Last Updated on March 28, 2024 by Advance Design Studio – Home Remodeling

Achieving a cohesive, seamless look throughout a home is a common goal that many people share, no matter what kind of remodeling they invest in. Chances are, if you’re remodeling one space in your home, you’ll want to extend the color scheme, materials, or layout changes outside of the one room you’re working in. This is a decision many homeowners face, and there are definitely benefits and also drawbacks to tackling multiple rooms at once within one remodel. Let’s go through them together.

WHAT IS A MULTI-ROOM REMODEL?

Multi-room remodeling involves – you guessed it – multiple rooms within a home simultaneously. The alternative to this type of project would be a single-room remodel. For example, instead of just a “kitchen remodel” or “bath remodel”, flooring throughout the entire first floor of a home may be updated, along with the laundry room, bar area, and living room. Maybe you have three bathrooms you’re looking to renovate within one project. New flooring, painting, and lighting throughout, all within one seamless design. Cabinetry in multiple rooms is often involved, as well as trim and millwork. While many multi-room remodels encompass an entire floor of a home, this is not always the case.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A MULTI-ROOM REMODEL?

1. COHESIVE DESIGN:

Working with a designer to choose the layout, materials, and other details of multiple rooms at once will ensure that the feel of your remodeled home is consistent and cohesive throughout. Materials can be sourced together easily to complement one another. You’ll achieve the aesthetic you’re looking for right off the bat, instead of piecing it together down the line room by room.

2. SAVES TIME:

Instead of stretching out your remodeling plans over an extended period of time, save time by doing it all at once – or at least in large chunks. By tackling rooms at the same time, you won’t have to go through the design process, demo, and construction phases over and over again. It’s a more efficient use of your time (and your remodeling team’s time too).

3. COST-EFFICIENT:

Working multiple room renovations into one master design and construction plan can definitely be more cost-effective than going room by room over time. By combining the labor, materials, and contractor expenses, everything is included in one scope at the same time. Labor and material costs rarely go down over time. In fact, they usually increase! By having your multi-room project quoted at the same time, you’ll likely receive better pricing than if you hired a team for each individual room over time.

4. IMMEDIATE VALUE INCREASE: 

Whether you’re remodeling your forever home or planning to sell in a couple of years, a well-executed multi-room remodel can significantly increase the market value of your home. Buyers are, especially in today’s market, attracted to move-in-ready homes with spaces that complement each other seamlessly. Even if your remodel doesn’t involve major structural changes or room additions that will directly increase your home’s appraisal, harmoniously designed spaces that have been remodeled together can make your home more appealing for a more competitive sale price down the line.

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WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS OF A MULTI-ROOM REMODEL?

1. MORE DECISION-MAKING AT ONCE:

By adding multiple rooms to your renovation plans, there will naturally be more decisions you need to make regarding overall layouts and materials during the design process. If you are a slow decision-maker or feel overloaded with the idea of choosing materials for a single room, much less multiple rooms, tackling a multi-room remodel alone might be difficult for you. Materials should be ordered in advance for any efficient remodel (especially multi-room remodels), and your project timeline will likely suffer if material selections aren’t agreed upon upfront in order to procure preferred materials.

2. COMPLEX COORDINATION:

Involving multiple rooms in one remodeling plan means there are more logistics, schedules, and manpower to coordinate and organize for the duration of your project. If you are managing the project yourself, it will be more difficult to keep your project running smoothly and efficiently. The details of just a standalone kitchen or bath remodel are complicated and require extreme attention to detail to yield a successful outcome. So if you choose the multi-room route, we highly recommend partnering with an experienced team who can manage the organization, contractors, materials, construction (and more!) that are crucial to help your project stay on track and turn out exactly how you’re envisioning it. Even with an experienced team, multi-room remodels can have more hiccups or delays than single-room remodels. It’s like trying to put together a 10-piece puzzle vs a 1,000-piece puzzle: working with more complex pieces takes more time, attention, and skill, and there is a greater chance for unexpected issues that arise.

3. HIGHER UPFRONT COSTS:

Even though multi-room remodeling can be cost-effective in the long run, you will need to invest more in the project initially compared to a single-room remodel. You will need to allocate a significant upfront budget to cover design work, materials, and labor to account for multiple rooms simultaneously.

4. MORE DISRUPTION DURING CONSTRUCTION:

Living through a multi-room remodel means a large portion of your home will be a construction zone for an extended period of time. The dust, noise, and restricted access to areas of your home can be particularly inconvenient depending on your situation. Some people choose to live at home during a multi-room remodel, while others move out of their homes for a couple of months to an Airbnb, hotel, or family member’s home. There’s no right way to live through a remodel, it just depends on what is best for you and your family.

HOW TO DECIDE IF YOU SHOULD REMODEL IN PHASES OR ALL AT ONCE

The decision to move forward with a multi-room remodel ultimately depends on your specific goals, budget, and circumstances. A multi-room remodel may be feasible for you, or you may be better suited to tackle one room at a time. You can achieve the vision you have for your home whether you tackle the remodels all at once or not – the decision is up to you. Talking with a team of professionals will help you make an informed choice that aligns with what is best for you and your specific situation.

WHY PEOPLE REMODEL IN PHASES:

1. To have less stress and mess at once living at home during the remodel

2. They need to evaluate and choose different contractors for each project

3. They want flexibility to adjust budget and design between each phase

WHY PEOPLE REMODEL ROOMS AT ONCE

1. They want a predictable, predetermined financial plan for their whole project at once 

2. To acheive a cohesive remodeling design and material selection all at once

3. They want one construction timeline and consolidate the construction duration

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