When planning a home refurbishment, one of the things that scare people the most is the cost of it all. Changing the colour on the walls feels like nothing but when you add up the cost of possibly taking down some walls, changing your floors and windows or completely renovating the kitchen and the bathroom, prices add up. Is it even possible to save some money in the process? We believe it is and here are some of my ideas on how to do just that.
Stick to your budget
It’s by far the most obvious, but the hardest option at the same time. If you plan your renovation budget right, and it doesn’t necessarily mean cheap as chips, you will be less likely to go over the money you put aside for the project. Get a quote from a contractor you want to work with, calculate in all the materials that will be needed and plan for the furniture/accessories you want to get. Make adjustments if necessary and leave about 10% of your budget flexible, so when anything goes on sale and you previously thought about it being too expensive, you will have the option to change your mind.
Planning your budget should limit your unnecessary purchases to minimum, but remember that there are situations where you can’t just do anything but to spend more in order to properly finish the space.
There’s no rush
Rushing to get the renovation finished is probably one of the worst enemies of saving. Time is your friend and if you take yours to properly plan out the renovation, you will be able to save more. Don’t renovate everything at once, when you have to cumulate a lot of money for the project – doing it in chunks means you will be living on a construction site a bit longer, but as it’s spread over time, the project will cost you less. On the plus side, making your renovation last longer means you may be able to get some materials and decor on sale.
Do things yourself
DIY is a huge trend at the moment but it’s for a good reason – choosing to do some of the renovation yourself saves you a lot of money. You may not be able to put up drywall or feel comfortable laying tile, but there are many thing you can actually do even if you think you’re not handy enough. Best example? Wall painting. It’s not that difficult if you think about it – a paint roller, a paint tin and protection for you and your floors is enough to start the job and once you do start, it all goes smoothly and quickly without you having to pay anyone. And if the time is an issue, choose to do your painting on the weekend – it doesn’t take long and when the paint is drying, you still get a lot of free time.
You can also get a lot of benefits from working with a professional renovation company.
Reuse and repurpose
My last tip goes to all the people who love upcycling and can’t imagine throwing out a piece of furniture just because it’s old or doesn’t fit with the new style of the house. If you put your mind to it, you can upcycle almost anything and reuse materials a lot. Change the top of your table to a newer piece of wood, scrape and spray paint the existing legs and there you go – a new table for less than £100. You can even go as far as repainting the old table top and making it a workspace desk or cut it down to make some stools. There are so many possibilities.
Bonus tip: if you decide to paint most of your walls the same colour, it will be way cheaper to buy in bulk than choosing a different colour for every room and being left with half of each tin full at the end of the renovation.