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Side Effects of Undergoing a Renovation

The day of your renovation has finally come. The team of builders and carpenters have arrived at your home and all the months of planning with your designer have come to an end and it’s officially GO time with the major building works (which may last months depending on what you are having done). In this blog post, we have listed some side effects of undergoing a renovation project that you may not have expected and corresponding solutions.

1. Extending the renovations

The goal of the renovation was to upgrade your kitchen. As the renovation is slowly starting to take form, you realise you want to redo the bathroom too… and the hall… and maybe even the study… An issue that many renovators face is that once they renovate one section of the house, it looks visually disconnected to the rest of the house. Though extending your renovation will mean you will need a bigger budget than what you planned or anticipated, it may be more cost effective to do it all at once than hiring teams for smaller/separate projects.

Solution: Practice acceptance. It is easy to get carried away and get inspired to want to renovate everything at the same time. Give some thought as to whether what you want to be renovated is practical or worth dipping into your savings again.

Beautiful kitchen with white cabinets and grey stone benchtops

(Image Source: Mustang Gallery)

2. Comparing your house to other people’s houses 

It is perfectly acceptable to take inspiration from your friend’s houses or even poke around on Pinterest to see how others have redone their kitchen or bathroom. However, this activity can induce stress and panic when you start wondering if your plans and designs are really that great. Signs of this obsessive behaviour include requesting exact shade names from friends or strangers on the internet and analysing your friend’s kitchen light fittings when you go visit them.

Solution: It’s totally normal to obsess over other people’s ideas and homes, as you will be sinking thousands of dollars in this renovation project, you want it to be perfect right? Though, if your renovation has started, you need to remember that there are a million and one ways you can decorate and finish any room. You need to be confident in your own decision and not let someone else’s layout derail your plan. Who knows, maybe one day someone else will be looking at your renovation and using it as inspiration!

Large kitchen with white custom kitchen cabinets

(Builder / Image Source: Distinctive Homes)

3. Changing your mind

This is something that is super common and can be quite daunting, leaving you awake in the middle of the night. Did you really mean to pick a bright red splashback against your matt black cabinets? Do you love the shade of grey you have picked for your tiles or should you have gone up one shade?

Solution: The best way to go about this is to ensure you have completed thorough research into everything you have chosen. From the product reviews to the colours to the builders- you want to be 110% certain on your choices to minimise these thoughts. As the popular engineering one-liner goes: “You can fix it now on the drafting board with an eraser or you can fix it later on the construction site with a sledgehammer.” Another tip is to visit many showrooms and display rooms so you can have a feel of the layout and see how it will turn out.

Modern kitchen with marble stone splash back and island bench and white cabinets

(Image Source: Claremont Gallery)

4. Wishing you arranged other living options

Living in a home undergoing renovations can be quite annoying. Noise, dust, reduced water/heating/kitchen area is enough to drive anyone up a wall. Not to mention your privacy is slim to none during this period. Though understandably, many of us will have to live in the home for the duration of the project and those blessed enough with spare funds or generous family members, may decide to move into an Air BNB/hotel or camp out in your parents spare guest bedroom to escape the building works. 

Solution:  The phrase, “this too shall pass”, is particularly relevant in this circumstance as this situation is only temporary and in the grand scheme of things, it is a minor bump in the road. What are a few months living out of your parent’s basement for a newly renovated room that you can enjoy for the decades to come?

Large open kitchen space with white custom kitchen cabinets and grey stone on an island bench

(Click here to read the full article on Houzz by Cheryl Freedman)

If you are thinking of renovating your kitchen, bathroom or any room in your home, contact us here at Character Cabinets and we can help you work within your budget to design your dream renovation project! 

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