Tuesday’s Tips: Where to save and where to splurge when renovating

One of the first things to consider when styling a space is to find the hero, or focal point.

It may be the sofa, the mirror above the mantel, or an amazing rug. You can apply the same law when planning a renovation.

To be able to work out where to splurge and where to save you must have a plan mapped out. Have all your costs – or estimates – in a line. For each space there should be a predetermined amount you are willing to spend, so when it comes to planning you have a set budget to play with.

Allocate a fixed amount for each room in the house.

Let’s consider the bathroom

Rarely when renovating for profit can you have all the bells and whistles that you want. So in a space, work out what is going to be your hero. In a bathroom this might be the freestanding bath, the vanity, the lighting or a feature tile. But it doesn’t need to be all of them.

Choose the hero of the space – focus your funds here – and make sure the rest of the space supports your hero.

Now take the kitchen

In a kitchen consider choosing the island bench top, the lighting or an amazing splashback as the hero. Remember there is no need to make them all feature points. This can make a substantial saving.

Another great way to make sure that you can afford the hero piece is to employ the concept of high/low styling – using a mixture of high end and budget items.

Many people think when renovating you have to stick to all low-cost items, but if you are looking at each room with a contained budget you have full control over how you spend it. For example, if you offset $120/sqm tiles with tiles that are $18/sqm you can meet your budget with style, wow factor and comfort.
•Have a plan of how it will happen
•Have a vision of how it will look
•Have a budget
•Think outside the box as to how you use your budget
•Spend high and spend low