From the obliger to the know-it-all: The eight renovating personality types

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“A renovator’s delight”, some houses are described as – but would your personality be described in the same way?

It’s true that some people are more suited to taking on the daunting task of renovating than others, but anyone can give it a go. Just be aware of the habits you need to keep in check.

Which personality type are you when it comes to renovating?

The indecisive one

“Which roof colour do you want?” the builder will ask, handing you a chart of dozens of colours. You have no idea where to begin, so someone helps you out: “I think one of these two would work well.”

Still, you shrug. How can you decide? What if you make the wrong choice?

Finally, you reach a decision: the grey one. Yes, definitely the grey one.

But wait, maybe the green would be better. Yes, definitely the green.

Hang on …

You’ll drive everyone mad, to be honest.

The know-it-all

If you think you know your way around a hammer better than your builder, it’s best to keep that to yourself. If you don’t, you’ll get a reputation as a know-it-all and that’s going to get under everyone’s skin.

That renovation might end up being really slow and very over budget if you keep telling the tradies what to do.

The obliger

If you’re an obliger, “yes” is your favourite word, or at least the word you can’t stop saying. If your builder suggests it might be easier for him to put a window in there instead of here, you’re likely to just go along with it so you don’t cause waves – even if it you’re really against the idea.

The obliger should have another renovating personality type alongside them during a renovation, to help throw out the occasional “no way”.

If you’re The Indecisive One, you will have no idea where to begin. Photo: Simon Potter

The easygoing one

A bit like the obliger, you’re likely to say “yes” to everything. But it’s not because you’re a pushover or a people pleaser, it’s just that you really don’t care.

There are way more important things to worry about than whether the tiles are rectangular or square, so you’ll tell the tradie to do whatever they think will work best. And the tradie will love you for it … at first. Eventually, they’ll realise that you’re actually just as bad as The Indecisive One, and the tension will begin.

Then again, you won’t really notice that either – or care.

The renovation nerd

Some of us like to be on top of everything, especially when it comes to the big-ticket items in our lives like renovations.

We’re the ones (and yes, I include myself in this category) who will have lists upon lists for each room and each stage of the renovation, accompanied by a spreadsheet that’s updated daily. We have all the tradies organised to the minute, and if anyone asks how the renovation is going we can give them a blow-by-blow update.

Tradies don’t seem to know what to do with us: they can’t get away with anything when we’re around, yet they love that we’ll have an answer to their next question before they even know they’re going to ask it.

The bad ass

Do you strut around life with a bit of a bad ass attitude? Well, that might be how you approach your renovation, too.

You’re likely to try some new, daring approaches to your home because, well, why not? If an idea pops into your head, you’re going to try it, and even the builders can’t convince you otherwise. In fact, the more they try to persuade you, the more you’ll rebel against their wishes.

Good luck with that.

If you’re The Renovation Nerd, you will have lists upon lists for each room and each stage of the renovation. Photo: Stocksy

The early adopter

If you’re an early adopter, you’re a mystery to many tradies. They look at each other like, “Why would they want to do that?” Yep, you probably thought concrete made a great internal floor 20 years ago when everyone else was scoffing at the idea.

For that reason, you should probably give your builders a heads-up before signing the contract; you want someone who is willing to go with your ideas rather than find them strange.

The full of questions renovator

When you were little, you were the kid who asked your mum “Why?” a hundred times a day. Now, you’re still filled with curiosity – and that’s a great thing.

Unless, of course, you stand in the shoes of the builder who’s just trying to get their job done while you stand beside them asking what they’re doing every five minutes.

Be prepared to get thrown off the site – even if it is your own home.