So, you’re renovating in 2024?

I bet you’ve already been chatting about which projects you want to do first and how you want your dream home to look?

Neil and I are suckers for the ‘New Year, New You’ jingles 😆

But the thing is… now is a GREAT time to dream about what you want for your life and home next year, and put an action plan in place to make it happen – and that’s what this post is all about.

We’d like to show some ways to bring structure to your renovation plans and dream home ideas, to make it all less overwhelming this year. These are the same methods Neil and I take, to bring method to the madness!

Actions you can take in the next few weeks, to boost your renovation in 2024

Here are 7 ways you can kick-start your renovation in 2024. So you, your partner, and your family can enter into this stressful phase feeling clued up, confident, and clear about what you want to achieve.

1. Schedule in a vision boarding day

Whether you’re taking on a renovation solo, or with someone else, this is the first step you need to take preferably before the new year hits.

Find some space, load up on tea/coffee and snacks and dream about what you want to achieve in 2024.

Neil and I do this every December. We go to a cosy cafe in the countryside and have a huge brainstorm about how we want to develop our home, our business and our life. In an age where it’s hard to find headspace and time, with big aspirations, one of the most important things you can gift yourself is 1-2 hours of planning how you’ll achieve your dreams. You’ll start your project in an organised and aligned way, and you’ll feel clear about your vision.

A suggested framework for your meeting could be…

What would you like to achieve with your home this year?
Bring post-its and a notebook if you need to write answers. Decide on which projects, large and small, you’d like to get done with your home in 2024.
What skills do you need to hire or develop yourself to make your renovation projects a success in 2024?
Discuss who you need to hire to achieve these goals. Will you project manage your renovation? Or someone else? Will you design every room yourself? Or outsource it? Discuss the people and areas you need to get support with and form a to-do list so nothing gets forgotten.
How can you ensure your renovation project won’t get super stressful, mentally and financially? What will you put in place to prevent stress?
It’s easy to neglect this until you’re halfway into your project with rocketing costs and the stress is starting to boil over. But you can be proactive and put things in place to ease renovation stress on you and your family.
For example, discuss how you will phase your project. Can you slow it down a little to lower the discomfort? Can you factor weekend breaks or holidays into your renovation budget to ensure you get respite from the stress? What about renting options?
It’s a good idea to plan your year so that you’re out of the property at the stage it’s very hard to live in (i.e with no kitchen or bathroom). Also, discuss how you can maximise cost savings to prevent financial worries. This forms a huge part of the planning we do with renovators with via our online courses. We show renovators curveball costs to avoid as well as techniques to save money during renovation work.

2. Study the correct order to renovate in

When you’re renovating for the first time, it’s common to not know where to start. You just want to know what steps to take first. But believe it or not, this is probably the easiest task on my checklist for you because it’s something we explain to renovators day in day out through this website and our resources.

Use any downtime during twixmas and the New Year to learn as much as you can about renovations and how to successfully plan them. Renovations can get unruly so where you can, get help from experienced minds, professionals in the industry and other renovators.

When you know the typical order a renovation runs in, it prevents a host of expensive rework. It gives you priority areas to focus on one step at a time. And you don’t need to have the keys to your property to start this research. It’s exactly the reason why Neil and I started our interior design and renovation company, because we want to help first-time renovators get their hands on necessary information that will save them thousands and build their dreams.

You could start by getting access to our free Survivor’s Guide to Renovating if you haven’t already. Other renovators have joined our Renovation Online Course to skill themselves up before their renovation starts – enrolment is opening in early January to help renovators kick start their projects.

3. Brain dump everything that needs to get done, then prioritise

With every project we start (whether it’s life, home, or for our business), we always find that there's a ton of stuff swirling around our brains that needs to get done but it's initially quite chaotic trying to tame it all and understand where to start.

The best way we've learned to deal with this is by applying this method:

Step 1 - Have a meeting where you just brain dump everything that needs to get done, this can be in an app, or on post it notes. Try not to get too attached to the 'when' at this stage.
Step 2 - Review all the tasks and assign a priority to each item (high, medium, low)
Step 3 - Map out when each task will need to be completed in the next 6-12 months – starting with the priority tasks that need to get done. Try to avoid overburdening yourself by being realistic about what you can achieve. Also remember to factor in contractors, designers, architects availability. And crucially remember to plan in time for family, friends and holidays.
Step 4 - Now allocate owners to all of the tasks. If you need a little more motivation, set deadlines.

4. Schedule further meetings to check in/talk about your renovation as it’s progressing

So you’ve done a high-level planning meeting to decide on your vision for the year and who you need help from. To keep progress developing you may benefit from:

A time-boxed weekly catch-up to understand who needs to do what & when in that week
A quick 5-minute conversation each morning to discuss anything that needs to be done for the day over breakfast.

Neil and I use specific planning apps which we show students in our courses, and set calendar invites to help each other stay accountable and ensure balls aren’t dropped.

Oh… and we also have a fortnightly pub meeting which usually starts with the best ideas in the world and ends up with us having a 'heated debate' about some sort of contentious topic - it's healthy and honest! I couldn’t recommend it more if you’re starting a project with another person/people.

5. Start sketching layout possibilities

I mentioned in a recent post that a common mistake renovators make is not planning their design alongside their exterior/ architectural drawings. A holistic approach will always breed a more optimised design.

For example, when I work with my interior design clients, they more often than not, hire me after planning permission has been accepted or once work has started for their large conversion or extension. When I come to design their layouts, I spot things that could have been optimised for their interior layout during the early phase, such as the dimensions of their extension footprint, and measurements of internal walls or windows and doors.

This is why I ask students in both our online courses to spend a lot of time working on scaled drawings themselves, before hiring an architect. I show them easy techiniques to plan their layouts and get ideas on paper. I help students clarify what their dream layout looks like, while identifying and working around any limitations early on – which prevents a host of regrets and costly rework. It has even saved students money when they realise they can pull back the scope of some of their plans.

Obviously our courses are supporting them with other key areas like financing their projects, preventing costly mistakes, and ways to make savings. But this is just one action you can take to kick-start your project in 2024. And if you’d like to join a course, add your name to our waitlist for your chosen course because we’ll be opening in early January.

6. Begin your hunt for an architect

This is arguably one of the most important relationships you need to get right for your renovation. So make it a priority in early 2024. But remember! There is a whole host of preparation you need to do first which we explain in this post: Why you shouldn’t begin your renovation with an architect, do this instead.

7. Connect with other renovators like you!

We are always blown away by how supportive our Reno Club students are with each other’s projects. It never feels like you’re tackling it alone. And it’s so easy to get a temperature check on contractor’s prices or how to handle tricky situations.

The best way to learn anything new is by getting support from people who are a few steps ahead of you. Students are helping each other make big savings on their renovations and cutting through the complexities that come when you’re doing a fixer-upper for the first time.

So consider how you’ll build your circle of support this year. We’d love to welcome you to the community if you do decide to join our courses, but you could also consider setting up an Instagram account and connecting with other new home accounts there. Reach out. Build your network. Get the support you need during this stressful time.

Those are some actions you can take now which your future self will thank you for 😍

Best of luck with your renovation and I hope we can support you in the new year!

Fi and Neil

7 actions to take NOW that will skyrocket your renovation in 2024 🚀