5 Essential things for families to consider before starting a renovation while living in your home
Thinking of renovating your home but can’t afford to move out during the process? Renovating can be a great way to create a more functional space for your growing family, improve your home life and add value to your home—but can be a challenging situation to live in. Dust, noise, disrupted routines… it’s a lot- I’ve been there! As a working mum of 3 (plus 2 dogs) I understand what you’re about to embark on and want to help you prepare mentally and practically. Everyone will annoyingly keep telling you (while your dreading going home to wash up in your makeshift sink) “It will be worth it in the end!” And they’re right, but it’s not what you want to hear when your kids are moaning about sharing a room or your dogs are barking at the drilling while you’re trying to work! So, before you grab the paintbrush or call the builders, here are five things to keep in mind to help the process a bit more bearable.
1. Consider Your Family’s Routine
Routine is important for families- even if you aren’t a regimented schedule kind of family, you’re likely to have some daily rituals that bring you comfort and make you feel settled, and renovations can seriously throw that off- whether it’s your kids nap time or your poor pooch being disturbed by drills, breakfast time going from sitting around your dining table chatting to perching on the edge of a dusty chair after searching for a clean plate, or living out of bags and boxes because you’ve had to pack up your everyday items to move them from their usual home. It’s really worth sitting down and thinking through your daily rhythm.
Try to schedule major works during times when the impact will be least disruptive. For bigger projects, you might even consider staying with family or booking a few nights away during the noisiest or dustiest days. If you can manage some time away part way through it might just give you the reset you need to be able to carry on. Our daughters went to stay with grandparents and Aunties now and again throughout our renovation, which really helped them have a bit of a break. We also found a great day care for our dogs so if we knew the house was going to be particularly chaotic and noisy we’d book them in for a day or two.
If you don’t have much of a routine, maybe now is a good time to put something in place. The chaos might be easier to cope with if everyone knows what’s happening and when. Try to integrate some much needed predictability and calmness into your family life at a time when everyone needs it most!
2. Create a Zen Zone
When your home is a construction site it can be hard to relax, the work can seem never ending and this is even worse if anything delays the build. Try to create an area that’s completely separate from the worksite where you can retreat to and escape. Think about all of your senses when designing this, calming colours and soft textures (this can be created with throws and cushions, maybe a framed print or canvas that makes you feel good), smells that calm your senses (treat yourself to a candle, diffuser or some incense sticks), and a speaker or headphones so you can listen to your favourite playlist or podcast.
The items that make up your ‘Zen Zone’ may need to be packed away and moved to a different room as the renovation progresses depending on if the chosen room is being updated- have a box for this stuff so it’s easy to find should you need to pack it up for a short time. Take good care of this area- keep it clean and clutter free, shower before you spend time here and make it a space to unwind and clear your head without being near tools, loose nails, or freshly painted walls.
3. Planning is key
When you’re a young family, it’s tempting to plan everything around your current needs—but don’t forget to think ahead. That built-in toy storage might be great now, but will it still work when the kids are older and don’t own as many toys? Think about what will be stored here in the future, aim for flexible, family-friendly design choices that will grow with your children: clever storage, and adaptable layouts will be essential as your family evolves. Try to research, visualise and plan the finished result as much as you can before speaking to your builder, especially in the renovation involves plumbing and electrical work. You’ll need to know where you want pipes and sockets before that stage of the project and if you make this decision last minute and under pressure things can end up in the wrong place- I’m speaking from experience here!
If you feel overwhelmed at the thought of trying to plan everything out get a big scrap book and divide it into sections for the different rooms or areas you need to plan. You’ll be able to staple in notes, do big drawings of built in furniture or floor plans if you need to and you can go back to it and add or change things if you need to. Speak to your builder about the order of work and timings, this will help you prioritise. Your builder will also be helpful in advising how to use the budget, there will be certain things that are worth splashing out on like door handles, buy cheap and they’ll loosen and fall off really quickly! And other things that aren’t so important or can be bought cheaply and changed at a later date like light switches and ceiling roses. If your budget is maxed out get these in the cheap white plastic and change them once you can afford something fancier!
4. Expect the Unexpected
Even with the best planning, renovations often come with surprises, whether that’s delivery delays, tradesmen needing time off or financial emergencies that mean certain parts of the project have to be pushed back—there are all sorts of things that can prevent it going to plan and that can be stressful when you’re juggling life without a functioning home. Build in a little extra time, try to budget for the “what ifs,” and go into it with a flexible mindset (Prepare for the worst, hope for the best!).
If you can, have a backup plan for when things go off-track. If you’re given a deadline for something, bear in mind the date could shift and don’t make any concrete plans. Check with family and friends to see if anyone’s willing to have visitors for a short time and make a note of people you can call on should you need them. Research plenty of options when you’re choosing things like tiles, flooring, wallpaper, etc. This way if there’s a long delay you have some options if you don’t want to wait. Unless you have an unlimited budget you will probably find yourself weighing up pros and cons and compromising on some choices. We really wanted underfloor heating but after a while with no heating downstairs at all it got to the point where we preferred to get some nice radiators than wait until we’d saved up for the heating. The same thing happened with our flooring- we got a much better deal on the flooring we ended up using than my dream flooring I’d had written down in my scrapbook but when you’re living in chaos and dust somethings become less important over time and you just want it done!
5. Get involved (Where You Can!)
Find out if there are any little jobs you and your family can do to help move the project along or keep it running efficiently. If you have children, depending on their ages they may be able to help out with certain things. There might be materials you can source and order, tidying up you can help out with or prep you can do to make the tradesperson’s job easier. I get that your paying someone to do the job and depending on your own job and family commitments you may not have the time for this or want to, but if you’re in the house anyway and you can pop some packaging in the skip or mist coat a wall then why not speed up the process! If this isn’t possible just make sure you look after your tradespeople. Humans that are greeted with warm welcomes, fed and watered are happy to come to work and almost certainly more productive!
Final Thoughts
Having work done on a home you’re living in can be a nightmare, but with a bit of planning, flexibility, and a lot of patience, you can create a home that truly works for your family. It might be messy in the moment, but if you can get through it will be so worth it when you’re sipping coffee in your dream kitchen instead of eating dinner on a camping stove next to the paint tins. Hang in there—future you is already planning the housewarming party and promising never to renovate again!
