10 Home Renovation Tips (for DIYers & Beginners)
In October 2021, we toured and fell in love with this 110-year-old cottage in Texas, and since closing on the house earlier this year we’ve poured all of our energy into renovating and restoring it into a place to call home. If you guys have been following along you know I’ve been taking on the majority of the renovation work myself with the help of Romeo and my amazing Mom and Dad. We’ve saved a TON of money so far by doing most of the work ourselves while also learning A LOT about the renovation process along the way.
Today, I’m going to be sharing 10 Home Renovation Tips with you guys and, also, some things I wish I knew before we bought a house!
No. 1 Have A Plan
Having some sort of plan (any plan!) is the most important part of a home renovation big or small. This came somewhat naturally to me as a planner and a “to-do” list maker, but I was still overwhelmed by it all. There are so many things that need to be done in a home renovation that “dividing and conquering” needs to be your new motto in life.
Here’s how we started:
Inspect what you have: how are the roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, and damage?
Determine the dream outcome for the house: envision a direction you want to have for your house.
Plan to make it happen: create a “Make It Happen” list and figure out what are the beginning steps needed to turn your house into your dream home.
No. 2 Create A New Floor Plan
There are a lot of things to keep in mind when starting a renovation project like figuring out which walls are load-barring and how to keep the integrity and character of the house while also making it functional for modern living.
Here are some tips on how I started my floor plan:
Measure: take scrap paper and roughly draw out the walls of each room. Measure every wall, opening, door, and window.
Draw out the house as-is: Using graph paper draw the house with the measurements you took (exclude wall depths at this stage). Tip: each small square = 1 foot
Start to reimagine spaces: Once your initial layout is drawn, you can start to imagine the flow you want for your home. Then, a new floor plan can be drawn to reflect your new ideas.
No. 3 Find Inspiration
When I’m searching for inspiration I look for two things: Vibe & Details.
Start by finding a photo of a space you really like and dissecting what you like about it and how the vibe or detail can be incorporated into your renovation.
Pinterest and Instagram are great resources to grab inspiration from, there so many great designers and creatives out there! As I’m scrolling, if a picture of a space or a small detail catches my attention, I will immediately save it!
Watch my YouTube video on how to define your decor style HERE.
No. 4 Permits & Who To Call
Did you guys know there are so many people you have to call when you buy a house?? Here’s who I had to call to get up and running:
Electric Co.
Water Co.
Gas Co.
Home Insurance
Telephone/Internet
Trash pick-up (this one was a shocker to me lol, back in LA I didn’t have this problem, lol)
Before you start doing work on the property you need to get all the proper permits. This is different for every county in the United States and even more different for those of you that are international. I started by calling the county development office here in Texas to get all the information and permits we needed.
No. 5 What To DIY vs. Hiring Out
You guys know I’m the truest form of a DIYer. I LOVE to try and learn new skills because there is no better feeling in the world than creating something yourself! BUT just as much as I am an advocate for “you can do anything you set your mind too” I’m also a person that likes things done right and I don’t like to cut corners.
When it comes to what you can DIY vs. what you should hire a professional to do it’s really based on what we are capable of doing “right”.
For our renovation project, I am absolutely certain that I will be hiring out for electrical, plumbing, building the addition, and the fireplace. Other than that, I’ll likely be DIYing everything myself.!
No. 6 How To Tell A Contractor What You Want
If you are going to be hiring a contractor to help with the renovation you have to tell them what you want.
This is where a photo tells 1000 words. I put together photos, inspo, and sketches for my contractor of exactly what I want the finished project to look like. In my inspiration photos I called out what I liked about them, I added measurements and even the smallest details so they knew exactly what to build. If you’re particular about design like I am… OVER COMMUNICATE, double-check as the work is being done and call out if some things are not right.
No. 7 My Go-To Tools & Saftey Gear
My tools have gone to WORK since we’ve bought this house. Here are all things you’ll absolutely need to have a successful reno:
Half Mask Respirator (to avoid breathing harmful things when demoing)
Goggles (or glasses to protect your eyes)
Earplugs (hammering in a confined space gets LOUD)
Big Crow, Baby Crow, Tiny Crow (Crow Bars aka “The Crow Family”)
Thick Sole Shoes (you will step on nails! Thick sole shoes will protect your feet and prevent any injuries)
When you being to build, you’ll need:
No. 8 Set A Budget
Setting a renovation budget can be tricky and it really comes down to what you’re comfortable with.
To be completely transparent, we don’t have a concrete budget for our reno BUT I do have a ballpark amount per sq ft that I would like to stay within which is $100/sq ft.
If you’re tackling a renovation project like us where you are doing much of the work yourself, you can save a lot of money. The only thing you have to accept is things move a little slower and you’re gonna be REALLY tired .. so make sure to take time to rest and recharge.
In addition to doing some of the heavy liftings yourself, here are some other tips to keep the budget down:
Identify where the load-bearing walls are so you don’t have added structural investment.
Keep bathrooms and laundry close together so you can save on plumbing expenses.
Salvage as much as you can from the house so you can reuse it in a creative cost-saving way.
Find items second-hand and refinish or transform them to work in your space.
No. 9 What To Save vs. Donate (or Trash)
This will vary from house to house and maybe even on personal style but we aired on the side of saving EVERYTHING that we possibly could to reimagine back in the house. So far, this has helped with our budget, saving the character of the home, and reusing what we can so we don’t create more waste.
Saved: wood, studs, trim, beadboard, shiplap, wainscoting baseboards, doors, windows, wood floors, siding, brick, and the toilet! Even my parents took the fridge and washer/dryer.
Donate/trash: carpet rugs, curtains, appliances, cheap bathtub & sink and the hot tub!
No. 10 What I Wish I Knew
I’m not sure I really knew what I was getting myself into when I got this house BUT, I wish I’d mentally prepared myself for the amount of work that really went into doing a reno myself!
I’ve had moments of complete overwhelm followed by total excitement because I accomplished something I’ve never done before. There will be so many ups and downs but let me tell you, IT’S ALL WORTH IT.
What I’m reminding myself of every day is to take my time, do it right and have fun. Soon after, everything else will fall into place!
I hope my experience renovating this house over the last few months giving you a bit more insight if you’re planning on renovating your own home in the future. Please comment below any questions you have that you have or if you have renovation wisdom to share please do!
XO, MaCenna