MEET KAREN! SHE LEARNT “DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT.”
BY LANA
Step inside the reno of our gorgeous graduate, Karen Childs from NSW.
Busy Mum of 3, first-time renovator, self-confessed perfectionist and new follower of Lana’s mantra “done is better than perfect.”
“The Reno School gave me the confidence to enjoy my renovation journey. Renovating is hard and can be overwhelming, but it was a big privilege to be able to create my dream home. The Three Birds helped me find and define my style. I’m no longer indecisive about my design choices.”
Tell us about yourself.
We had dabbled briefly renovating, making over a small residence in a motel, but that was totally different to this reno of our dream home. Our home is heritage at the front so we needed to stay sympathetic to that, while adding an extension and a second storey. In the end there was practically nothing we didn’t touch.
BEFORE IMAGES
What made you sign up for the Reno School?
I’d heard about Three Birds from friends and when I started following I loved their vibe and fun spirit… as well as their style. I signed up for The Reno School when we were in the final stages of planning our reno. Even though we thought we'd already done all our planning, it was good grounding for the project to start the course from the beginning to make sure we hadn't cut any corners.
What is the BEST thing you learnt?
If I had to choose the BEST bit, I’d say the Bathroom module. I loved the specific details on recommended layouts, the measurements between utilities and how awesome a bath looks centred under a window. I did that in our bathroom!
Learning how to create and refine a vision board was also invaluable. It’s really interesting looking back on my first Pinterest pins and seeing how far the whole project evolved. With the help of the Birds I was able to find my style and stick to it and I’m no longer so indecisive, which means I’m happy with my choices and have minimised the things I’d want to change about the end result.
KAREN'S VISION BOARD
And the best tip you’d give OTHERS?
Get in, do it and enjoy the journey! It can be totally overwhelming at times, but when I look at our finished home now I’m just so proud that we did it.
IS THE Reno School Facebook group ALL IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE?
The Reno School Facebook group is one of the biggest ongoing benefits of the course for me. It’s great to be able to discuss my project with like-minded people who are equally as obsessed about renovating. I think my friends are secretly glad that they don’t have to listen to me talk renovations anymore!
I used to mainly browse other students’ experiences and questions but now, with my own reno under my belt, I feel that I can actually help others by answering questions too.
Did you REALLY read ALL THE RENO SCHOOL CONTENT?
I read it all! I watched all the videos and read all the bonus info too – everything was so helpful to what we were doing, so I knew it was worth taking the time to go through it all.
I found the budget template really good. It had so many details in it that I wouldn’t have thought of adding myself. I used it to track our spend the whole way.
WHAT SUPPLIER DISCOUNTS DID YOU USE?
I’ve just put in the claim for the Caesarstone cashback and I’m thinking that will be a nice to chunk of cash to spend on some Zanui products! It’s great that the offers are ongoing because I haven’t totally finished styling our home so I’ll keep using them down the track. I’ve got my eye on a Byron Bay Hanging Chair too.
Anything else?
I think the Facebook Live chats in The Reno School group deserve a special mention – they build some great interaction in the group. They are so lively and fun and it’s great to hear the Three Birds answer your questions live.
