15 things I wish I’d known before I renovated my house
telegraph.co.ukthe right location; we calculated that building into the side return and extending at the back meant we could make it big enough for our needs (we have three children); and, crucially, it was within budget, so we took the plunge, and embarked on a hefty renovation project.We had to do everything; and I mean everything.
Rewire, replumb, build, lay floors, add walls and doors, work out exactly where we wanted all the light switches to go. Also, we were on a budget – as much as I would have loved to call in a top-end architect and interior designer to oversee the whole thing, sadly that wasn’t an option.A year and a half later, and we’re finally in – marriage surprisingly intact, finances gradually recovering.
Would I do it again? Ask me in 10 years. In the meantime, here’s what I learnt.Right at the outset of the process, I signed up an architect friend, who has exquisite taste (Olivia Gordon) to do me a set of drawings for the house, with the idea that we’d then employ a builder to execute the work.
It didn’t quite work out like that, but the process was invaluable – she talked me through how we like to live and what we wanted from our home, what was crucial (a utility room) and what was merely desirable (a separate TV room got canned), as well as helping me to think ahead about what we might want to do in the future – for example, turn a large bedroom into two smaller ones, and create an en-suite.
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