3 costly mistakes to avoid if you’re renovating in 2024

You know that punch to the gut you feel when you realise you've screwed something up? 🥴

Sometimes when I remind myself of the costly errors Neil and I made when we first started in renovations... I feel sick to my stomach 😬

Because the reality for us is, we could have saved thousands and achieved a better finish in our house, if we'd followed the methods we follow now. 

These are some of the biggest mistakes which we now strive to help you and other renovators avoid:

Mistake 1: We overestimated what we could achieve with our budget

When we first got the keys to our 1930s property, we got so excited about the possibilities. We thought our £80K budget was massive and had grand plans to extend and do a loft conversion on the house.

But quotes came back and they stung! 😩

That wasn't the worst of it though...

We'd just paid £3.5K for architect plans only to be told we couldn't afford most of it!!

*Rips up the drawings* Literally!

Let me tell you, this expensive mistake shifted us into gear.

Large-scale renovation projects need essential investigation work before hiring professionals so you can understand feasibility.

We learned this the hard, expensive way.

The absolute worst thing that can happen for a reno project is for extensions and conversions to suck up so much of your budget that you have to heavily compromise the finishes.

You end up with a mediocre home after spending £100K+ which is a serious blow. 

It's so avoidable too.

The solution is to spend more time planning and budgeting, detailing your design, so that you're clear about the downstream impacts of large-scale initial renovation works. 

I go into more detail about how to prepare correctly in our free renovation guide for beginners.

It pains me to reflect on how much money we wasted back then, but at least I'm able to show students and clients how to approach their planning correctly because of it. 

Our renovation courses are the best place to access the same methods, tools and practical advice we apply to every project that guarantees results. But if you’re new to our blog and community, start with our free guide and you’ll learn a lot!

Mistake 2: Not exploring the "routes to build" deeply enough

There are many ways to build a team and manage your renovation project. It largely depends on 3 things: time, scope and finances.

We chose to run our project with one general contractor who did much of the work himself, bringing in specialist trades he trusted when required.

It was fine. We have a great relationship with him, he took a lot of work off our hands having to find decent subcontractors. He brought trusted trades into the project, and his fee was very reasonable.

But!! Having fewer hands on deck meant that our renovation was slow and stop-start. 

Now that I’m involved in renovations on a professional level and have more experience in projects, I look back and wish we’d have made "time to completion" more of a priority alongside "cost" and "quality".

With a team working full time, the disruption would have been ripped off like a plaster rather than dragging out over months. When I work with families in particular, I help them to get clear on what level of disruption they’re mentally and financially able for. I love this process in helping renovators work out what their priorities are. Every renovator and every project is different.

I wouldn’t have changed things for us back then, because we had a tight budget and our contractor gave us a fixed price on much of the work... 

But we work differently now.

For larger projects such as extensions, loft conversions and double-storey extensions, we provide students with an information pack to quickly identify the right route and team to put their trust in. We help students confidently get their work completed with the right methods, in a sensible timeframe.

Comparing contractor’s quotes is a whole other ball game you need to be ready for. Especially as there are some cheeky tactics some trades can try and pull. 

Again, we provide an information pack to students showing the red flags to avoid, as well as a useful tool to compare costs quickly and methodically ensuring you're getting the best price for the work you're having done. 

Mistake 3: We rushed into our bathroom design... and regret it!!

I haven't told anyone this story publicly until now and here's why. One of the lowest points in our renovation was during our bathroom project.

Neil and I were both working full-time jobs. It was long before my training as an interior designer. We had very little time to navigate this complex process alone.

We had a tight budget to get the bathroom done (only £7,000) and couldn't afford to outsource the design or project management. We had to manage it by ourselves while juggling work and life commitments.

Because the project started way before I do what I do now, I had no experience with bathroom finishes, layouts or materials. And no time to learn.

Looking back it was a recipe for disaster and it was inevitable that the choices we made were wrong because we were so squeezed on time with no experience.

The builders were due to come a-knocking and through teary eyes I chucked some designs together, designing on the fly – which is ALWAYS a bad idea.

We made errors with the paint choices. I painted one of the walls 3 times because I kept getting the colour choice wrong.

We chose to fit MDF tongue and groove panelling at the end of the bath which has proven impossible to clean over the years.

The floor tile grout is splitting because we didn't do our research on how to prepare a subfloor...

...we had leaks galore which damaged the ceiling beneath. 

It was a nightmare 🤯

Mistakes happen when you have limited time, knowledge and funds.

I know now that there are specific steps to take and knowledge you need before you start, which will halve your planning time, majorly reduce the stress and achieve a durable design that will last.

Our bathroom project completed in 2018 – mistakes were made

You can save yourself a lot of stress and rework. 

Years later, with interior design training and dozens of client projects under my belt, I'm clued up on bathroom layouts and durable materials and I have an organised approach to budgeting, sourcing and layout planning.

Thankfully all the errors I made back then are a thing of the past and I instil every lesson back into our courses 😅 But a tip I want to pass onto you today is...

Bathroom & kitchen renovations are the most technical spaces in the house to get right. If you’re new to renovating and designing rooms, start with less technical rooms like your living room or bedrooms to get some experience under your belt first.

Be smart and plan your project methodically too which will keep you focused despite having little time.

If you're in a pinch, I can show you the exact methods I use on all client projects (and they're the same tools and exercises I use in our own projects too). Just look at the online courses and you'll see how students are getting immense value from this approach too.

If the courses are closed, start with our free online renovation guide. It’ll help you figure out game-changing renovation info like costs, how to hire the right people and what order to do work in to prevent errors.

It's taken Neil and I years of experience and trouble-shooting mistakes but our mission over the last few years has been simple:

To help you and other new renovators prevent mistakes and build a home you feel unbelievably happy and proud of.

I'd love to support you through this mammoth project you’re about to start and show you the tools and exercises to practice, to make smart choices and get it right.  

Regardless of whether you plan on joining our online courses or not, I hope hearing some of our renovation mistakes helps you make fewer 🙏🏼

Take care,

Fi