You’re up. You’re down. You’re irked one day. Ecstatic the next!

Welcome to the emotional roller coaster of a construction project.

Over the years I’ve found that every client, no matter how even-tempered, experiences a tumbling jumble of emotions while their home is being built. Perhaps that’s not surprising given the emotional investment in a home. But what is surprising is that these highs and lows prove so predictable you can track them on a chart.

To help my clients grasp this, I always give them a copy of the Funk Chart the first time we meet. It’s a whimsical graph that helps them manage their expectations during the wild ride ahead.

The Funk Chart

I first came across the Funk Chart about ten years ago when a colleague, Anne McCutcheon Lewis, FAIA, gave a talk at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The concept rang so true that I asked for permission to use the chart in my own practice. I’ve tweaked and modified it over the years, but it’s based on Anne’s original concept.

Emotional Road Map

I love the Funk Chart because it helps you visualize the entire process of building or renovating a home, starting with the architectural drawings and moving on through pricing, demolition, and framing—until you finally reach the last turn of the doorknob and the celebration party.

The right-hand side of the chart details the full range of emotions you’ll experience as you move through the building or remodeling process, from seriously aggravated to off-the-charts happy.

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Best of all, it shows which emotions you can expect to feel when, with graph lines depicting the roller coaster ride for everyone involved, including you, me, the kids, and the family dog.

The bad news? You’ll feel irked and aggravated at times. The good news? Those emotions are short-lived and completely normal at some phases in the process.

Predictable Dips and Peaks

I’ve found that clients always feel good at the design phase. When they receive the construction bid, even if it matches their budget, their anxiety increases. Why? Because a home is usually a family’s biggest investment and making a major decision is stressful.

On the flip side, I’ve found that clients always feel ecstatic when the roof deck is finished and the Sheetrock goes up: it’s starting to look like a home! But black clouds drift down during the flooring, tiling, and cabinet phases: why is it taking so long?

While the ups are great, the downs can take an emotional toll. Some clients become so anxious they want to fire everyone, stop the project, and flee to a Pacific island. If that happens to you, get out the Funk Chart, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that, hmm, I’m right on target; Kevin told me this would happen, it’s all part of the process.

Hang in There

Trust me, if you’ve selected an architect with a track record of delivery, it will all be OK. I’ll remind you of that repeatedly as we go through the process. Before you know it, you’ll be back to ecstatic—wildly in love with your new home and ready to throw a celebration party.

As for the kids, the architect, and the family dog, they’re feeling ecstatic too. The only ones left unhappy are the rodents and pests—because they were driven off at the demolition phase.

© 2021 Kevin Harris, Architect, LLC

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“Kevin Harris, Architect, LLC designs custom homes to satisfy, support, and sustain our client’s best life, to be an authentic expression of their site, lifestyle, and culture, while remaining rooted in history and expressive of the times. For more information on Kevin or the firm go to www.kevinharrisarchitect.com.”