Home renovation guide

As the new year approaches, it’s an opportune time to prepare for renovations in the coming year. Whether you’re after a new look through a cosmetic makeover or have an allocated budget to improve your home, it’s important to know what kind of renovation can be achieved with different budgets. 

Some rooms require a bigger budget than others. Managing director Marc Reed from Candana Bathroom Ware says bathrooms can become costly due to the amount of trade involved.

“You have water-proofers, renderers, carpenters, cabinet makers, electricians and plumbers,” Reed says.

To keep the costs down when renovating a bathroom, you can instead replace the taps, shower heads and shower screens. 

As the most “used and abused” room in the house, Interior designer Jacinta Preston believes it is worthwhile taking your time to research and think about how you want to renovate your kitchen. 

Before embarking on a kitchen renovation, Preston recommends asking: How many chefs are in the kitchen? Who are you cooking for? How much storage do you need?

When thinking about a bedroom makeover, Preston recommends taking a big-picture approach in picking a style or theme. She says it’s in the bedroom where you can make “low-risk design decisions” and where a small budget can go a long way.

This Spring/Summer season, Interior designer Emma Blomfield says bright, bold and metallic accents are on-trend for lounge room makeovers. Aim for these trends when choosing colours for furnishings like curtains and cushions. 

Replacing your floorboards or carpet with a rug is one way to make a simple yet big-impact change to your lounge room. It’s “your opportunity to really inject some colour [on] the floors,” she says.

In an age where working from home is now common practice, there’s no excuse to have an ordinary home office and Blomfield says storage space is the key. 

Storage in your home office can be both functional and decorative. A floating self lets you stack books or add fresh flowers and photo frames to keep the room interesting for the long hours ahead. 

Here, we provide ideas for renovating your home with different budgets.

• Bathroom: Renovating your bathroom for under $10,000
• Kitchen: Jacinta Preston shares her tips for renovating a kitchen on a budget
• Bedroom: Renovate your bedroom within a budget
• Lounge room: Tips for renovating your lounge room for under $10,000
• Home office: Renovating your home office on a budget