Originally posted by @Jason Turgeon:
Man, your wife has a real talent there. I never appreciated interior design until I renovated a 2 family home and realized just how hard it is to make all those decisions and do all that shopping and price comparing. My wife and I decided to hire a designer half way through our project. I won't make that mistake again - next time we start with the designer before we get to construction so we know what the layout, colors, and materials are going to be. Even on a cosmetic flip, I want someone with your wife's sensibilities to help me deliver a product that will sell in a weekend. Looks like you're pretty good at the construction side of things, too!
You couldn't be more right, Jason. At least in our experiences, the design has been a critical factor in driving demand and appraised value of the finished products. A beautiful house with an antiquated floor plan is still not desirable to a large portion of the market. A wonderful open floor plan with poor design taste is no different. The trick is marrying design and investment budgets together, which is incredibly difficult to do.
