About Bruce Irving

According to the New York Times and Newsweek, there’s a new service out there, designed to help people through the roiling, fraught, and ill-reputed waters of home renovation. We’re called renovation coaches, renovation consultants, even (as I’ve been tagged) house therapists and house whisperers. These sage news organizations even say I’m at the forefront of the industry–but I can tell you that I didn’t know I would be starting up anything other than myself when I redefined my life at age 45.

In 2006, a cash-strapped Time-Warner laid me off from my job of 17 years as producer of TV’s This Old House, the groundbreaking public television franchise they’d bought in 2000. During my 17 years, I’d moved from lowly production assistant to top dog executive producer, worked with three different hosts, helped launch three new sister series, won an Emmy, traveled the world in search of great building stories and, most importantly, worked alongside some of the greatest craftspeople in the country. I oversaw 33 whole-house renovations, standing in the middle of homeowner, architect, contractor, subcontractors, building officials, and materials suppliers, helping everyone work together and make the project a success. It was cat-herding, yes, but through it all, I couldn’t help but notice how crucial good communication was and how often peopleespecially homeowners–didn’t understand the many dialectsbeing spoken.

When it came time to look for a new gig, I think I surprised folks by not pursuing another job in television. I actually did have an offer from Martha Stewart to head up a new home-improvement show she was contemplating. But when I stopped and thought about itor more precisely, stopped and listened to my inner voice (more on that in a future article!)I knew that what I really cared about was the actual renovation of houses, rather than making TV shows. I wondered if there might be a market for unbiased advice, based on years of seeing things done correctly, directed at homeowners who wanted their renovations to yield a dream house rather than a nightmare.

So I posited a few scenarios:

You’ve been living in your house for quite awhile, compiling a list of things you’d like to do to it, but you don’t know how much the work will cost, who to hire, how to prioritize the list, or even if some of the projects make sense.

You’ve fallen in love with a house that’s for sale but want an opinion of it from someone other than the realtor or your Uncle Fred.

You and your significant other can’t agree on what to domove, build a master suite, put in a Man Cave for him and a new kitchen for herand you need an outside perspective from someone who’s not anglingconsciously or subconsciously–for either an architectural or construction job.

You’ve gotten so many conflicting pieces of advice from architects, builders, friends, and family that you’d give anything just to have a straight opinion from someone who’s got no skin in the game.

You’re taking on a big project but you simply don’t have the time or bandwidth to make your way through the some-15,000 decisions you faceyou need a companion, a coach, a details person who frees you up to enjoy the process rather than get eaten by it. You need a wedding planner!

And the more I spoke to people about this, the more positive feedback I got. I’ll never forget sitting in a Cambridge restaurant with a realtor, describing my idea, when a woman sitting next to us leaned over and said, Excuse me, but I can’t help overhearing you. I think you’re going to be very busy.This of course was great news to me, and I asked her why. She said she was a psychotherapist and that home renovations were among the top reasons couples, especially, came to see her. Why? I asked. Because renovation involves power, it involves money, and it involves decision-makingput them together, and you’ve got a combustible mixture.

Well, two and half years into Bruce Irving, Renovation Consulting,I know she was right. On top of all the logistics, aesthetics, finances, and disruption of routine, the amount of psychology involved in renovations is simply astounding. It’s been one of my greatest pleasures to have client couples tell me that I allowed them to work with, rather than against, each other. Similarly, single peoplemost of them womenfind it a great aid to have someone alongside them who has nothing but their best interests in mind, and someone who helps them get the best out of the people they’ve hired.

Home renovation has only become more complicated over the years I’ve been involved in it. The numbers are higher, the choices wider, and the voices involved more diverse. Women are more involved than ever beforeI find they make the bulk of the decisions. It helps to have a guide, a coach, an interpreteryes, even a therapist. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch should you have any questions about the services I offer. I charge $300 an hour for spot, problem-solving consults; once a job gets underway, many of my clients keep me on a monthly retainer. Visit www.bruceirving.biz to find out more.