Renovating is like playing Jenga with jellied eels. Anyone who has done it is familiar with the builder’s cry of: “Where do you want the sockets love?” while standing in a space with an earth floor, no walls and steel poles holding up the ceiling. How, you think furiously, can I decide where I will make my toast when I haven’t even got a roof?
But, if you take the time to plan properly, that is one of the easier questions you will have to answer – finding the right shade of white or blush pink paint is a puzzle of a completely different order.
We (The Mad Husband and I) bought our first flat in 1998. We threw coloured paint at all the walls (years of beige renting will do that to you) added a period fireplace, more storage, tweaked the kitchen and then, when I was eight-and-a-half months pregnant, we redid the bathroom. A project that was scheduled to take a month until the builder turned up on the first day (as opposed to the boss who had quoted for the job) and casually asked when I was due. An hour later there were three of them on site and the job was done in a week. It’s not a foolproof, nor necessarily recommended, plan for hitting a deadline but it certainly focused their minds.
Then we sold it. Which brings me neatly to my first point. Start with the bathroom. That way you have somewhere to get clean – you and the dishes if the kitchen is being done as well – as well as a space with a locking door that can be both a sanctuary and a place for a small cry when it all gets too much. Six houses in and I stand by this as a plan.
But a renovation starts well before that. You may have had that sample of wallpaper pinned to your wall or Pinterest board for the last six months while you scroll dreamily through images of sofas and chairs, but there’s no point spending thousands of pounds on paint and furnishings if the windows leak and the floorboards are draughty.
So, lesson number 1: start with the architectural features and work down and in. When we moved into our current home in September 2022 we had assumed (our first mistake and frankly we should have known better) that it was a question of a new kitchen and bathroom, building some storage, a lick of paint and some new carpet.
HA!
One week in and it was clear the orange engineered floorboards in the sitting room would have to go. Likewise the hall tiles which only emphasised the lack of straight walls and which made me feel dizzy and, of course, the kitchen. There was mould in the downstairs shower and none of the doors fitted properly.
Plans to restore the draughty (make that gale force) windows were quickly upgraded to full replacement front and back. The radiators needed moving and replacing and then it turned out the boiler was in an illegal position thanks to a change in regulations. Moving it would mean lifting the floor tiles so we had to do it before the new kitchen went in.
All pipework and plumbing has to be done before new floors can go down and floors have to be done before any storage can be built. And there’s no point painting when walls are going to be messed up for new windows and you might want to change the electrics, which means the cabling will need to be plastered in as well.
Now you see why the builder wants to know about sockets so soon. And why you will be living out of boxes until all that has been done.
But, in order to know where you will need your lights you need to know where the furniture is going, which means the first port of call is actually the floor plan. And from that you can decide if the rooms are actually in the right place. Just because the estate agent called it a bedroom doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. Just because it’s traditional to have the kitchen at the back doesn’t mean that suits the way you live; you might want it in the middle with the sitting room at the back looking over the garden for example.
Once you have the rooms in the right places it’s time to look at the architectural features. Taking out a fireplace to make a room bigger is a structural issue that may need planning permission. In addition to checking your windows, look at the doors; sliding doors take up less space on narrow landings. If there’s nowhere for it to slide consider cutting a standard door in half and putting a hinge on each side to create a small double door that takes up half as much room when open.
For most of us there aren’t 36 different places where the bed and sofa will fit so work out where your large pieces of furniture will go. As a general rule of thumb, you need a minimum of 90cm to pull a dining chair out from a table and to allow you to move around a room.
Visualise how you will use your kitchen so the plug for the kettle is near the toaster and the sofa won’t block the radiator. Have you got space for a huge bed and two bedside tables?
Once you have worked out these details you can see where you will need to put the lights. I’m not a fan of spotlights in every room, but if you want them they should be around 30cm in from the edge of the room. In the kitchen make sure you are not standing in your own shadow when you are prepping food.
Resist the builder’s call to place them in a symmetrical grid. Put them where you need them not lighting up a bare patch of floor just because it makes a neat line. Good lighting should, at the risk of stating the obvious, light the room and there should be no need to look up to see where it’s coming from. In fact that’s often a sign that it’s in the wrong place.
Once the plumbing and electrics are done you can start to look at materials. A good floor will elevate ordinary furniture. By the same token, the most expensive antiques will look dreadful on a laminate floor. If you can’t change this then good, by which I mean well-placed, lighting with soft warm bulbs will go a long way towards hiding the bad and flattering the good points.
Think of it like getting dressed – do you know how to disguise the parts of your body you don’t like and draw attention to the bits you do like? A strong red lip can hide tired eyes in the same way that a great lamp will draw the eye to your gorgeous sofa while leaving the floor in shadow.
Spend money on things with moveable parts – taps and appliances – and furniture you spent a lot of time in/on – mattresses and sofas. The bed base can be cheap and hidden with a valance. Tiles, paint and dining chairs can be found for every budget.
Buy the biggest rug you can afford and don’t forget to check the door will open over the top. La Redoute is great for big rugs – many of them made from recycled plastic that are surprisingly soft underfoot. Alternatively, buy a large piece of carpet and have it hemmed in a contrasting colour.
A word on colour – the key question is how does a particular shade make you feel? Ask yourself if that colour matches the mood you need in that room. Next, if you are toying with the idea of a bold colour go for it. Everyone I have ever met who wanted a strong shade and rowed back to something paler/more “sensible” always ended up wishing three months later, when they got used to it, that they had stuck with their instinct. Push yourself slightly beyond your comfort zone.
And a word on pattern. If wallpaper feels like too much then have a patterned sofa (much better at hiding spills). Flowers and stripes are always mates. Aim for a large floral, a small one, a stripe and as many plains as you fancy. Keep the colour palette tight and chosen from one of the floral designs.
Don’t forget the ceiling. If you’ve spent three months agonising over the colour of the walls why stick white on top? You don’t wear a white t-shirt with everything. Consider off-white, a paler version of what’s on the wall, a contrasting shade or wallpaper (in a non-directional pattern). I used tin tiles on the low ceiling of my last kitchen.
In short, be brave, trust your gut and have fun. It’s your home, it needs to tell your story.
Now, if you have read this far a couple of reminders. Paid subscribers can drop-into my monthly design clinic on Wednesday. I will be answering live questions as well as those sent in on the thread for one hour. If the tech is on my side I will send a recording to anyone who can’t make it to the live.
Secondly, places are filling up for my September design retreat so if you are new around here, or have been hesitating, and you fancy a weekend in a gorgeous hilltop village outside Turin with interiors workshops, good food, great company and beautiful surroundings then you need to read this post to find out how to join us.