Tips to help you survive (and enjoy!) a renovation or remodel
Before embarking on a renovation or remodel project you’re going to need to set your mindset for the project ahead.
The better prepared you can be mentally the more enjoyable the process will be for everyone!
Here are some of the skills you are going to need…
1: Be organised
The more organised you are, the better your renovation is going to go
Before you start your project make sure you have chosen everything you will need for the entire project including;
paint colours
tiles
fixtures/fittings for bathrooms/kitchen/laundry etc
appliances
flooring
joinery/cabinetry style and design
door furniture
lighting
The more decisions you’ve made up front the more smoothly your renovation will go
Having everything chosen before you start helps avoid costly errors or delays as well. Many people don’t realise how long wait times can be for certain items and you don’t want your project to stall because you haven’t ordered things in time.
2: Be decisive
You are going to have to make a huge number of decisions during your project
The more organised you are the less decisions you'll need to make “on the run”
But you will be asked for answers to questions almost daily and you will need to have decisive answers if you don't want to stall your project.
Seek advice from your designer if you aren't confident making a decision
Or do research online to help solve the problem - renovation/remodel Facebook groups can be great for this purpose!
You will need to be adaptable and be able to make quick decisions to help move your project forward
3: Accept that things are going to go wrong
Things always go wrong (or not to plan) during a renovation. You need to accept this is going to happen and be ready to change or adapt your plans to accomodate mistakes or things that you find as you start construction.
Have contingency in your budget for when things DO go wrong (because they will!)
When mistakes happen try and be balanced about how you deal with them - yelling and screaming at whoever made the mistakes isn’t going to help resolve anything and is likely just going to cause necessary stress and tension
4: Don’t overthink
Trust your instincts and good judgement - or seek advice from others who can help you with this (e.g. a designer)
Don't overthink your decisions - just do the best to make the most informed and best decision you can in the moment - there’s often more than one right way to go and you just need to decide on one and run with it
If you overthink decisions you will slow down your project and it will likely cost you more
5: Be realistic
Mistakes will happen
The project probably will take longer than you think
There are likely to be costs you haven't planned for
There are likely to be hidden problems you don’t know about yet
Make sure you budget in extra time and money for these inevitable issues that will arise!!
6: Be kind
If you are frustrated/annoyed at someone in your project it rarely helps to be rude or aggressive.
Keeping a sense of humour and perspective with those involved in your project will always pay off.
The better you treat your trades, contractors, designers and other specialists involved in your project the more likely they are to do a good job for you.
If a mistake happens come from a problem solving frame of mind - the mistake is now done, and can this now be rectified so the project can move forward?
Remember that most contractors, designers and trades are doing the very best they can and don’t want to make mistakes or do a bad job. But they are human - and humans make mistakes from time to time.
Keep things in perspective - this is a renovation project not a life or death situation
⭐️ MOST IMPORTANTLY - Enjoy the process! ⭐️
Try and enjoy your renovation process rather than find it overwhelming and stressful.
Remember you are lucky to be in the position to be able to renovate at all - most people in the world never get the chance to do this - so come from a place of gratitude
Document your renovation journey and create fun stories and memories that you can share with your kids and family in the future.
If you re-frame how you look at your renovation or remodel project as something fun, exciting and adventurous to embark on (rather than something stressful that you are dreading!) then you will be surprised how enjoyable it can be 🥳🥳🥳
Learn SketchUp with our fun online course for beginners…
If you want improve your work with design clients or you are about to start renovating or remodeling then you will love SketchUp.
With this software you can mock up an entire home in 2D (floor plans, joinery/millwork elevations, lighting and electrical plans and more) and 3D (renderings and perspective drawings) so you can picture exactly what it will look like when it is finished plus prepare your technical drawings for use with your clients, trades and contractors.
Learning SketchUp will save you time, money, mistakes and so much more! It is a well known piece of software in the interior design and architecture industries and will give you a solid technical drawing skill that will immediately upgrade the professionalism of the work you are doing.
I teach an online course for beginners that is focused specifically on using SketchUp for interior design purposes. We have had more than 10,000 students come through the course with so many fantastic projects designed and built!
We have all sorts of students in the course including designers and architects, cabinet makers, home renovators/remodelers, kitchen and bathroom designers, event planners, landscape designers and design enthusiasts.
To find out more about the courses we have on offer click the link below. And reach out if you have any questions I can help with :)
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
