Home renovation ideas for anyone with a small budget and happy with the DIY approach, will find some beaut tips to help get them started. Whether you are renovating an ensuite or bathroom, totally replacing that worn out kitchen or just thinking about sprucing up the rumpus room, you will find some helpful tips on how to get inspiration by reading on.
One of the obvious places to start looking is probably something you have done already. On the telly! Yep Australia is renovation mad right now and there is a plethora of TV shows to choose from, when considering how to get some great motivational ideas for your home renovation project.
If you are into longer term projects and typically looking at whole home replacement, then the ABC’s remarkable program called Grand Designs Australia is the one for you. If however you are less ambitious, then the one that springs to mind has to be, wait for it, yep you guessed it – “The Block”. This one show has captivated an entire nation and for good reasons. Due to the competitive nature of the series, renovation teams are set the task of remodeling a house or apartment and their work is put up for critical analysis by the show’s main 3 judges.
What makes this style of show, a show stopper (yes pun intended there), is the fact that what someone thinks is good design, may not in a general sense be everybody’s cup of tea.
Time and time again, we witness the shattered hopes of the contestants, as the tough judges tear apart their handiwork. So we can take away from this a very good lesson when it comes to renovating, especially if you are doing it with the scope of resale down the track, and that is simply, don’t settle for the first thing you see in a renovation magazine. Get other people’s opinions when you highlight a bunch of top designs in the mags you are browsing and see what the rest of the family think about what you are proposing.
Every home is made up of normally more than one individual, so there is a lot at stake when you are designing a solution that fits all walks of life, so to speak.
If you are considering a substantial renovation, where walls are to be taken out completely, it is vital to consult with a structural engineer or builder, to determine if the wall is a main supporting structure for the home. Knowing what can and can’t be removed before you get your sights set on a room design, is going to help alleviate those headaches that will come at some point in the project, so it is best to plan ahead before falling in love with any one design first.
Removing walls and stripping out old baths, cabinetry and shelving can be a messy business, so it always good to have help here. (shameless plug to follow). One Two Dump can help out and keep your budget in tact by making weekly trips to the tip for you. Our team can pickup anything that your house renovation repeals out on to the lawn, the driveway, into the neighbours yard (whoops, that happens sometimes) and get it out of the way of trades people who charge by the hour. You can’t afford to slow down those guys and gals, otherwise it is going to cost you more in the long run.
So keep the site clean of any refuse, rubbish or renovation materials that can’t be used or recycled and ensure a smooth workflow for all involved.
So make sure you do your homework first, before getting all excited about your renovation project. Talk to lots of people – stakeholders (those who are going to live in the space), builders and engineers to keep your plans realistic to your budget and make sure you get the help you need when all the exiting rubbish needs hauling. Do this and you will be miles ahead of the completion even if you are not on The Block, you can bet that your neighbours are going to be doing something similar in the not too distant future, even if their name is not Jones.