“But they make it look so easy on TV!” Like a lot of other people in the U.S., many of our Northern VA home remodeling clients loves watching home improvement shows. While veteran broadcasts like This Old House often show the amount of work involved in even the simplest tasks, newer ones lean more towards the “shiny stuff” of finished projects and decorating styles.

The simple truth is that home remodeling is a messy, invasive, time-consuming, and often expensive process. The good news is that, when the work is properly done, the results make it all worthwhile.

At Foley, we understand that homeowners want the remodeling process to be as painless as possible – and over with as quickly as possible. So we work hard to not only help you design the perfect remodel, but to deliver it in a cost-effective and timely manner.

What the TV Remodeling Shows Don’t Tell You

Probably the biggest misconceptions TV remodeling shows promote are their low budgets (they’re paid to promote products), and the amount of time it takes to complete a job (two weeks to do a whole-house remodel!). No wonder so many homeowners feel let down or worse, duped, when their design build firm gives them a much more realistic timeframe and estimated cost to complete the job.   

The Foley Process

Our remodeling process is extensive, but also pretty easy to understand. It focuses on the way diverse elements come together to create well-designed and built remodels for our clients.

• The Budget – everyone has one and it’s what drives the project. We want to hear your budget constraints so that we can help you realize the remodel you’ve long dreamed of. We pride ourselves on giving our clients the most value for their invested dollar.
• The Project Scope comes from an honest appraisal and educated opinion as to what we believe is best for you – not what is best for Foley. Our years of experience will help you make the most cost-effective choices for your project.
• Existing Home Analysis. From rough sketches to final drawings, we efficiently put to paper your existing home’s layout so that the remodeling design plans can be as accurate as possible.
• The New Plans. While the cost of new design plans varies, the budget is always front and center as we begin your drawings. Our state-of-the-art CAD program allows our design team to easily try out different ways to create new layouts.
• Design Philosophy. At Foley, we take enormous pride is what we do, and we strongly believe that any Northern VA home remodel we do should seamlessly blend with the existing home and the surrounding neighborhood.
• The Shiny Stuff. Specs and selections are necessary to put your home remodel together. Choosing fixtures, cabinets, countertops and more are important decisions that affect the budget and final look of your home.
• Green Building. Not all homeowners think green, but it’s worth mentioning that it’s more complicated in a remodeling job as opposed to a new build. We offer green options to homeowners and encourage them to learn about the tax credits available for them.
• Financing. Financing should always be the first thing you thing about. Though you’re perfectly free to obtain your financing from whatever lender you like, we do have a list of lenders we’ve worked with who are experienced at financing remodels.
• Scheduling. Since our clients typically remain in the home while a remodeling project is underway, it’s important to have a well thought out and efficient schedule. Whenever possible, we work with our clients to accommodate their schedule.

We’ve done both small and large Northern VA home remodeling projects. In our over 39 years in business, we tend to hear some common questions. If you don’t see yours here, don’t hesitate to ask it!

The truth is, for those who are interested in home remodeling in Northern VA, TV reality shows can provide a lot of good ideas for our clients. Just remember that while the shows are fun to watch, your own remodel will not mimic the ones you see on them. Keep your own reality in check and your own home remodel will be just as beautiful as the ones you see on TV – even if does take a bit longer than an hour.