In this episode, I’m going to be sharing with you how to really get yourself ready for your renovation or building project if that’s on the cards for you in 2019. NOW is the time to prepare properly, and so I want to help you get really well set up for a successful project so you can save time, money and stress, and get it right in your future home.
Sound good? So, let’s dive in.
SHOW NOTES:
In my experience, when homeowners start thinking about building or renovating, this is commonly what they do:

they jump online, perhaps set up a Pinterest Board or Houzz Ideabook, and start gathering gorgeous images of kitchens, living rooms, alfresco areas … a lot of aspirational photos of finished projects that look like what they hope they’ll have in their dream home
They really do try to nail and define their ‘style’ and put a name on how to describe it … be it Hamptons, or Coastal, or Scandi or something similar
They may get a builder around and throw a bunch of ideas and suggestions at them, to try and get an idea of price - which is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string
They can speak to friends and neighbours who’ve renovated or built, to see who they used and if they were any good, and what suggestions they might have
They might even get a few designers around, and pick their brains for ideas under the guise of seeking fees for their help
And I’ve even seen homeowners at this point look at colour schemes, flooring, tiles and Tapware and start collecting samples of things they like

Look, all of these things are definitely part of the process, but they’re not the best place to start. In fact, they can be a great way to waste time as you pursue ideas and suggestions that aren’t based in what’s possible for your project and budget - or what potentially suits you the best.
And they’re completely lacking any strategy that will streamline your effort, make your project more efficient, or less stressful as well.
Homeowners can spend years at this point. Often they’re waiting for the ‘right’ time in their lives … for a pocket of time to become available. Which if you’re like most busy, modern families, that doesn’t really ever happen. Or they’re waiting to have ‘enough money’, which is certainly useful, but if they haven’t actually established their budget, or got some concrete ideas of costs for their desired ideas, it’s a bit of a stab in the dark what ‘enough money’ actually is.
I could keep going on about what happens for homeowners in the time before they start their renovation or building projects. Many call it ‘getting ready’ but I feel it’s more like procrastination - or ‘procrasti-planning’ as I call it!
And it’s counterproductive because in the searching, the collecting of ideas, the desire to get certainty around what they want to do, what they want to spend, and how they want their home to be, there’s a lot of time wasted. Because they’re often doing it alone, or with well-meaning but poor quality advice from free Facebook groups, or fluffy websites online written by people without a lot of experience or expertise. Sitting up late at night, or scanning their phone on their commute, or at the park with the kids.
I think of the deliberation and research that first time mums put into purchasing their first pram or car seat, and yet fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants for their renovation or building project. I see women taking 12 months to plan a wedding - a one-day event that’s basically a very expensive party - and yet dive into renovating or building with incredible urgency and haste.
This may all sound quite harsh and brutal …
It basically comes down to this:
If you don’t know how to get where you’re going, how can you possibly expect to not get lost? How can you expect to know how to ask the right questions, choose the right people to work with, know how to ask for what you want, be sure you’re getting what you’re paying for, and reach the destination of your finished home unscathed?
If you have bottomless pockets and