2 Big Mistakes Homeowners Make When Renovating And How To Avoid Making Them

Buying an older, run-down home and renovating it is a popular choice for many Australian homeowners. It's a great opportunity to create a beautiful and modern home that meets all of your practical needs and aesthetic tastes. It's also an excellent way to increase the value of your property, particularly if you plan to sell it at some point in the future.

Renovating a home is a rewarding project, but it can also be difficult if you don't have experience. Here are two common mistakes that homeowners make when renovating their home and how you can avoid making them too.

1. Not creating an overall plan

The most successful renovation projects have a cohesive style that encompasses every room in the house. This isn't to suggest that every room have exactly the same colour scheme and materials, but there should be a unified and thematically similar feel throughout the home.

The best way to make sure this happens is to fully plan out your renovation prior to starting any work. This applies whether you're renovating your entire home at the same time or whether you're completing it room by room.

Having a solid plan also makes sense from a financial perspective. Without one, many tasks may need to be redone or amended, which can be costly and time-consuming, particularly when it involves structural work or work that needs to be completed by specialised contractors such as electricians and plumbers.

2. Spending big money on design fads

Like the fashion industry, interior design has its trends and fads which change regularly and often dramatically. A feature that is the height of style one year may become dated and passe a few short years later. To give your renovation project a longer lifespan when it comes to style, it's wise not to spend a lot of money on big ticket items that are expensive to replace.

For example, a bright red kitchen bench top may feature heavily in design magazines and websites. However, when red has had its day and a new colour trend has emerged, you may be left with a bench top that screams 'last season' and may negatively impact your home's attractiveness to future potential buyers.

If you want to include the latest design trends in your renovation projects, then stick to smaller features that are quick, easy and cheap to change. Paint colours, accessories and soft furnishings paired with major features in classic materials such as stone, ceramic and timber will create a modern yet timeless look that can be updated as frequently as you like.

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