Iâve witnessed most curveballs renovations can throw by now...
But this mistake still leaves me gobsmacked and heartbroken for renovators when it happens.
It piles on the stress during an already grey-hair-inducing project.
It heavily compromises the vision you had.
It leads to a lacklustre finish that looks rushed and rough around the edgesâŠ
What was supposed to become a warm, cohesive home that levels up your life, ends up feeling cold, unfinished, and uninviting because of this mistake đ«
And when youâre spending thousands on improving your home, you want it done right.
The mistake renovators make with their renovation costsđđ»
This will take some explainingâŠ
There are the smarter renovators. Those I work with. Budgeting for fixtures, fittings & furniture to a high degree of detail alongside their structural & labour budgeting.
If youâre doing this already, great đđ»
Iâve shared lots of newsletters in the past explaining why this is a crucial step. You need to detail and portion off enough budget for the improvements that make your house feel like a home. All the fixtures, fittings & equipment (FF&E) add up. And you need to ensure your budget is realistic to cover your reno costs end to end.
But hereâs the thingâŠ
What happens when your contractorsâ quotes come back over what you expected?
Or when work gets underway and nasty, costly unforeseen problems present themselves?
You end up faced with climbing costs you didnât anticipate, that even your contingency canât pay for đ«
So for a lot of renovators, this means dipping into their fixtures, fittings & furniture reserves to get the structural work completed and they take a hit on interior finishes.
Seems sensible. What other choice do you have? đ€·đ»ââïž
But when this happens, renovators can run into trouble.
To finish the renovation (without going enormously over budget, or getting into debt) you have to rapidly make compromises with your design which leaves your vision on shaky ground. It can compromise everything you started the renovation for.
Like needing to let go of that en suite or utility room because itâs no longer affordable to you. Or you can no longer afford to fit out the bathroom(s) and have to park it completely. Or you have to settle for poor-quality fittings because anything is better than nothing.
It can ruin the quality & vision you dreamed about and worked hard for.
Itâs heartbreaking đ
I felt enormously deflated when this happened on a client project last year.
We worked so hard to build an affordable design they adored. Everything was coming in within budget. Then work got underway and suddenly my client had to make big changes because the contractors had discovered something unwieldy with the roof, basically absorbing our whole design budget just to get it fixedđ°đ«
I felt so sad for them as it was completely unanticipated. But yeah, they could no longer afford the bells and whistles they originally started the renovation for.
The hard truth is⊠making sacrifices & compromises is common when youâre renovating.
until I found a solutionâŠ
How to get your dream home, despite funds dwindling
Now, you might be thinkingâŠ
âIf this happens on a lot of renovation projects, how come there are so many renovators on Instagram completing their properties to a dreamy standard? How are they doing it?â
Theyâre dreamy projects, arenât they? Theyâre doing as my clients and students do: forecasting costs in detail, being sensible with their project scope, and adding a healthy contingency. Some of the lucky ones wonât have been thrown unforeseen problems which can completely ruin budgets and they can press on.
Regardless though, if your project reveals unexpected costs, you need to swoop into action fast so that your FF&E doesnât end up looking low-quality and compromised.
The answer is my Vision First Method.
Since itâs unbelievably important to me that my clients adore their homes after spending half their life savings on it, I had to do something to prevent rising costs from threatening their results.
If this were to happen again for future clients;
I needed a way to focus their remaining budget on intelligent spending choices.
I needed a solution that balanced quality & finish, even if budgets were posing limitations.
The solution had to help my clients control their renovation costs from start to finish.
âŠand the results had to give them a home design that looked like no compromises were made. The dream home they deserve.
So I got to work and I roped Neil in for his skillsđ©đ»âđ»đ§đ»âđ»
I explained everything the method needed to achieve.
We scratched our heads for a long time â then we cracked it! A simple, fast & easy method that saves your renovation from being finished poorly when youâre up against tight budgets.
The Vision-First Method (& Calculator) was born.
Itâs a process to plan & procure more budget-friendly design finishes while retaining quality where it matters.
We started implementing the method in client projects, stress-testing it and⊠itâs getting clients incredible results.
The Vision-First Method can be applied to any renovation or home-decoration project, of any size and any budget.
It reduces the stress for clients when their money is rapidly decreasing because of rising construction costs.
It improves the quality of their finish despite having budget limitations, andâŠ
Itâs creating their dream home with far fewer compromises so that their initial vision is delivered.
Rather than running out of money, and being left with a space that feels unfinished, cold, and uninviting, their homes feel warm and finished to a quality standard, within budget. Their costs and design have been controlled from start to finish.
Neil and I rolled out the Vision-First Method to our online course students last year. It includes:
A full explainer video to show students how they should apply the Vision-First Method in their projects
A Vision-First Method calculator to accompany the method
A complete client example, showing how the Vision-First Method has been applied (including itemised renovation costings for the entire client project).
I know exactly how youâre feeling; youâve got a million different decisions to make, you donât know where to start and now youâre hearing me tell you about advanced design budget techniques. But thereâs no need to feel overwhelmed.
Our online courses & community have helped thousands of renovators feel more prepared for and in control of their projects.
Students are feeling more in control and getting beautiful renovation results with the support of the course methods & the community.
âHow can I plan for big budget curveballs?â
Renovations often throw curveballs, and a careful balance between cost, quality, and design is a must. For experienced renovators, it can be easy to foresee and prepare for challenges. For new renovators, itâs hard because youâve never done anything on this scale before.
Completing projects to a high standard with the money available can be made a whole lot easier when you apply tried & tested methods.
This is what Neil and I continue to develop for our clients & students. Weâre passionate about helping you achieve your dream home easily, despite any odds you face and we work hard to give our people the tools and advice to get you there. You can do it!
Hereâs the link again if youâd like to get access to the Vision-First Method and our entire suite of tools, resources and step by step classes to support you with your renovation end-to-end.
And just a heads up, our January Sale is starting soon when all of our courses & tools will be significantly marked down. Join the waitlist now to give your renovation the best chance of success.
Best of luck with your renovation project, weâre rooting for you!
Fi