5 essential tips everyone should know before starting an interior home renovation.
The 5 key points that you should know are as follows: Layout changes are time-consuming and expensive, high-end finishes can and should be kept, lighting design is essential and will impact how you feel in your home, storage should be planned out from the start in a clever manner and only furnish exactly what you need.
Home renovation is a difficult endeavor, even if it’s for something as simple as renovating a few rooms. A complete home renovation is on par, if not even more complex, than building a house.
Changing the layout, or changing the floor plan, can vary from something simple (such as removing a single wall) to something complex (such as completely changing the layout of rooms). The number of floors in the building further complicates layout changes, as there might also be structural issues involved.
Changing a layout will also require intervention to the floor, wall, and ceiling finish, as well as potentially electric and plumbing installations.
Because of this level of complexity, it is better to try to use the existing layout to its fullest potential and only consider floor plan changes as the last solution.
High-end finishes, such as wooden floors or large slabs of stone, if properly installed and maintained, can and should last years, if not decades. They also have a certain aging process which means that they will maintain their appearance in time.
Because of these qualities, it is very much worth it to preserve them if possible, especially considering that they only require only occasional maintenance.
The type, color, and temperature of the light that we use in our homes have an impact on our well-being and mood. Lighting is often not really thought of that much, but it would be difficult to underestimate its impact.
For example, indirect lighting is better suited to the living space and bedroom, while direct lighting works better for offices. Warm light is much better suited for a home, while cold light is better suited for a work environment.
Storage is essential and should be designed to suit the end user. We generally have a tendency to clutter, so badly placed storage will simply end up being filled up, leading to more clutter in the home.
Storage should be both tailored to the user’s requirements and placed strategically, providing easy access but reducing the chances of clutter.
Furniture should be planned in advance as well, with all the pieces decided before purchasing. This will help you make better decisions and have better budget control.
It’s also important to keep the number of furnishings under control, and only purchase the pieces that you need, instead of making impulse buys.
Changing the floor plan
This usually comes up when the idea of a complete renovation appears, and it’s not hard to see why. If the whole house will be turned into a construction site, shouldn’t we take the chance to do some layout modifications? While this reasoning is sound, it doesn’t take into account the complexity of the task.
Changing the layout requires much more than just knocking or building some walls, everything has to change with them. New electrical or plumbing installations will be required, or at the very least will require amending. This means doing a complete rework of these systems. This also is true of finishes, they will all have to be changed in the areas where the layout is changed. This also requires new support layers for those materials.
New doors and windows will also be required, so doing
There is also the issue of how the structure of the home is designed if the wall is load-bearing or has any effect on the whole house. For a simple ground floor-only building, this is not easy, but if there is an additional floor or 2, then it becomes complicated and a structural engineer will need to have a look to confirm the change can be made.
So, given all these cons, is this idea ever recommended? The answer to that is yes, but it’s based on the particularities of the plan.
If there is simply no other way to get the necessary functionality, then changing the layout makes a lot of sense. For example, if the kitchen is overly small and not practical, then creating an open space makes a lot of sense. Same with adding walls, if there is space, but the house does not have enough rooms, then this is also highly recommended. There is also the issue of what is replaced. If the walls are just basic partition walls, then they can be changed quite easily compared to something like masonry or concrete.
Changing the layout can either be the best investment, or a major hassle with little benefit, so it’s important to analyze beforehand if it’s worth it.
Preserve high-end finishes
It can be tempting to remove all the old finishes and replace them with new ones, but that is not always the best option. Certain durable and high-end finishes, such as wooden floors, large stone tiles, or elements like wooden doors and windows, can last decades with the proper maintenance. They also have a specific aging process that improves their aesthetics with time, something you can’t get with a new finish.
Because of this, it is worth considering preserving them, rather than replacing them outright. This can be a bit laborious, as work has to be done carefully and almost always a separate specialist will be necessary to do it. But it’s very much worth it, it adds a certain charm to the design. With careful work, you can even take them out and use them in another room.
Think about the lighting design
Lighting design is often overlooked, but it makes a substantial impact on how we feel in our own homes. A lot of new home interiors come equipped with the basic direct light from a single source setup, or simply using spotlights to create a more diffuse light. While this is not bad, it’s very basic. There are 2 main aspects of light you should consider in a renovation: using both direct and indirect light, as well as using the appropriate temperature and color.
Direct light is projected directly into the room, while indirect light is projected into another surface, like the ceiling, before bouncing back into the room. This makes direct light more intense and better suited to rooms where we need to focus, such as the kitchen or office, while indirect light is more soft and relaxing, being better suited to the living room or bedroom. Ideally, both should be integrated in all rooms, and used as necessary. Indirect light will make the body feel much more relaxed and help with sleep quality.
Light color and temperature function in mostly the same way. A cold white light works best for focus, while a warmer yellow light is better for relaxation. This step however is much more simple to solve by using smart bulbs, that can be adjusted remotely. Dimmers can also help with this.
While this is just a very basic overview (we will go into more details in a future article) it should give you the basics of how interior light impacts us.
Plan out the storage
We have a tendency to accumulate things, so any open shelf, surface or closet will inevitebly end up being filled with something. Normally, we don’t really need many of the things we buy in the long run. This habit when paired with badly layed out storage will inevitebly lead to clutter.
The way to avoid this is to plan out the storage using some simple principles. Before doing this I always recommend to go throught everything you have and declutter. It’s a laborious process, yes, but it’s very much worth it. Once this is done, pair evertyhgin remaining based on which room you want to place them in. What should go in the living room, kitchen, office, bedroom, etc.
Once everything is paired and categorized in each room, we can design the storage around those items. For example, if you have many books, then it’s worth it to have a series of shelves or bookcases to house them all, instead of spreading them around. All the clothes should go in the bedroom wardrobe or dressing room. And so forth.
This storage should fit what you have with a bit of added space, in case some changes have to be made. Also, consider the cleanliness aspect. For example, a bookcase with glass doors is much easier to keep clean than an open one.
Be selective with furniture
It’s important to lay out from the start what pieces of furniture you require and also think of their general characteristics and features. Think of what size of furnishing you are looking for, but also how it should look and how are you going to use it. For example, do you want a sofa that doubles as a bed or a storage unit or a dining table that can be extended. Same with design, are you looking for something more minimalist, or should it be a statement piece.
Once you think of this, think of what pieces you actually need and will use. For example, will you use a large dining table, or is a smaller one more appropriate, do you require an armchair or will the sofa suffice, and so forth. This will in the end help you make smarter choices that don’t clutter your home and will work very well with your lifestyle.
There is a trend toward ‘‘fast interior design’’ similar to fast fashion, with fast-changing trends. This means that there are constantly bombarded by new styles and furnishings that we don’t really need. Even the basic Ikea furniture should last several years with average wear and tear. High-end furniture, like Poliform can last a lifetime and it will most likely never go out of style. It’s much better, in the long run,e to be selective and buy timeless pieces that look good and perform well, rather than always trying to update.
