To take full advantage of the design opportunities that a home remodeling project presents, you'll have to organize your thoughts and expectations. We offer tips on how to do that.

Organizing your thoughts- we mean both of you
By this we mean the two or three of you who will live in the home after the remodeling is complete. There are always different preferences, so begin talking about them beforehand. You'll then be able to select an architect that is right for you and your project.

Remember also that you can remodel any home. The major challenge is to end up with what you want from an aesthetic and functional point of view and within budget. Some homes may not be as amendable to a remodel as others. Ramblers or ranch houses are relatively easy to remodel. Assuming that you have a strong foundation, you might be able to add a second floor and even increase increase the ceiling height to 10 feet on the lower level. A structural engineer would have to make that determination though regarding the foundation.

Colonial style houses are challenging for a variety of reasons. The bedrooms may be small, the bathrooms too few and the narrow stairs, hallways and low ceilings may interfere with your goals. In some cases you may be better off just knocking the house down and starting from scratch. That's the exeption to the rule unless the house is very old and has not been maintained well.

To help your prospective architect focus on successful and creative solutions to your home remodeling project, you should:

1. Write a general description of your project,
2. Identify the time frame you want or hope to work in,
3. Do you want to do any of the work yourself like selecting the ceramic tiler or kitchen or interior designer,
4. Determine your general budget range or project cost? Include the architect's fee which is generally about 5-15 percent of the construction cost,
5. How are the areas in your future home space to be used? Describe the types of activities and when they occur, (my mom visits us and stays 4 months each summer, we entertain 16 people every weekend, we love the view out back),
6. What specifics do you expect in the project (i.e. a kosher kitchen, high ceilings, skylights, large family room, travertine tile master bathroom, etc.) [see ideas for researching home remodeling ideas,
7. Identify what you like about your existing home and what aspects you don't like, (house looks so vanilla and place does not have good flow),
8. What do you really expect of the architect? For example, just a design, to help select good contractors, to help bid the project, or construction oversight and approval before you pay a general contractor,
9. Describe and provide pictures and photos of 3-5 homes or parts of homes that you like. These include favorite rooms, magazine or web pictures, ideas you saw on HGTV, etc., and
10. Communicate your primary concerns and hopes about your project. By doing this, you'll help the architect focus on your needs and wishes.

What an Architect does after analyzing your answers
An architect will analyze both of your answers and establish some priorities. The challenge is to turn every item and effect that you want into a cohesive and affordable solution and develop combinations that enhance one another.

Always remember that there are always many solutions. The more you tell the architect the better they can do their job. Also remember that there are times when an architect will not be able to meet your needs for an existing project, because of exorbitant costs. Also they may not be able to work with you during your time frame.