Renovating your home can be extremely daunting, especially when you have a whole family to think about. You need to consider how to make the renovation budget-friendly, as well as child-friendly… all while considering your lifestyle during the renovation. With some careful planning, it is possible to go through a renovation and create a safe, functional and beautiful space for you and your family. Everyone’s needs can be considered in the process, without it costing too much or sacrificing too many other elements. To help you on your journey, whether you are overwhelmed or you are not too sure where to start, here are some top tips to help you feel less alone.
#1 Prioritise the safety and well-being of your family
As you start to pull together plans and ideas for a renovation, the first and most important thing to think about is safety and wellbeing. This is paramount when renovating with children around. You should start by considering the current and potential hazards around the home. There may be many hidden things in your home, such as asbestos, dampness, mould, lead paint, and more. These are the kind of things that are going to require professional support and quite urgent attention. You also need to think about safety when construction on your renovation project begins and how you will keep your children safe and away from work zones. Not just distance, but also the exposure to dust and debris in the process. To help, you may consider:
- Childproofing your home: additional measures such as gates and fencing off areas
- Organise temporary living arrangements: think about staying at a hotel, or with a family/friend during the renovation to limit disruption and give your children some stability
- Keep your home clean and organised: set firm boundaries with contractors about the level of tidiness and cleanliness you expect at the end of each day
#2 Plan for evolving needs
It is hard to plan a renovation when you have a growing family. What you need now will change every few years. Children will get older, and you may even extend your family. You may change careers, start a business, have a family member move in or get a pet. You need to try to think about what you need now, but also what things you may want or need in the future. Start off by sitting down with your family and thinking about your needs, wants and goals for now and the future. This is a great place to start. For example, you may consider these key things for your renovation:
- Soundproofing your home: installing noise-cancelling materials between rooms to help increase privacy
- Extending your home to include more space for your growing family
- Open and closed layouts: balancing private rooms for family members to get the space they need, as well as open spaces that help your family spend quality time together
- Extending your kitchen to ensure all family members can enjoy the space, and cook and eat together
#3 Be practical and consider longevity
While you might want a modern design, you should consider both the type of changes you want to make and the materials that you are going to use.
A kitchen remodel is something most parents dream of having. It is therefore vital that you consider how you can make it work for your family. You want a space big enough for everyone to enjoy, but also a space that makes it easy to clean, store and spend time in the high-traffic area. When looking at specific parts of the house, there are resources available to help you visualise your dream kitchen.
Regardless of whether it is a kitchen or living room you are considering, you will want to ensure that you include key elements such as:
- Smart storage: lots of space, shelving and cupboards to store the inevitable items your children will accrue, enabling you to keep everything organised and tidy at the same time
- Washable surfaces and floors: you want your children to be themselves and have fun, and this can be messy so make sure the surfaces you choose in your renovation cater to this
- Durable materials: In general, you want to choose materials that are durable and built to last which will help withstand the use and high traffic a home with children brings, as well as keeping your renovation efforts fresh
#4 Involve your children in your renovation project
Regardless of their age, it can be really helpful to get your children involved in the renovation project. Let them use their creative side with the design process, and help them make some of the decisions for the renovation. It is their home too, and it can help them feel more invested in the process, as well as respect the home once it is complete. Change can be very hard for children, as well as the instability the renovations may cause to their lifestyles. Consider letting them in on some small decisions, such as:
- Colours and themes for their bedrooms
- What activities do they want to get involved in during the process, for example, painting their rooms
#5 Make a plan
Making a plan is one of the most important things to do after you have completed research and have a good understanding of what you want and what a renovation project entails. Your plan should include a realistic budget, an emergency fund and your projected timeline. Try to consider what possible issues may occur and speak to contractors to ensure that the timeline and budget are suitable for the project. You can obtain quotes from different contractors to get a better idea, but also to see who you feel like you can trust with your home. Try to consider phasing your approach to help with sticking to the timeline and budget and leaving room for contingency.
Renovating your home is not easy, let alone if you have a growing family to consider in the process as well. Follow these top tips to help you get started and reduce the overwhelm.
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