In this motivational monologue, Derek Cole encourages homeowners to kick off 2023 with a structured home‑improvement plan. He outlines a three‑step process: first, gather inspiration by browsing design magazines, Pinterest, and other sources, then create a vision board of colors, fabrics, furniture, and styles to define the desired look for each room. Second, set a realistic budget that accounts for materials, labor, and installation, and consider cost‑saving DIY options such as wallpaper instead of paint, refinishing or refacing cabinets, and refurbishing furniture. Third, write down specific goals for each space, prioritize projects (e.g., tackling the kitchen first), and remain flexible to shift funds as needed. Throughout, Cole emphasizes the importance of inspiration, budgeting, and prioritization to turn the new year into an opportunity for meaningful home upgrades, ending with New Year wishes for 2023.
Chapters
New Year, new adventures in 2023. A new year brings fresh hope and enthusiasm for the future. As we wave goodbye to 2022 and welcome in 2023, it's time to start planning for all the possibilities that lie ahead. Whether you're a homeowner looking to spruce up your home with a few small changes or take on larger renovations, starting off the year with a plan can help you create the home of your dreams. First, get inspired. Get inspired. The best place to start embarking on any home improvement is to get inspired. Look through design magazines, Pinterest, Pinterest boards, Look through all of this and get ideas that you would like and that you don't like. Get the ideas from these boards or magazines or even websites that you can go to to get inspired. Create what's called inspiration or vision board with the images, colors, fabrics, and furniture you want. Furniture pieces you would like and that's inspiring you. This will help define the look for what you want to achieve in each room. Once you have the board set up, once you have the board set up, you can begin planning on how to execute what's on it. Number 2, set a budget. Set a budget. I know it's typically not the most fun thing to do, but Set a budget. Setting a budget is essential before beginning any project. Make sure this includes not only materials needed but also the labor and the installation costs with that. If your budget is tight, consider doing a few do-it-yourself projects if possible. Try out some cost-effective solutions such as using wallpaper instead of paint or refinishing furniture instead of replacing it, refinishing cabinets instead of replacing them. It's very rare that cabinets go bad, so consider refacing them, refinishing them to make them look brand new. Many, many times these smaller projects can make a large impact on the look and feel you want in that room. You can make a large impact without breaking the bank, without costing a fortune. A lot of refurbishings or do-it-yourself projects can save you a lot of time, a lot of money, and get you that bang for your buck. Write down goals and prioritize. Number 3, once you have a budget set, it's time to set goals and what you would like done in each room and Prioritize them based on the importance. So if you want to start in the kitchen and that, that's your main priority, get that done first. Prioritize, get things done. This will help you focus on what's important while giving you the freedom to adjust if something comes up along the way that might require shifting funds from one project to another. So example, if the kitchen is your main thing, um, and you really want to get it right, prioritize it, get that done first. And if it costs more and you have to shift funds around, it costs more and you have to shift around. But if that is your priority to get it done, then focus on that priority. Additionally, setting goals helps you hold yourself accountable so that nothing gets overlooked during the process. Even, I even found this for myself at work. I had to start, you know, writing down, writing down some tasks I need to do that day because there's so many things, there's so many questions that come through during the day or so many distractions, um, it can really easy— really easily get you off track. So get inspired, get your budget, prioritize your— set your goals, prioritize, because as we enter into 2023, now is the ideal time to start planning those projects around your house to make this year even more special than 2022. So get inspired, write down the goals, prioritize, set the budget, and then hey, if you got to shift funds around, um, to get the party done, that's what needs to be done, what needs to be completed. So Happy New Year, best wishes in 2023 to all your projects, um, but Happy New Year. We'll see you soon.
