When it comes to clients and their homes, Houseplay Renovations believes in the importance of uniqueness. The Montclair, New Jersey-based full-service remodeling contractor provides a vast range of home improvement services tailored to each client’s individual needs and desires. Typical clients include homeowners, homebuyers, and investment property owners. The firm offers virtual design and coaching in addition to local planning and remodeling in New Jersey’s Hoboken, Jersey City, and Montclair areas as well as Rockland County, New York.
The business was founded in 2007 by Niall Templeman after he moved to New Jersey from the U.K. Niall, who also acts as a project manager for the company, worked as a tradesman in England for many years. He prides himself on his ability to focus on the big picture and specific details of a given project simultaneously.
Houseplay Renovations offers a wide variety of types of renovations, from full home, apartment, kitchen, and bathroom remodeling to home additions, flooring, and painting. They also specialize in historic brownstone remodeling, and have completed dozens of these renovations over the past 13 years. The firm has a strong working relationship with their local Historic Preservation Commission, which oversees and approves proposals for remodeling historic buildings.
The Firm’s Client-Centric Approach
At Houseplay Renovations, they firmly believe in the importance of what they describe as a “mutual fit” between contractors and clients. People with bustling households, relaxed attitudes, and attention to detail who value personalization, enjoy genuine conversation, and working with kind, respectful, and courteous individuals will find their perfect match in this group. Indeed, more so than any other quality, Houseplay Renovations values clients’ desire for a long-term relationship with their contractor.
This client-centric attitude is also evident in Houseplay Renovations’ approach to their project process, itself. The firm offers pre-planning consultation services and describes its operations strategy in terms of “prepare,” “design,” and “build” phases.
Houseplay Renovations also offers Homebuyer Support Sessions for those looking to purchase a home and then remodel it. The firm believes that consultation with professionals early on in the buying process allows prospective homebuyers to be educated and empowered. These sessions also ensure that clients’ visions can be accomplished and are affordable. Team members provide a walkthrough, resolve questions about end goals, and highlight potential problem areas.
Designing Your Dream Home
The first step in Houseplay Renovations’ operations strategy, the “prepare” stage, reflects their emphasis on the importance of figuring out what you want out of a renovation project before receiving an estimate. This phase consists of Vision and Planning sessions, which are customized, two-and-a-half hour-long meetings with a team member. The purpose of these meetings is to devise possibilities for a given space, develop clarity on the building process, and achieve insight into a project’s projected length and cost. At each Vision Planning session, a team member helps clients discover their vision for the project, establish a realistic timeline and logistics, develop a target budget range, and then review the steps needed to make their vision a reality.
The next phase is “design,” in which the team provides clients with curated selections: clients’ visions from the “prepare” stage are heard and translated into detailed documents, including a comprehensive design agreement. They also receive a 20-minute phone consultation with a team member and a firm price quote. Houseplay Renovations continues to emphasize client primacy at this step in the process through collaborative design: in-depth surveys, detailed drawings, mood boards, physical samples, and custom-tailored materials lists.
Projects then move into the “build” stage, in which a combination of in-house crew and specialty subcontractors work with the project manager to bring the client’s vision to life. At this point in the renovation process, clients are able to relax and enjoy seeing the process unfold. Since Houseplay Renovations serves as a single point of contact for everything from permits and scheduling to deliveries and materials, clients don’t have to worry about these particulars. Indeed, the company takes responsibility for answering questions from specialists such as plumbers and electricians, meeting with inspectors, and hiring subcontractors.
Regardless of what type of renovation project a client may be considering, Houseplay Renovations is there to support them and ensure that their vision comes to life. The firm’s project gallery, which displays countless unique renovations accompanied by brief explanations of their clients’ visions, affirms this fact. Houseplay Renovations’ dedication to their clients is also apparent in their blog, which features articles about remodeling tips and how to avoid renovation mistakes, as well as their appearance on an episode of HGTV’s My First Renovation.