The Renovations You Should Start Planning Now If You Want Them Done in 2027
If you are hoping to enjoy a newly renovated kitchen, finished basement, home addition, or major remodel sometime in 2027, it might feel a little early to start thinking about it.
It is not.
One of the biggest misconceptions we see in residential remodeling is that the project begins when construction begins. In reality, construction is only one part of the process. Before the first wall comes down, there are layouts to work through, budgets to establish, finishes to select, drawings to complete, engineering questions to answer, permits to obtain, materials to order, and a construction schedule to coordinate.
For a larger renovation, those steps can take months, and they should. Rushing through the decisions that determine how your home will function for the next 10 or 20 years rarely produces a better result.
So, if 2027 is the year you finally want to change your home, now is a very good time to start talking about it.
First, Work Backward From When You Want the Project Finished
Homeowners often come to us with a construction start date in mind. We actually think it is more useful to begin with the opposite question:
When do you want to be living in the finished space?
Maybe you want a new kitchen before the holidays next year. Maybe you want your basement completed before summer guests arrive. Maybe you are planning an addition because your family is outgrowing the current layout.
That desired completion date gives us something to work backward from.
A thoughtful renovation schedule has to account for much more than the time contractors will physically spend in your home. Depending on the project, the pre-construction process may include:
Initial conversations and project evaluation
Existing-condition measurements
Floor plan development
Design revisions
Preliminary budgeting
Finish and fixture selections
Architectural drawings
Structural engineering
Trade coordination
Permit preparation and review
Long-lead material ordering
Construction scheduling
Not every renovation requires every one of those steps. A bathroom remodel and a major addition are obviously very different projects. But the larger and more customized the renovation becomes, the more important the planning period becomes.
At DuBois Design+Build, our design and construction services work together for exactly this reason. We want the ideas being developed during design to make sense when it is time to actually build them.
Whole-Home Renovations: Start Earlier Than You Think
If 2027 is your year for a significant whole-home renovation, we would strongly recommend beginning the conversation well before you want construction to start.
Whole-home projects tend to involve dozens of interconnected decisions. Moving a kitchen may affect plumbing, electrical, flooring, lighting, structural conditions, cabinetry, and the rooms around it. Changing the main-level floor plan may affect everything from HVAC to ceiling transitions.
This is where time becomes valuable.
With enough planning time, you can ask better questions. Do we actually need this wall? Could the kitchen work better somewhere else? Is there unused square footage we can reclaim? Should we renovate the primary suite while adjacent work is already happening? Are we solving the problems that bother us now, or simply making everything look newer?
We recently explored this idea in our post, What We’d Change in Your Home Before Adding Square Footage. Before expanding a home, we often find opportunities to make the existing footprint work significantly better.
A whole-home renovation is simply too large an investment to make those decisions in a hurry.
Home Additions: Give Yourself Time for the Things You Cannot See
An addition is another project we would begin planning well in advance.
Adding square footage is not just a matter of deciding where a new room should go. The new space has to connect successfully to the existing house both visually and structurally.
Rooflines matter. Foundations matter. Drainage matters. Existing structure matters. Mechanical systems matter. Window placement matters. The transition between old and new matters.
And then there is the bigger design question: Does the addition actually improve the rest of the house?
A great addition should feel like it was always supposed to be there. It may create a larger kitchen, but it can also improve circulation. It may add a primary suite while simultaneously creating better natural light or solving an awkward floor plan elsewhere.
That takes thoughtful design, and depending on the scope, it can also require engineering and permitting before construction begins.
If you are already debating whether renovating makes sense compared with moving altogether, our post Should You Buy a New Home or Renovate? A Luxury Homeowner's Guide to Making the Right Choice is a good place to start.
Major Kitchen Remodels: The Cabinets Are Only Part of the Conversation
A kitchen can look like a relatively contained renovation because it occupies one room. In reality, major kitchen remodels can require an enormous amount of planning.
We are not just choosing cabinet colors and countertops.
We are asking where the refrigerator belongs. How groceries enter the room. Where someone makes coffee while another person cooks breakfast. Whether the island is appropriately sized. Where the trash goes. Whether there is enough landing space around appliances. How the pantry functions. Where small appliances live. How people move between the kitchen, dining, and living areas.
Those decisions determine cabinetry, plumbing, electrical, lighting, flooring, appliance specifications, and sometimes structural work.
Custom or semi-custom cabinetry also has its own production timeline, and certain appliances, specialty fixtures, tile, stone, windows, and other materials may require additional lead time.
If your dream kitchen is part of your 2027 plans, starting early gives you the ability to design it around your life rather than simply replacing what is already there.
Basements: Especially When You Are Adding Bedrooms, Bathrooms, or Living Spaces
Basement renovations can range from relatively straightforward finishes to complete transformations that function almost like another level of the home.
If you are adding bathrooms, bedrooms, wet bars, kitchens, entertainment spaces, or multigenerational living areas, there are more questions to answer before construction.
Plumbing locations can influence the layout. Bedrooms have specific requirements. Existing mechanical equipment has to be considered. Ceiling heights, soffits, electrical, lighting, egress, storage, and HVAC can all affect what is possible.
This is why we like to plan the basement as an actual living environment rather than treating it as leftover square footage that simply needs drywall and flooring.
A well-designed basement can become one of the most useful areas of the house, particularly when the plan is developed around what the family actually needs from it.
Primary Suite Renovations: Look Beyond the Bathroom Finishes
Primary suite projects are another category where early design work pays off.
Sometimes homeowners initially contact us because they want a new shower, vanity, tile, and flooring. Once we look at the entire space, however, we may find a much bigger opportunity.
Could the bathroom borrow space from an oversized closet? Could the closet entrance move? Would relocating the shower create a better vanity wall? Could changing a doorway improve privacy? Is there an opportunity to bring in more natural light?
Those are floor plan decisions, not finish decisions.
Once the layout is right, then we can get into the fun part: cabinetry, stone, plumbing fixtures, lighting, tile, heated floors, storage, and all of the details that make the space feel special.
If you are trying to determine which upgrades deserve more of your renovation budget, read The Luxury Home Upgrades Homeowners Never Regret.
Planning Early Does Not Mean Picking Everything Today
This is important. Starting your renovation planning now does not mean you need to know exactly which tile you want, what color the cabinets should be, or which faucet belongs in the powder room.
You do not need a finished Pinterest board before you call a design-build firm.
In fact, we would rather begin with the bigger questions.
What is not working in your home?
What do you wish you had?
What rooms do you actually use?
What spaces do you avoid?
How long do you plan to live there?
What would make everyday life noticeably better?
What level of investment are you comfortable making?
Those answers give the design direction. The individual selections come later.
Early Planning Also Gives You Time to Establish a Realistic Budget
One of the best reasons to start early has nothing to do with construction schedules.
It gives you time to understand what your project actually costs before you become emotionally attached to a finished design.
There can be a large difference between replacing finishes in an existing layout and completely reconfiguring a space. There is also a difference between standard materials and custom cabinetry, specialty millwork, large-format stone, premium windows, structural modifications, or highly customized architectural details.
Neither approach is automatically right or wrong.
The important part is making those decisions intentionally.
When design and budget conversations happen together, you can decide where you want to invest, where something simpler makes sense, and which elements will have the greatest impact on the finished home.
That is a much better experience than designing the dream project first and trying to cut it apart later.
The Best Renovations Have Time to Evolve
Some of our favorite ideas do not happen during the first conversation.
They develop as we get to know the house.
Maybe we realize an underused hallway could solve a storage problem. Maybe moving one doorway allows an entire bathroom layout to improve. Maybe the kitchen does not need to be larger at all. Maybe a window in a different location completely changes how a room feels.
This is one of the reasons we do not view planning as wasted time before the "real work" begins.
Planning is part of the real work.
The decisions made before construction determine so much of what happens during construction.
A few extra weeks spent getting a floor plan right are insignificant compared with living with that floor plan for the next 15 years.
What Should You Be Doing Now for a 2027 Renovation?
If a substantial renovation is on your radar for 2027, you do not need to start ordering tile tomorrow. But you should start defining the project.
Walk through your home and pay attention to the things that frustrate you repeatedly. Make a list. Take photos. Think about how you want the house to function differently, not just how you want it to look.
Then start the design conversation early enough that there is room to explore.
At DuBois Design+Build, we handle both the design and construction sides of residential renovations. That allows us to think about the finished home and the realities of building it at the same time.
Our goal is not simply to get construction started quickly. It is to get the project right before construction starts.
Thinking About Renovating in 2027? Start the Conversation Now.
If 2027 is the year you want to finally tackle the kitchen, finish the basement, create a better primary suite, renovate the entire house, or build the addition you have been talking about for years, this is a great time to start figuring out what that project could look like.
You do not need to have every answer. That is what the planning process is for.
Visit DuBois Design+Build to learn more about our design-build services, call (720) 347-7400, or email Dubois@duboisdesignbuild.com to start a conversation about your 2027 renovation.
