Remodel in Phases or All at Once?

Thoughtful planning can reduce duplicated work, unnecessary costs, and repeated disruption while creating a clear path toward the home you ultimately want.

Donella Olson, Two Island Design Build

September 28, 2026

“We have projects to do all over the house. Is it better to do each one at a time or all at once?”

It’s easy to consider the smallest or most urgent project first, but the answer shouldn’t be determined by project size or budget alone.

Perhaps you have young kids who need space to play. The bathroom is showing its age, and the thought of a new kitchen makes your heart sing… but those projects will have to wait because you need that play space for the kids.

So, you remodel the basement. Six months later, you replace the roof. A couple of years later, that worn out tile in the main shower has turned into leaking tile, the toilet won’t stop running, and the bath fan quit working last month.

During bathroom construction, your old-house plumbing needs to be replaced all the way down to the basement floor and across the basement ceiling. That sweet new steam shower means opening the basement ceiling to get the main panel. Opting for in-floor heat instead of a radiator means new boiler pipes that run across the basement ceiling. Your beautiful new basement is under construction again.

Fast forward a few more years to the kitchen remodel; opening walls and reconfiguring the kitchen means your basement is under construction again for mechanical and structural requirements. You love the natural light from the skylights, it’s just too bad you had to open up that new roof.

Separate Projects Are Rarely Entirely Separate

And they rarely cost less in the long run. Every project requires its own mobilization, management, protection, permits, and trade visits, plus the extra cost of working two or three times in areas that have already been finished.

Perhaps the greatest cost is your peace of mind while your home and family are continually disrupted across multiple years.

Avoid Rework with Holistic Planning

Two Island Design Build offers an all-encompassing approach to designing your home for the short- and long-term. We strategically solve today’s concerns and dream with you to envision tomorrow’s lifestyle. We ask deep questions about pain points and pay close attention to how your family moves through your home. We combine this with our expert approach to home design, then present all possible options—including whether the project could or should be phased.

Our Concierge Remodeling Experience kicks off with early discussions about feasibility, budgets, and realistic impact on your daily life. If your project is phased, we’ll make sure the right work gets included in phase one to easily enable phase two. And we’ll be honest about whether it should be phased at all.

It might make sense to build some projects in phases, but only with foresight. We provide you with enough information to make confident decisions about the direction of your project from the very beginning, whether you finish the entire project now or save something for later.

Donella Olson is the founder and principal of Two Island Design Build, a licensed building contractor offering a Concierge Remodeling Experience in Minneapolis and surrounding areas. Two Island Design Build focuses on a client-centered and communication-forward approach, specializing in main floor and whole home transformations.