Planning to repurpose an old home? Doing an entire home renovation or just a section is no easy feat but can be rewarding in the end, whether you plan to flip the house later or live there with family.
While every home is bound to experience wear and tear at some point, remodelling the right way can make a house last for years without any extra retouches. Incorporate these nine tips into your renovation to get the best out of the project.
Have a Plan
The number one mistake most people make when renovating their homes is not having a clear plan of action from the get-go. This results in time wastage among other costly mistakes down the road that could’ve been easily avoided.
A plan doesn’t mean everything should be figured out, but you do need the basics. Your plan should include aspects such as whether you need to hire professionals to help with the work and who you’ve got booked, when each part of the work will be undertaken (are you tackling things room by room, or all at once?), any tools you need to acquire for the job, details of an affordable skip hire company to take care of the rubbish and plans you have for the interior design colour and style.
Having a plan makes the process stress-free, so you can enjoy the project. Remember you don’t need to hatch the entire plan at once and can amend it as you need to, but it will help you be more organised to have a plan from the outset.
Set the Groundwork
This is the first step of the renovation, and it involves examining all the house systems before you can begin any construction. The main purpose of this exercise is to address any pre-existing issues within the home before painting or adding wallpapers.
For an accurate picture, you’ll need a house inspector to assess the home’s existing systems. These include problems within the plumbing system, electrical system, or heating. Once the groundwork is over, you can focus on more substantial renovation projects without worry.
Mix the Old and New
Renovating a home involves more than just buying new stuff and placing it inside the home to look good. The right balance comes from having new, must-have pieces and old to complement each other.
So, before getting rid of the old items that may seem invaluable to you, think of how you can mix them up with new objects for a special touch. You’ll need to channel your inner style here and bring back sentimental pieces, especially those old family heirlooms.
Besides, having a blend of old and new items is a creative way of making your house suitable for all occasions – formal and informal.
Consider all-round Renovation
Most people who plan their renovations only focus on the three primary areas – the living room, bedroom, and kitchen. However, renovating a home means renovating all available spaces inside the home.
The hallway, for example, is one of the central areas for footfall and traffic, but still often the most ignored places during a renovation. An all-inclusive renovation ensures the outcome is uniform since all areas get some special work done on them.
Just make sure this remodelling is within your budget since more renovations cost more money.
Paint
Paint is an underestimated tool when renovating a house. If you ask most interior designers what the first step to renovating is, they’ll tell you to repaint your house. Why is this? Paint does more than add colour to a home. It can amplify a room and make it look larger, highlight a specific area inside the home and create a calming ambiance.
What’s more, painting doesn’t have to be done on the walls alone. Areas such as the ceiling look the best with a fresh coat while some of the old furniture could benefit from a paint job too. Just make sure not to limit yourself to solid paint colours, and instead explore varying patterns, gradients, and textures to keep things interesting.
The best part about painting is you don’t require any professional assistance but just a few tutorials online, and you can DIY.
Know your Proportions
This is one of the less talked about renovation tips that actually makes a lot of sense. It implies that wrong proportions can make a home feel like it’s missing something even though it just got a do-over.
For this reason, items and especially the furniture in a home after renovation should be of a proportionate size to the house. This, however, doesn’t mean a small house should have numerous small pieces of furniture distributed across the entire place. Instead, proportionate means having the right size but still leaving enough room to move around.
For example, in a small house, having one large chair instead of a small cross-sectional seat in the house makes it more spacious and comfortable. Just make sure not to buy too big items again since they may occupy all the space. Use these room planning tools to help ensure you get the proportions right.
Utilize All Spaces Available
The secret to renovating an old home is making sure all the available unused spaces are utilized to the maximum. If you do an analysis of your old home, you’ll find there are gaps and spaces that could play key roles in designing a home.
Think about the space left between a kitchen cabinet and the wall or the empty space above your bookshelf. Although they may seem insignificant, such spaces could be converted to create more storage rooms in the house.
For example, the space between the cabinet and kitchen wall could be used as a place to store wine, spices, or cutting boards.
So, if you’re planning to get new furniture for your home as part of the renovation, ensure to utilize all the dead spaces around.
Be Mindful of Trends
Trends are like a fresh breath of air because they give old designs a new twist but they never seem to last that long. If you’re on Instagram, Pinterest, or follow interior décor magazines, you probably come across many new trends all of which catch your attention.
However, one thing about momentary trends is they always end up losing taste and so you may be permanently stuck with designs you hate. It is especially painful if you paid an arm and a foot for the said pieces since you’ll have to get rid of them at a throwaway price.
The safest way to keep up with trends is going for timeless pieces, especially those that are expensive and can’t be swapped easily. Afterwards, you can experiment with the different types of trends that come and go with smaller pieces that are easily swappable and won’t be missed.
Accessorize Appropriately
Accessories always come last because they’re meant to complement the already existing style and colours. Since they’re the icing on the cake, accessories need not be too expensive but instead thoughtful pieces to give your home that finishing touch.
The type of interior accessories you choose will largely be determined by the kind of vibe you want to set. Do you want your home to look elegant, cosy perhaps? The decision you make will influence the accessories you’ll get, whether artwork, decorative pillows, or vases among other items.
Only make sure that the colour scheme in your home is cohesive and remove any accessories that ruin the final image. Think critically about the accessories and the message they send before settling on one.
Conclusion
Renovating an old home is always an exciting experience since you never know how the finished product will look until the end. The best renovations are those that start with a basic plan of operation so each day can have its specific duties. Use these tips to execute the perfect renovation that will add value and style to your home.
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