A full home renovation is an exciting opportunity to completely transform the way you live in your home. It’s your chance to rethink layouts that no longer work, create spaces that feel more functional and beautiful, and finally bring your vision to life – from a kitchen designed for gathering to a primary suite that feels like a true retreat.
Dreaming about the finished result is the easy part. The challenge is figuring out how to get there.
Between timelines, budgets, decisions on materials and furniture, and figuring out who does what, the logistics of a full home renovation can feel overwhelming, especially if you’ve never been through one before.
If you’re researching full home renovations in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, or North Palm Beach, you’re probably feeling a mix of both right now, and that’s normal. At Piper Gonzalez Designs, our goal is to take that overwhelming part off your plate, so you can stay focused on the exciting part: the home you’re building toward.
Here’s what we want every homeowner to know before getting started.
Jump To…
- What Counts as a Full Home Renovation?
- How Long Does a Full Home Renovation Take?
- The Key Phases of a Full Home Renovation
- What Does a Full Home Renovation Cost?
- Full-Service Home Renovation in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter & North Palm Beach
- Ready to Start Planning?
What Counts as a Full Home Renovation?
One of the first questions we help clients work through is what actually defines a full home renovation. At Piper Gonzalez Design, we specialize in complete, transformative spaces, taking a room, a suite, or an entire home from concept to finished design with every detail considered, from layout and finishes to furniture and styling.
Generally speaking, we consider a project a full home renovation when it includes all of the main living areas of a home: kitchens, living spaces, dining areas, and typically the primary suite as well.
A full home renovation doesn’t always mean tackling the entire house at once, either. Many of our Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter clients take a phased approach, completing the main living areas in one phase and returning to renovate the primary suite or upstairs guest rooms in a later phase. Whatever the scope, our approach stays the same: thoughtful, complete transformations of the spaces that matter most to how you live.
How Long Does a Full Home Renovation Take?
If you’re wondering how much time a full home renovation takes, the most important thing to understand is that the design process and the construction process are two separate timelines, and the design phase happens first.
For renovations that stay within a home’s existing footprint (no additions), construction typically runs from about May through November or December, and most projects take 5 to 8 months to complete, depending on the scale of the work. But that construction window only happens after the design phase is complete, including space planning, material selections, and finalized drawings.
One of the biggest differences between renovating an existing home and working on a new build is how early certain decisions need to be locked in.
With a renovation, you’re often working around a tighter timeline than people expect, which means decisions about both building materials and furniture need to happen much earlier in the process than most homeowners anticipate. Lead times for things like custom cabinetry, tile, plumbing fixtures, and upholstered furniture can run months, and if those selections aren’t finalized early, they can hold up the entire schedule. This is one of the most common surprises for homeowners who haven’t been through a full renovation before.
Because of this, timing matters more than most people realize. We recommend reaching out about a year before you’d like to be living in your finished home, and if you can give us 12 to 14 months of lead time, even better. Homeowners in Jupiter and North Palm Beach who come to us early tend to have a much smoother experience, simply because there’s time to make thoughtful decisions instead of rushed ones. If you’re planning ahead for a renovation, our budget conversation guide is a great place to start.
The Key Phases of a Full Home Renovation
Every full home renovation moves through a few critical phases, and understanding them can help you know what to expect along the way.
Discovery. This is where everything starts. Before any design work begins, we spend time understanding how a family actually lives in their home: their daily routines, their entertaining habits, their preferences, and their priorities. This phase shapes every decision that follows, from layout to finishes.
Rough-in (post-demo). Once demolition is complete and walls are open, this phase is where the plumbing, electrical, and framing rough-in happens. Because renovations work with a home’s existing structure rather than building from scratch, this is often where we discover surprises: a support stud that’s two inches off from the plans, a plumbing stack hiding inside a wall we demoed, or a truss that limits where a shower valve can go. This is the phase where reality meets the plan, and having a designer involved means we can adapt quickly without compromising the overall design.
Installation. This is the most exciting phase, and also the busiest. It’s when furniture, fixtures, finishes, and final details come together. Our team works closely with our construction partners during this stage to make sure everything, from paint colors in real lighting to the layout of cabinetry, meets the vision we set out to create.
Having a professional involved throughout these phases is what separates a full home renovation that goes smoothly from one that runs into costly surprises. A designer acts as the bridge between the original plan and the realities of construction, something that’s especially valuable during the rough-in phase, when unexpected issues are most likely to surface.
What Does a Full Home Renovation Cost?
The honest answer to “what is the average cost of a full home renovation” is that it depends heavily on scope. A full home renovation budget for a project involving cosmetic updates within an existing layout looks very different from a full gut renovation, or one that includes major additions like a pool, roof replacement, or new doors and windows.
Because there are so many variables, kitchen and bathroom renovations are often easier to estimate with a general range than a full home renovation, where construction scope plays such a major role.
Rather than offering numbers that may not reflect your specific project, we prefer to walk through your goals, your home’s existing condition, and the scale of work involved so we can give you realistic guidance for your full home renovation budget. If you’d like to talk through what factors might affect your project’s cost, reach out to schedule a consultation.
Full-Service Home Renovation in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter & North Palm Beach
If you’re looking for full-service home renovation support, from the discovery phase all the way through installation, our team works with homeowners throughout Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and North Palm Beach on full home renovations and full home remodeling projects of every scale. If you’re not sure whether you need a designer, an architect, or a contractor first, our hiring guide breaks down where to start.
Ready to Start Planning?
Whether you’re a year out from breaking ground or just starting to gather ideas, the earlier you bring us in, the more time we have to plan a full home renovation that fits your home, your timeline, and your goals. Contact us to start the conversation, or visit our homepage to see more of our work.