NOVI, Mich. – Turning your dream home improvement project into reality can feel daunting.
It doesn’t have to be, according to Elizabeth Wyss, who’s with the Home Builder Association of Southeast Michigan.
Find a designer, she said. The association hosts the Novi Home Show at the Suburban Collection Showplace three times a year. It’s not an upsell.
A 2024 report shows 58% of homeowners blow through their budget on DIY projects.
Another study shows a third of respondents called professionals to help fix a botched project.
Interior Designer Katie Dum, owner of Motor City Design Works, suggests a renovation project doesn’t have to be massive.
“I always say it’s okay to chip away at it. One room at a time. You don’t have to do it all at once,” she said.
Marie McBride and her husband used this approach after rising costs pushed their desired timeline back.
They’re hoping to finish two bathrooms. One needs a shower stall while the other needs new floors.
“I’m going to be very happy because it will look so much better than what it looks like right now,” McBride said. “They’re so 80s-looking right now.”
The goal is to wrap up the work sometime in the summer.
If you know you’re going to need some work this year, experts say: don’t push it off.
“So, now is the best time to get onto the calendars of the builders and contractors,” Whyss said. “Right now, they’re building out their year.”
If you missed the Novi Home Show, here’s a list of all the participating businesses from the winter edition. The Novi Home and Garden Show returns to the Suburban Collection Showplace in March.
