The Needs, Wants and Wishes process is how New Spaces sorts a remodel’s must-haves from its nice-to-haves before a single design option gets drawn, so the budget goes to what actually matters to you first. It starts with a conversation with a Homeowner Advisor, not a sketch, and that conversation shapes every design option that follows.
What Counts as a Need?
A need is something the remodel cannot succeed without: a kitchen layout that actually fits how you cook, enough storage for a family of four, a main level that works for aging in place.
Needs get funded first in the budget, before anything else is discussed.
What Counts as a Want?
A want improves the project without being essential to it: a larger island, a specific cabinet finish, a wine fridge. Wants are where most of the back-and-forth in a design conversation happens, because there are usually more wants than budget, and part of the Homeowner Advisor’s job is helping you rank them honestly.
What Counts as a Wish?
A wish is the stretch item: the one that would be nice if the budget allows it after needs and wants are funded, like a heated floor or a built-in coffee station. Wishes are not thrown out, they are tracked so that if the project comes in under budget, or a future phase happens, they are already on the list.
How This Changes the Design Options You See
Because New Spaces builds a minimum of three design options for every project, the Needs, Wants and Wishes list is what keeps those three options meaningfully different instead of three versions of the same layout. One option might fund every want inside a tighter footprint, another might fund fewer wants but include a wish, and the differences map directly back to what you told your Homeowner Advisor mattered most.
Why This Matters More Than a Standard Design Consultation
A lot of remodeling companies start with a design consultation that jumps straight to layout ideas. New Spaces’ Homeowner Advisors start with the Needs, Wants and Wishes conversation specifically because skipping it is how projects end up over budget on things that turn out to be wants, while an actual need gets cut to make room. This structure is part of why over half of New Spaces’ business comes from repeat clients and referrals: the first project stays on budget because the priorities were set honestly before any design work started.
How a Homeowner Advisor Runs This Conversation
The Needs, Wants and Wishes conversation usually happens at one of New Spaces’ design centers, in Burnsville or Edina, and it is structured as a discussion rather than a form to fill out. A Homeowner Advisor asks what is not working about the space today, what would genuinely change how you use it, and what you have seen elsewhere that appeals to you but is not essential. The questions differ depending on the project: a kitchen remodel conversation focuses on workflow, storage and how the space handles daily life, while a whole-home or main level conversation covers how rooms connect and flow into each other.
An Example: Two Households, Two Different Lists
Two households in Eden Prairie planning a similar-sized kitchen remodel can end up with very different Needs, Wants and Wishes lists. One family with young kids might put durable, low maintenance surfaces and an eat-in layout at the top of Needs, with a beverage station as a Want and a built-in banquette as a Wish. An empty-nester couple in the same neighborhood might put an open sightline to a main level living area as a Need, a larger island as a Want, and a dedicated coffee bar as a Wish. Same project type, same budget range, genuinely different design options, because the list is built around the household, not a template.
Where This Fits With Your Budget
New Spaces’ fixed-price commitment means the design phase produces a real number attached to each option before construction starts, so a Needs, Wants and Wishes list is not just a conversation starter, it is what the pricing gets built around. If a design option cannot fund every Need within a reasonable range of your target, that gets flagged before you ever see a design drawing, not after. That upfront honesty is a large part of the “no surprises” experience New Spaces homeowners consistently describe, whether the project is a kitchen remodel, a basement remodel, or a full main level renovation.
FAQs
Do I need to know my needs, wants and wishes before the first meeting?
No. Most homeowners come in with a general sense of what is bothering them about their current main level, kitchen or layout, and the Homeowner Advisor’s job in that first conversation is to help sort those into needs, wants and wishes together.
Can a want become a need partway through the process?
It can, and it is common. As design options come together, something that started as a want, like a specific storage solution for a growing family, sometimes proves essential once you see how the space actually functions. The Homeowner Advisor revisits the list as the design develops.
What happens to my wishes if the budget does not stretch to them?
They stay on record. Many New Spaces clients return for a Phase 2 remodel specifically to pick up wishes that did not fit the first project’s budget, which is part of why roughly 30 percent of New Spaces’ projects come from repeat, multi-phase clients.
The Needs, Wants and Wishes process is the first real step in any New Spaces project, whether you are planning a kitchen remodel, a main level renovation, or a whole-home project across Burnsville, Edina, Eden Prairie or the rest of the Twin Cities south metro. See how it connects to the rest of the process on our design process page, browse recent kitchen remodeling and basement remodeling work, or look at completed projects in the project gallery. Ready to start your own Needs, Wants and Wishes conversation? Contact New Spaces or call (952) 898-5300.