicecutonce. Thanks for joining us.
Dan:
Thanks guys.
Laura:
Thank you.
