5 things I would do differently if I did another home renovation project

It’s been nearly three years since we started our home renovation – there’s always things to do with a house and the list of jobs is never ending, but I’m getting the itch to do another project. Everyday I walk past this rundown house in a neighbouring street, in need of some TLC. I imagine what it’s like inside and all the things I would do to transform it into something that’s beautiful.

In a reflective mood, I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learnt from doing up a house for the first time. Doing a renovation project is a complete learning curve and it’s normal to make a few mistakes along the way. It’s all part of the process!

I’ve also dug out some renovation shots from the archives, prepare for bright feature walls and some terrible iPhone shots…

1. Doing things properly vs. a quick, easy fix
When you start a project, you’re so keen to get everything done quickly so that you can enjoy the space, that it’s easy to speed through decisions. It’s much harder in practice, but renovation projects require a lot of patience. You have to focus on the bigger picture and not just the immediate impact of how something might look. Rather than rushing into things, there’s something rewarding about taking a slower approach, so that you can make more considered decisions that will work for you in the long-term.

As they say, if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. There’s some areas of our home that we did quickly and to be honest now they look like a bit of a bodge job. We patched up some of the old lining paper in the hallway and painted over it, where we could have plastered it smooth for instance (it’s now about 50% polyfilla…).

I always think if you don’t have the inclination or motivation – to do that DIY job or paint a wall – don’t do it because you’ll just do a half-hearted job. You’ve got to be in the right frame of mind.

But sometimes you might not have the budget to do certain things properly on a renovation project; to hire a proper joiner, to re-upholster a chair or buy that designer piece of furniture. Sometimes it’s worth waiting it out. It took us three years to finally tile our fireplace and we’re still saving to get the wood burner fitted.

2. Engineered wooden floors vs. white painted floors
Although my white painted floors look beautiful and make the space feel bright and airy, I find them a right pain to maintain! Some people like the rustic, bohemian look that shows wear and tear, and the patina of time, but I (quite unrealistically) want my white floors to stay pure and white. As we don’t wear shoes in the house, our stairs have lasted really well without too many scuffs and scratches. But, with a dog and lots of coming and going, it is the kitchen and living room that takes the most battering. To keep them at their best, we need to ideally give the floors a fresh coat of white paint every year or so. The paint can chip at the edges of the boards, furniture can leave scrape marks and the colour can slowly dull and yellow over time. I’ve tried a few different brands of paint and have so far found Ronseal’s Diamond Hard floor paint to be the most hardwearing.

Painting the original floor boards was an affordable way for us to decorate our home – we could do it quickly ourselves with just a paint tin as an expense. But if I were to do it again, I would invest in engineered wooden flooring. Engineered wooden flooring has a lovely, clean, high quality finish that brings a smart, timeless feel to a space. The natural grain of the wood brings a sense of warmth and tactility underfoot – some varieties have a rough sewn finish that brings to mind the texture of original floor boards. There are lots of options on the market, not just your traditional mellow orange-hued boards – from whitened oak to grey matt lacquered ash. It also offers longevity – engineered wood flooring can always be sanded down and re-oiled over the years to bring a fresh look.

3. Invest your money and energy with one focus – kitchen vs. bathroom
Often with a renovation project, unless you have an unlimited budget, you have to prioritise where you’re going to spend your money. You can’t always do everything at once.

It’s worth thinking about how you will use your home in the day-to-day and what you want out of it. When we started doing up our house we chose the kitchen as the main focus of our spending and efforts. Having had a small galley kitchen in my previous apartment, I was keen to have a flexible open-plan space where we could cook and entertain. Somewhere that could become the hub of the home.

But if we did another renovation I think I would make the bathroom the first investment. Since moving in three years ago we haven’t touched the bathroom – it’s a cold, uninviting space and not somewhere you want to spend time in. I dream of a calming retreat where I can have a nice, relaxing bath. And if you do the bathroom first, you always have a clean space to escape to when everything else gets messy.

4. Knowing when to call in the professionals vs. doing it yourself
You can go into a renovation project wanting to do everything yourself but it’s good to know your limits. Painting and putting up shelves is easy but I’ve also taken the heavy bathroom door off and filed off the bottom to make it close properly, I’ve changed a part at the back of the oven when it broke down, I’ve fixed the springs in the dishwasher when the door wouldn’t hold open (thanks YouTube!). But when I tried to fix something in the loo cistern and suddenly water was spraying up onto the ceiling, I made a promise to leave electricity and plumbing to the professionals.

It’s true that you can save money by doing the low skill jobs yourself. I’ve never hired a decorator for something I could do myself. Sometimes we just can’t afford it. Other times I’d prefer to spend that money on something else – a nice piece of art, a beautiful object. But also because I actually like doing the painting during a renovation project – I get a tremendous sense of satisfaction at the end. I find it quite therapeutic to put on a podcast, get my head into a task away from my screen or laptop, and transform a room over a weekend.

It is worth paying for skill though. I sanded and painted the floorboards downstairs by myself, but when we got the stairs and landing done by a professional sander, we noticed the difference in finish. Simply put, they’d done a much better job. And it’s lasted better too.

If you do hire in a professional, make sure to keep an eye on them! I wasn’t in the day the builders put the pendant lights over the dining table. They’re not central to the dining table and they’re hung way too high – it bugs me every time I go into the kitchen.

5. Function vs. appearances
It can be easy to jump ahead to the finishing touches when really you might need to be thinking about more mundane, but essential, things like damp proofing or your soil pipe. Before you buy that lamp, that cushion or guest towel, I’ve learnt it’s important to get the foundations right first.

As well as the end vision and design concept, you’ll also want to think about how a space functions. In a bathroom, is there sufficient lighting for you to be able to see to put your make up on in the morning? In the kitchen, is there enough storage space? When the dishwasher is open can you get around it? Is there a smooth journey between the sink, the hob and the fridge? A design can look beautiful but if it doesn’t work for you day-to-day you can start to grow frustrated with it.

Function will serve you in the long run, helping to create a timeless space that can evolve with you. You can easily re-style a room, move the furniture around or bring in some new accessories, but creating a space that is easy and intuitive to be in will stand the test of time far beyond aesthetics.