And so I went, aisle by aisle, adding a little here, a little there. Things I hadn't thought of ahead of time, things I'd been meaning to pick up and had forgotten about - and more than a few impulse purchases that just suddenly seemed like a good idea. On the way to the checkout, for instance, I spotted a video my daughters had been asking for. Finally, at the register, I added a magazine and a candy bar. Fortunately, the supermarket accepts debit and credit cards, or I would have ended up quite embarrassed, since I had not planned on spending more than ten dollars or so.
Construction is a lot like grocery shopping.
Most clients start off by carefully planning their projects. We also begin with a firm budget. Designer, contractor and client must often work through multiple revisions of the project until the major costs are nailed down and everyone is satisfied that the desired end result can be achieved within the designated budget. In my mind, it's really the only rational way to begin a project. From that point, though, things can go seriously awry.