Are you dreaming of renovating your entire house? Or perhaps you only want to transform one room? Maybe you’re considering building from scratch but feel overwhelmed about where to start. Fear not! We're here to guide you through the essential steps you need to take to turn your renovation dreams into reality. Whether you’re transforming one room or a whole home, the process is the same. Let’s take a look…

1. Dream and Define

With every one of our projects, we spend quality time upfront carefully creating a master plan. If you are clear on your intentions from the start, your reno will run so much smoother and quicker. So, before you even think of swinging a hammer, take some time to dream big and define your vision. What's your style? What do you want to achieve with your renovation? How do you want your home to look… and how do you want it to feel? We like to capture both of these things on a vision board. Creating a vision board for your reno is an awesome thing to do because it helps you get super-clear about what the end game is.

When the going gets tough, it will also keep you feeling positive and focused about your end goal. Ask any Three Birds student and they’ll tell you how much we love vision boarding. Here’s how we do it.

2. Budget and Plan

Once you have a clear vision, it's time to talk numbers. You’ll need a rough idea of how much you can afford to spend on improving your home, even if it’s just a rough ballpark at this stage - $5k, $50k or $500k? There’s a good chance you’re not sure how much that money will buy you, and that’s totally fine to start.

Next, you will write up your wish list! Sounds fun, doesn’t it? We make it easier by separating this into two lists - ‘must-haves’ vs ‘nice-to-haves’. And try to sort these into priority order. This will become your draft Scope of Work to provide your trades to quote on. The quoting process can be done via a third party, such as an architect, interior designer, builder or kitchen company. Or, you can do it yourself by briefing tradies and cabinet makers to get quotes and compare prices on all the work.

Chances are once you receive the quotes, your priorities may change and some things will have to drop off your wishlist. But hey, that’s just the reality of renovating! Once you go through the quoting process, you’ll be able to set a realistic budget that includes a buffer for unexpected costs - believe us, they always arise.

Then, map out a plan and timeline for your renovation. This will be your roadmap to keep things on track and on budget.

3. Get the Necessary Approvals

Before you start knocking down walls, check if you need any permits or approvals. This could include building permits, Council approvals, or strata permissions. For smaller renovations, you might not need these but it's better to be safe than sorry!

4. Assemble Your Dream Team

Renovations are a team sport! Whether you're going to DIY the whole thing as an ‘owner/builder or hiring professionals, like we do, make sure you have the right people on your team. Look for reputable tradies who are willing to get on board with your vision and have the skills to bring it to life.

5. YOU’RE Reno READY! It’s GO TIME…

With your plan in place and approvals sorted, it's time to start the renovation! Whether you're doing a full overhaul or a cosmetic update, take it step by step. Your reno may be quick, or it may take months to complete. Hopefully, it won’t take years!

This is our favourite part, where all the action happens! Although it can be fun, you might feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of decisions you’ll need to make, let alone the tradie-lingo and the pressures of your budget and timeline. Your prior planning will help you BIG TIME here! Our Reno School students love the support of the Facebook Community at this time to help them navigate this minefield.

6. HOORAY FOR HANDOVER!

Reaching the end of your reno is a BIG moment. You’ve been dreaming of this milestone for months, perhaps even years and now you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. ‘Handover’ is a really important step and putting in a bit of effort to do it well will pay off in the long run. That’s why we dedicate a special lesson on this topic in our Reno School.

Before you send your builder on their way, make sure you’ve done a full walk-around of the job together to ensure everything has been finished to your standards. If you can’t bear the thought of cleaning up the mess yourself, get some professional cleaners in. And don’t forget to get all the official certificates from your builder, plumber, electrician, etc. – these documents confirm the work has been done to the required standards.

7. STYLE & ENJOY!

Once the dust has settled, it's time to style your newly renovated space and celebrate your hard work!

Styling is what takes your renovation from good to great. It's a way to showcase your unique style and make your space truly yours. But it’s the step that gets lots of people second-guessing what style they actually like… and whether they have the skills to pull together a look they love.

The good news is that styling is a skill that can be learned! In Three Birds Styling School we teach you how to create a unique style vision for your home and how to make sure all your furniture and homewares pieces work together to create an amazing feeling, the moment you walk through the door.

If you’re ready to jump into the renovation process, we take a deep dive into these steps in our online course, Three Birds Reno School. You’ll get all the tools, templates and support you need for your renovation journey.

If styling is more of your jam then, check out our Three Birds Styling School. We’ll teach you everything from colour theory to furniture plans. We’ll teach you how never to regret a styling purchase again!