Interior Design Ideas to Beat Renovation Fatigue
Do you remember in my last blog how I talk about renovation fatigue? If you find yourself suffering from any of the 5 symptoms of renovation fatigue you'll need creative interior design ideas to help you move forward in your home renovation project.
A well-thought out design plan.
I start this blog fresh from reading about a family’s design dilemma. They're in the initial steps of adding a new kitchen diner extension, however the building is already under way. They took to a popular platform where people source interior design ideas to ask for opinions and they really got some! Now they're confused, preparing to change plans last minute, and feeling rushed because they have a big design decision to make on the job site asap.
After reading these comments I felt really sad for this family not because they were getting bad advice from complete strangers but because they were getting advice from people that didn’t understand their particular needs or wants with regard to this renovation.
These comments also weren’t factoring in the creative part of interior design such as making good use of a space without using standard basic design rules. This will unfortunately become a renovation disaster giving this family so much stress and uncertainty going into the renovation and throughout and possibly even ending up in a new open plan space they regret. This situation breaks my heart. I see this a lot and I don’t want it to happen to you.
So what are some things you can do to prevent renovation fatigue and eventually a renovation disaster?
Well, I am not going to tell you to be super organised or give you a checklist or tell you to set up a separate bank account with your budgeted amount (although those are all excellent ideas!). You know that already. And I am not going to tell you that mistakes won’t happen along the way, because they will. They always do, so mentally preparing yourself will help.
“Let me tell you this. Before you start looking at images on Pinterest - dig deep.”
Huh??
What I mean is tap into your intuition, moreover listen to what your gut is telling you. Let me elaborate.
The number one thing you can do to prevent renovation fatigue and ultimately a renovation disaster is to tap into what you really want and need from this new space before you start googling ‘beautiful kitchens’. Working on the key interior design ideas in this blog will guide your other decisions and help you stay on track during the process.
When we start a renovation, most of us go straight to pinning kitchen cabinets or googling paint colours - don’t do this yet. You’re skipping what I think is the most important step to making sure your renovation is everything you want.
Spend some time really, REALLY thinking about how you want your space to function for you and how you want to feel in your new space. Here are three interior design ideas you must decide on before you even think about contacting renovation professionals.
If you are new to my blog I need to let you know I like 3!
I always provide 3 solutions to a problem, 3 design options for a room and 3 price points - you get it, I like options!
Task 1. I want you to start by visualising your day through every single detail.
Somthing like this:
Waking up the morning - how do you see yourself using this new space?
Getting ready for your day - how do you see yourself using this new space?
Eating a meal - how do you see yourself using this new space?
Coming home from work - how do you see yourself using this new space? Your hobby - how do you see yourself (and your hobby) using this new space?
Your kids - how do you see them using this new space? (remember, they grow)
Then fast forward to a weekend:
What does this look like in your new space?
Do you entertain? - How do you envision this in your new space?
Want to stay in, relax, maybe watch tv? - How do you envision this in your new space?
Have multiple kids running through your house (some aren’t even yours!)? - How do you envision this in your new space?
What about the holidays? Do you need space for overnight guests? Large sit down meals?
This should be a fun experience. I hope this helps you get excited about all the possibilities of your new space and how it will make your life better. Can you feel it?? I am getting excited for you!
How will you use your new space?
So really picture yourself going through the motions of your day to day life. Talk to your partner, your kids, your pets if you want…really get to the bottom of how you want to use your new space.
This is without a doubt the best time to work out these details. Additionally it is so much harder to start thinking how you want to use the space once you have approved a design plan or worse, scheduled contractors to start work, or like some of my clients, live in a newly renovated space that isn’t working for their needs.
Task 2. Now ask yourself these exact same questions except in the following way:
Waking up the morning - How do you want to feel in this space?
Getting ready for your day - How do you want to feel in this space?
Eating a meal - How do you want to feel in this space?
Coming home from work - How do you want to feel in this space?
Your hobby - How do you want to feel in this space?
Your kids - How do they want to feel in this space?
Then fast forward to a weekend… How do you want to feel in this space?
Do you entertain? - How do you want to feel in this space when friends and family are over?
Want to stay in, relax, maybe watch tv? - How do you want to feel in this space?
Have multiple kids running through your house (some aren’t even yours!)? - How do you want to feel in this space? (probably not stressed because you chose light coloured rugs that are hard to clean!)
What about the holidays? Do you need space for overnight guests? Large sit down meals? How do you want to feel during the holidays in this space?
To me these two sets of information are the most important starting points to guide your renovation plans. When you can nail down what you want and why and then really envision yourself enjoying this new space that is tailored just for your routine, your feelings, your life - the rest will start to fall into place. Every decision will be anchored to want you want and need from this renovation.
Task 3. Ok - you’ve done the hard work now the fun part.
Now you can go onto Pinterest and start searching for your newly discovered renovation mission. Just remember to always refer back to your needs and wants to make sure your decisions are in line.
SO, let’s say you know you determined you want your house to feel like a giant hug when you come home from a long day - but how do you do this with design?
Sign up and don’t miss out because my next blog will talk about interior design ideas to create a space you can ‘feel’.
I read all my emails, each and every one. Please feel free to contact me anytime and maybe I can help you or at the very least I can discuss it on my blog.
Open kitchen dining area by Carrie Cotton Design.
