Renovation Guides
Renovating
Room by Room: Experts on Ways to Avoid Common Renovation Blunders
From the kitchen to the garden, and all areas in between, experts identify common mistakes and share priceless insights
As a renovator, one of the most valuable things to know is what not to do. Here, we visit each room in the house, and canvas the professionals who specialise in designing and building these spaces in order to share the best advice on scenarios to avoid, important aspects to take into consideration, and clever ways to work with the people you hire. It’s valuable information, honed from years in the field and decades of real renovating experience.
Bathroom renovation mistakes
Do you know the usual sequence of a bathroom renovation? Not getting the order right is one of the biggest blunders. Typically, it should go like this: demolition, then plumbing, waterproofing and painting/tiling, followed by the installation of new fixtures and fittings.
And, while the order of these may vary depending on your project, experts agree that what is of fundamental importance is having a timeline agreed upon with your professional and constantly referred to.
Of equal importance when it comes to the aesthetic of the space, is a golden nugget of advice about the order in which to choose fittings and fixtures for your bathroom. Dive into this, and other important insights in the story below.
Pro Panel: Biggest Bathroom Blunders
Do you know the usual sequence of a bathroom renovation? Not getting the order right is one of the biggest blunders. Typically, it should go like this: demolition, then plumbing, waterproofing and painting/tiling, followed by the installation of new fixtures and fittings.
And, while the order of these may vary depending on your project, experts agree that what is of fundamental importance is having a timeline agreed upon with your professional and constantly referred to.
Of equal importance when it comes to the aesthetic of the space, is a golden nugget of advice about the order in which to choose fittings and fixtures for your bathroom. Dive into this, and other important insights in the story below.
Pro Panel: Biggest Bathroom Blunders
How to lay out a living room
Sometimes we have to question our natural instincts when designing a space.
Interior designers say a common pitfall when people set up their living rooms is to push furniture to the outside edges of a room. Think a sofa along one wall and facing armchairs along the opposite wall, with a coffee table stranded in the middle where no one can reach it.
Instead they advise to move the furniture deeper into the room and set up conversational zones to instantly make your living room feel cosier and more welcoming.
And then there’s rugs and how to choose them. For this and more timely advice, see the story below.
Pro Panel: 8 Common Styling Blunders You Don’t Want to Make
Sometimes we have to question our natural instincts when designing a space.
Interior designers say a common pitfall when people set up their living rooms is to push furniture to the outside edges of a room. Think a sofa along one wall and facing armchairs along the opposite wall, with a coffee table stranded in the middle where no one can reach it.
Instead they advise to move the furniture deeper into the room and set up conversational zones to instantly make your living room feel cosier and more welcoming.
And then there’s rugs and how to choose them. For this and more timely advice, see the story below.
Pro Panel: 8 Common Styling Blunders You Don’t Want to Make
Where to start with a bedroom makeover
Again, you may gravitate to the aesthetics and mood of your bedroom as your first port of call when redecorating or redesigning the space. But interior designers and decorators emphasise how important it is to start with substance over style.
They will typically drill down to what you really need by asking questions such as: if there are two of you sharing the room, does one of you get up earlier than the other? Would the sleeping partner prefer not to be disturbed? Do you need a dark room for sleeping because any sliver of light will keep you awake? Or do you prefer to be woken up by the early morning sun? Do you spend a lot of time in bed reading before you nod off to sleep?
Who would have thought? For more surprising considerations, click on the link below.
5 Things Your Bedroom Designer Needs to Know
Again, you may gravitate to the aesthetics and mood of your bedroom as your first port of call when redecorating or redesigning the space. But interior designers and decorators emphasise how important it is to start with substance over style.
They will typically drill down to what you really need by asking questions such as: if there are two of you sharing the room, does one of you get up earlier than the other? Would the sleeping partner prefer not to be disturbed? Do you need a dark room for sleeping because any sliver of light will keep you awake? Or do you prefer to be woken up by the early morning sun? Do you spend a lot of time in bed reading before you nod off to sleep?
Who would have thought? For more surprising considerations, click on the link below.
5 Things Your Bedroom Designer Needs to Know
How to get your landscape design right
Q: You want indoor-outdoor flow and scenes from your garden to be visible when you are inside your home. How are you supposed to accomplish that?
A: Landscape design experts say the first step is to ask yourself if the opening you have planned is big enough to allow multiple people to walk through comfortably. Then, from a furniture-placement perspective, think about whether there any hazards in the way, such as a large dining table that people have to manoeuvre around.
It’s this kind of design thinking that will make your home seamlessly blend into your outdoor area, both functionally and aesthetically. For more important landscaping insights, read the following story.
Pro Panel: 8 Indoor-Outdoor Blunders You Don’t Want to Make
Q: You want indoor-outdoor flow and scenes from your garden to be visible when you are inside your home. How are you supposed to accomplish that?
A: Landscape design experts say the first step is to ask yourself if the opening you have planned is big enough to allow multiple people to walk through comfortably. Then, from a furniture-placement perspective, think about whether there any hazards in the way, such as a large dining table that people have to manoeuvre around.
It’s this kind of design thinking that will make your home seamlessly blend into your outdoor area, both functionally and aesthetically. For more important landscaping insights, read the following story.
Pro Panel: 8 Indoor-Outdoor Blunders You Don’t Want to Make
Joinery design tips
Savvy renovators will be pleased at this golden nugget from a kitchen joiner: “don’t be fooled by fancy finishes!”
Sometimes the more expensive and glamorous options aren’t the best ones. When it comes to performance and upkeep, luxurious materials such as solid timber and marble are often second best to many of the newer, high-tech materials on the market – and these cost considerably less.
For suggestions on material swaps that help your budget, function well and look the part, read on.
A Kitchen Joiner Reveals: 3 Things I Wish My Clients Knew
Savvy renovators will be pleased at this golden nugget from a kitchen joiner: “don’t be fooled by fancy finishes!”
Sometimes the more expensive and glamorous options aren’t the best ones. When it comes to performance and upkeep, luxurious materials such as solid timber and marble are often second best to many of the newer, high-tech materials on the market – and these cost considerably less.
For suggestions on material swaps that help your budget, function well and look the part, read on.
A Kitchen Joiner Reveals: 3 Things I Wish My Clients Knew
Tiling defects you’ll want to avoid
There is the joy of choosing tiles… then the consequence-laden decision about who will lay them. And the risks of the latter range from your floors not being watertight and having drainage issues in wet areas, through to cracked, uneven and lifting tiles. Then there’s the knowledge that incorrectly installed tiles can be verrrrry expensive to repair or replace.
To learn the fundamentals of how to choose your tiles, then how to select the right person to lay these gems, please take note of the knowledge contained in the following link.
Renovation Insight: How to Choose a Tiler
There is the joy of choosing tiles… then the consequence-laden decision about who will lay them. And the risks of the latter range from your floors not being watertight and having drainage issues in wet areas, through to cracked, uneven and lifting tiles. Then there’s the knowledge that incorrectly installed tiles can be verrrrry expensive to repair or replace.
To learn the fundamentals of how to choose your tiles, then how to select the right person to lay these gems, please take note of the knowledge contained in the following link.
Renovation Insight: How to Choose a Tiler
All things structural
We would be remiss if we didn’t include the overall building of your new home or renovation in this guide. This is the fundamental structure of your home and possibly the biggest expense of your entire project so it’s important to start right.
One of the primary pieces of advice from a builder when it comes to planning your renovation? Know the difference between cheap and realistic building quotes. There is such a range of quality of build – and quality of attitude – when it comes to how builders work and put quotes together. Our expert likens it to buying a car; to really know if the price is right, you need to trust the sales person and have an understanding of the calibre of the car you’re buying.
For more valuable insight into what you need to know and what to avoid, dig into the story below.
A Builder Reveals: 3 Things I Wish My Clients Knew
We would be remiss if we didn’t include the overall building of your new home or renovation in this guide. This is the fundamental structure of your home and possibly the biggest expense of your entire project so it’s important to start right.
One of the primary pieces of advice from a builder when it comes to planning your renovation? Know the difference between cheap and realistic building quotes. There is such a range of quality of build – and quality of attitude – when it comes to how builders work and put quotes together. Our expert likens it to buying a car; to really know if the price is right, you need to trust the sales person and have an understanding of the calibre of the car you’re buying.
For more valuable insight into what you need to know and what to avoid, dig into the story below.
A Builder Reveals: 3 Things I Wish My Clients Knew
How to find sustainable architects
We applaud and encourage all renovators to make environmentally ethical choices for long-lasting value for themselves and the next generation. But what does it mean to hire a sustainable architect? And are they all that different (or more expensive) than a garden-variety one? Importantly, will you end up with a mudbrick home and numerous wind chimes?
The answer is no, you will not. But what you will get is lower energy bills, minimal waste and fewer nasty emissions from a home that is energy-efficient, comfortable and affordable, using the principles of passive solar design and featuring sustainable materials.
To pick your way through the minefield of what to look for when hiring this important professional, read on.
Renovation Insight: How to Choose a Sustainable Architect
We applaud and encourage all renovators to make environmentally ethical choices for long-lasting value for themselves and the next generation. But what does it mean to hire a sustainable architect? And are they all that different (or more expensive) than a garden-variety one? Importantly, will you end up with a mudbrick home and numerous wind chimes?
The answer is no, you will not. But what you will get is lower energy bills, minimal waste and fewer nasty emissions from a home that is energy-efficient, comfortable and affordable, using the principles of passive solar design and featuring sustainable materials.
To pick your way through the minefield of what to look for when hiring this important professional, read on.
Renovation Insight: How to Choose a Sustainable Architect
What to look out for when talking to your architect
When we say garden-variety we don’t mean to be flippant; in all seriousness, the architect you hire for your new home – or the new version of your existing home – will be your most important person in your renovation journey. They possess creative vision backed by priceless practical knowledge and a network of trades to help you realise your dreams.
In order to help you appoint the best person and inform yourself of the process we asked Clinton Cole of CplusC Architectural Workshop (one of Australia’s most successful practices) for his golden nugget. His response:
one really important question a client should always ask their potential architect is how many of their projects have never seen the light of day. The alternative is to check their websites for unbuilt projects – that is generally a dead giveaway.
To find out why, and learn how to read contracts, see this story.
An Architect Reveals: 3 Things I Wish My Clients Knew
When we say garden-variety we don’t mean to be flippant; in all seriousness, the architect you hire for your new home – or the new version of your existing home – will be your most important person in your renovation journey. They possess creative vision backed by priceless practical knowledge and a network of trades to help you realise your dreams.
In order to help you appoint the best person and inform yourself of the process we asked Clinton Cole of CplusC Architectural Workshop (one of Australia’s most successful practices) for his golden nugget. His response:
one really important question a client should always ask their potential architect is how many of their projects have never seen the light of day. The alternative is to check their websites for unbuilt projects – that is generally a dead giveaway.
To find out why, and learn how to read contracts, see this story.
An Architect Reveals: 3 Things I Wish My Clients Knew
Best advice for renovating in Australia and New Zealand
One phrase you need to become familiar with at the very start of your renovation journey is ‘order of works’.
If you’ve decided to project manage a kitchen or bathroom renovation yourself, it’s vital to know the correct order in which things need to be done. You need to know which materials need to be on-site and when, and at which stage the various trades are required. Labour is a huge expense in any renovation, so the last thing you want is tradies standing around with nothing to do because the tiles haven’t arrived or a crucial piece of work hasn’t been done.
And this is just one of many things to avoid as you embark on what may be the biggest and most important project of your life. So take the time now to read our story on the top renovation situations you need to avoid… and the remedies to these potential muck-ups.
Pro Panel: 8 Reno Blunders and How to Avoid Them
One phrase you need to become familiar with at the very start of your renovation journey is ‘order of works’.
If you’ve decided to project manage a kitchen or bathroom renovation yourself, it’s vital to know the correct order in which things need to be done. You need to know which materials need to be on-site and when, and at which stage the various trades are required. Labour is a huge expense in any renovation, so the last thing you want is tradies standing around with nothing to do because the tiles haven’t arrived or a crucial piece of work hasn’t been done.
And this is just one of many things to avoid as you embark on what may be the biggest and most important project of your life. So take the time now to read our story on the top renovation situations you need to avoid… and the remedies to these potential muck-ups.
Pro Panel: 8 Reno Blunders and How to Avoid Them
Your turn
What is the biggest blunder you know of, and one you want to warn other potential renovators about? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
For more guides on how to renovate, take a look at How to Work With Each Professional in Your Renovation Journey
What is the biggest blunder you know of, and one you want to warn other potential renovators about? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
For more guides on how to renovate, take a look at How to Work With Each Professional in Your Renovation Journey
If you’ve ever heard of the term ‘false economy’, you should know it’s particularly relevant to decisions involving a new kitchen. When faced with budget constraints, renovators often save by choosing inferior, and often unseen, hardware such as pull-out corner units, drawer dividers, runners and door hinges. But kitchen design professionals warn against this mindset saying that, in the long-run, this equipment can make the biggest difference to your kitchen, boosting its storage potential, and making the space far more pleasant to use.
Experts agree this comes under the broad scope of putting function first. Renovators often get caught up in the aesthetics of the design, forgetting about the practical side of things, which can result in a kitchen that’s less functional than it ought to be. For more important insights, read the article below.
Pro Panel: The 8 Biggest Kitchen Blunders