What Motivates People to Remodel Their Home?
When it comes to the moment you decide you are ready to start remodeling your 80+ year-old home, sometimes it can feel a bit out of the blue. You were perfectly comfortable for a while, then all of a sudden, you can’t stand a particular part of your home anymore (or perhaps all of it). Though that can feel a bit spur of the moment, there are actually motivators that caused that desire: emotional and technical motivation. Both motivators can be present when you finally decide you want to pull the trigger on a remodel, while one by itself is enough to give you the overwhelming feeling to get started, too. Let’s dive into what emotional and technical motivation are, then we’ll discuss common projects those motivators tend to ignite.
Emotional Motivation
With regard to emotional motivation, the definition is kind of in the phrase. A particular feeling, or emotion, is what is driving the motivation. Think about being a college student, to give an example outside of home remodeling for a moment. Many students hit a moment in their academics when they realize they aren’t pursuing the right major. They don’t technically know that major isn’t the right one for them, as that would require a bit of seeing into the future, but they get a feeling that something isn’t sitting right with them.
The same can be applied to home remodeling. You can be simply drinking coffee on your couch and get the feeling “my home makes me feel like a renter still, I haven’t put my unique touch on it.” That one thought is enough to push you toward making a phone call to a construction company to start some remodeling projects in your vintage home because you are officially ready to make your 80+ year old home feel like your own.
Technical Motivation
Technical motivation differs from emotional because it stems from necessity rather than feeling. Even though the root of the motivation is need, it can still take some time before reality sets in for you – still resulting in a spur of the moment shift in your mindset. Starting with another example that’s outside of remodeling for a moment, let’s dissect technical motivation as it relates to haircuts. Perhaps you have grown your hair out, and you really enjoy the length of it, but one day you realize that the length of your hair just isn’t practical anymore – it gets in your way at work, you find yourself always trying to get it out of your face… it just isn’t working. Though your long hair may have been getting in your face for a while, you likely have a “final straw” moment where reality sets: even though you enjoy your hair long, it doesn’t work practically in your life anymore, so you get it cut.
Thinking specifically about technical motivation related to deciding to remodel your home, it also is typically ignited by a moment where recent frustrations that have built up. Perhaps you have been bumping into your significant other too many times as you work through your daily routine in the kitchen, but one morning, it hits you (no pun intended) that the current layout of your kitchen just isn’t practical anymore, so you start planning for a kitchen remodel.
Common Projects Stemming from Emotional Motivation
Truly, any project can be ignited by either emotional or technical motivation as motivators are quite personal, but there are projects that are commonly provoked by one versus another. When it comes to emotional motivation, specifically, here are a couple of examples beyond the one we shared previously:
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Feeling Dated
There can certainly be aspects of a dated home that are sparked by technical motivation, like the example shared previously with a lack of space – common in 80+ year old homes. More commonly, vintage homes simply feel dated. There is a difference between vintage charm and feeling like you’re living at your grandparent’s house. When the ladder feeling sets in, a vintage home remodel is on the horizon.
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Poorly Lit Room
A lack of light might seem surprising related to emotional motivation, but when the realization of a lack of light sets in, it typically starts as a feeling. You might begin to realize that your living room makes you feel tired all the time – like a fall evening where all you want is some hot cocoa and a movie. Though we do like to lounge in our living rooms, there is a time and place for feeling tired (and it’s not all day).
Common Technical Motivation Projects
As we know, technical motivation is based in fact versus feeling. Projects that are technically motivated are due to a necessity, like the need for more space we discussed earlier. There are countless examples of projects that are spurred out of a technical need, but let’s dive into a couple more of them:
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New Members of Your Home
Having someone else living in your home is quite factual – they are present, and they need their own dedicated space. A great example of that is having a parent reach the age where you would prefer they are close, but you don’t want them to feel like they are left with only a bedroom of their own. That could logically spark an in-law suite addition in your home, so your parent has their own living space that is still attached to your home.
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Steep Staircase
Another project that stems from need could be related to a potential danger risk. Older homes have much more narrow, steep, staircases than homes today – dangerous for anyone, but especially for children that are running through the house. Danger is a fact that can’t be disputed, so once that potential is recognized, it doesn’t take long before you are ready to call a contractor.
We have uncovered what technical and emotional motivators are and how they spark home renovation projects. Whether we discover a factual need (technical) or simply have a feeling (emotional), technical and emotional motivators are behind all home remodeling projects, not just the handful we discussed today.
