Tips for a Timeless Renovation on a budget

When renovating on a budget, it’s important to consider which areas you should prioritise.

Maybe your current living situation is not very permanent, but you want to make the most of your space while also considering resale value. Or maybe you have big plans but your budget doesn’t cover everything – so you want to make some changes now that last. How do you avoid having to redesign your home every year? How do you achieve a timeless renovation?

We’ve put together some design tips to create a timeless design for your home – that eliminates the need for a yearly redo. Do you have a budget and want to know what to prioritise? Check out our suggestions below…

Plan, Plan, Plan

Our key advice for when undertaking a renovation is to plan and organise everything first. It’s easy to get carried away with the excitement of a renovation where you want everything to be finished in 3 weeks - we see it first-hand every day! Rushing unfortunately often leads to mistakes however, which can be very costly. If you aren’t working with a project management team, make sure you keep an updated spreadsheet of all your costs, lead times, timeline and second-fix materials to help reduce the likelihood of surprises occurring along the way.

If you are due to undertake a full renovation in stages, make sure you have a clear overall time-plan, where fundamentals like structural changes, electrics and plumbing are considered from the beginning of the project. Opening-up finished walls once work is complete to fit or replace missing, broken or extra fittings such as power sockets is expensive and disruptive.

Prioritise Layout

As you look through potential future homes online, you may notice that many older homes have small boxy spaces that are missing a smooth transition from space to space. The more modern, open plan homes are now sought-after. Many of us love to socialise and gather in our homes, so you may consider opening-up between two rooms, allocating a sensible portion of your budget for potential structural work to do so. Following the pandemic, people are also looking at ways to utilise their spaces better and make them more functional, so are more likely to look at how they can adapt existing spaces to reach this goal.

Invest in Kitchens and Bathrooms

We recommend allocating a large chunk of your budget to fittings for your kitchen and bathroom(s). Replacement of internal tapware fittings is very expensive as it involves removal of tiles and internal plumbing work, then retiling – why strongly recommend investing in quality tapware for this reason. Kitchens and bathrooms can sell your home for you as potential buyers/tenants won’t feel as though they will have to spend additional cost to renovate these themselves. Clean lines for cabinetry, shelving and joinery will create a timeless and contemporary design for years to come.

Incorporating natural materials will also help to create a timeless and elegant room. Consider investing in real wood or stone flooring – if your budget is tight then introduce these materials into smaller areas such as a bathroom floor or entryway. Additionally, by choosing a neutral tile for these areas, you can bring a little drama to the space with a bold paint choice as it’s much easier to repaint than remove and retile when you fancy a change.

Colours and Patterns through Soft Furnishings

Soft furnishings are your best friend when it comes to introducing a variety of colours and patterns into your home. You can add as much or as little as you’d like, you can update these regularly at a minimal cost and, if need-be, you can replace them easily (although here at APM, we are incredibly passionate about sustainability and reusing and recycling!). By using more neutral and timeless colours on your walls, you create an excellent canvas for both you and future homeowners – don’t think you have to paint your entire house white though!