All at once or bit-by-bit? How to tackle your home renovation

If you’re considering renovating your home or investment property, you might be wondering whether to do it all in one go or whether to chip away at it over time.

Of course, getting it done all in one hit can be preferable; mainly to minimise the inconvenience a renovation can cause. But renovating over time has its advantages too. The most obvious reason being that financially you can stretch your costs over a period of time without needing all the money up front. Renovating area-by-area can also work well for families or for properties you don’t want completely out of action for too long.

The problem with renovating your home over time is that it can end up looking that way. Unless your reno is pre-planned for the entire home before you begin, the risk is that you’ll end up with a look that isn’t cohesive. Good renovation design and flow generally only happens when the modernising of your whole home is considered and planned right at the beginning.

I’ve seen many examples where homes renovated over a period of time appear a jumble of design styles. The kitchen; reminiscent of one year, the bathroom reminiscent of a few years later.

The contrast of design styles is even more apparent when the height of the fashion trend is used in each room. For example, the style or pattern of tiles, the taps or the colours.

Another compelling reason to pre-plan your renovation is because it’s a great way to keep your spending under control. If you can plan from the outset what you are going to do to your home and how much it’s going to cost (even if only an estimate of costs) that is a good way to avoid your renovation spiralling out of control, which often happens when renovating over time.

The problem? It’s likely you’ll over-capitalise on your property without even knowing it. Add that to a possible assortment of incompatible design styles and you can see why so often the renovation dream doesn’t quite go according to plan.

Many of my clients renovate over a period of time. In fact, I still have a client from nine years ago calling me periodically for advice on the renovation they started back then! I also have lots of clients who renovate all in one go. Both strategies work equally well as long as the pre-planning phase is done well.

My top tip? Create yourself a “Renovation Action Plan” that details what you are going to do in each room and how much those things are going to cost. Articulate your ideas as clearly as you know how and make sure your design gives a cohesive feel to the property so that it flows.

Head to my website for a sample that you can use as a template.

Jane Eyles-Bennett is renovation mad and has been a professional designer for 23 years. She was a renovation designer on the TV series Property Climbers, winner of several interior design awards and design consultant to over 600 property owners in the past nine years.

Have a renovation or design topic idea? Contact Jane at jane@hotspaceconsultants.com or via her website.