Photo: Dey Alexander
It is every home owner’s dream to turn his or her house into a dream home – a welcome respite from the chaos of the external world. Undeniably, home renovation may take up a huge chunk of your time and expenses so proper planning and budgeting needs to be executed before the project comes to fruition. First of all, you should know exactly what needs to be altered in the house. Do you need to enlarge the dining room by knocking down the bedroom wall? Do you need to replace your furniture and kitchen cabinet? Do you need to engage the services of a tradesman? You also need to know the type of textures and colours you’d like to apply in your renovation process.
Prepare a budget spread sheet after consultation with the tradesman. This one-time consultation will save you lots of money as you’ll find out what problems need to be addressed and possible solutions around those problems. Conduct some research on prices of fittings and furniture by browsing the shelves of your local store. This way you can get a rough estimate of the renovation cost which will in turn help you to make adjustments or look for alternative ideas to save on your project.
Adopt the following strategies to save cost:
- Shop Around
Invest some time to shop around for supplies by visiting showrooms, hardware stores, factory outlet furniture stores and garage sales. Shopping around gives you the opportunity to obtain ideas for designing your home and use appropriate colour schemes as well as acquire quotations for hardware, fixtures and other supplies that should be incorporated in your budget spread sheet.
- Avoid upsizing
Most people think that bigger is always better but this is not always so. To create space, you don’t have to knock off the wall or rebuild. Instead, replace bulky stand-alone cabinets or wardrobes with wall-mounted ones or install concealed drawers.
- Reutilise furniture and materials
Instead of buying new furniture, give your sofa or display cabinet a new facelift through upholstering or repainting. Clean your old carpet and paint old doors for a new fresh look. Turn that old chest into a side table by covering it with a lace cloth or convert that redundant TV cabinet into a coffee table. The possibilities are inexhaustible. You can decorate your living room by giving old furniture or decoration pieces a new look.
- Do It Yourself
The ideal way to save money is to remove old fittings, paint walls and ceilings and assemble furniture parts yourself. Save on delivery charges by collecting the furniture parts from the store. Check out Bunnings (http://www.bunnings.com.au/) and Mitre10 (http://www.mitre10.com.au/) for a selection of DIY products.
- Avoid relocating plumbing and electrical sources
In the process of renovating, try not to relocate your gas stove or sink to a new area. The relocating costs of plumbing and electrical are high and can eat up a big slice of your budget. Plan your renovation around fixtures to avoid unnecessary spending.
- Off-season booking
Renovating your home can be more expensive than building your house from scratch. If you need the services of a tradesman, book his services in the off-peak season when the rates are low. Clinch a good deal through negotiation.
Turn your dreams into reality by converting your home into a blissful sanctuary without spending a fortune. By doing pre-renovation research on design, materials and colour scheme and adopting the above-mentioned strategies, it is possible to cut costs without compromising on quality. To avoid overspending and maintain your budget, include the smallest detail in your budget, from tap ware to paint and fixtures to extra labour costs. Trim off all the fanciful detail and opt for a clean, minimalist look for practicality and the best results in both outlook and budget.
