Planning Your Renovation On A Budget

Here are our top tips on how to complete your own renovation on a budget. From your pre-planning stages, all the way through to the finishing touches, these thoughts should inspire you to scrutinize every cost and always make the effort to find cheaper and more cost-efficient alternatives where possible. 

1. Create A Realistic Budget, And Stick To It! 

Making a budget is a two-part process... There’s the making it, and then there’s the sticking to it! The latter is easier said than done, but staying accountable to your budget is going to be one of the most important elements of your renovation. 


When it comes to drawing up a budget, research is key! I’m a natural researcher, so for me it became almost second nature to spend hours on HomeAdvisor, making price comparisons and ensuring that we were always choosing the most cost-effective route to build our future vision. 

2. Create a Plan, And Stick To It!

Fulfilling a renovation on a budget takes more than a financial plan.. it takes a well thought out plan! For instance:

• What is the aim of this project?
• What are all the details you need to configure?
• Are there any areas that you would be willing to compromise on?
• Outline these now and STICK TO THEM! Compromise is going to be the biggest threat to managing your budget! 
• What would you be willing to splurge on?
• Have you factored contingencies into your budget?
• Realistically, what can you DIY?
• Have you outweighed the cost of various models and brands when it comes to features and finishes?
• If you are undergoing a thorough renovation that might impact your bathrooms, kitchens, and sleeping areas, have you considered the cost of finding an alternative temporary housing solution until the work is finished?
• Have you weighed out multiple contractor bids to ensure that you’re working with the right people to support your vision and financial plan.

3. Small Changes Go A Long Way

That is absolutely right! While your head might know that you’re trying to achieve a renovation on a budget, the heart can often desire to max out on HUGE and dramatic changes. But why go full demolition on your house, when a lick of paint and a few new additional features might be just the transformation that you are looking for! 

Create a linear list of all your dream renovations and order them in terms of size, ease, and cost. Start small. Start by revamping the more discrete (and likely cheaper!) details, and see where that takes you. Small changes can go a long way, and you might find that making a manageable change, such as changing out your cabinet hardware, might be just the facelift that your kitchen needed! 

4. Expansion Isn’t Always Worth The Cost: Bright and White!

One of the primary reasons for desiring a renovation is to expand your property. We get the appeal! Creating open spaces really can have a huge impact on your property. As a family who has chosen to live minimally for the last few years, we can speak from experience that space isn’t everything! It is what you do with that space that matters! 

The key is using your space to create a home that feels light, bright, and open - and never claustrophobic! Rather than starting from scratch, we chose to give our house exterior a coat of white paint to give it new elegance and serious curb appeal. Our walls are white and we’ve used our windows and mirrors strategically to cultivate a space that feels far more airy and open than it actually is. Let me tell you, a bucket of white paint is far cheaper than knocking down a wall! 

5. Think About Long Term Benefits

You’ve got to factor your long term resale plan into your budget. 


If this is your first time budgeting for a renovation, then HomeAdvisor has some great tips. They recommend the 5-15% rule as “the gold standard in helping homeowners estimate and budget the correct amount for remodels”. This means the entire cost of the remodel should be somewhere in the range of 5-15% of the cost of the entire house, in order to hit the sweet spot of inflating the resulting home value. 

6. Respect The Infrastructure

If you really want to do a renovation on a budget you’ll think twice about doing demolition work on your core infrastructure. Consider the inner workings of your property. How can you work around the water piping and electrical wiring? If you can compromise by working around these details, you will save yourself a great deal of money (and hassle!).

We had a great example of this in our renovation. We discovered that three different types of concrete had been used in our outdoor patio and pool area, making it three different colors! I first thought this was going to need an entire demolition and re-pour to resolve, but we soon realized that we could repaint the concrete for a super-efficient solution! 

Sometimes the most cost-effective might be temporary. You might want to seek inspiration from rental solutions, such as installing floor installation OVER carpet and peel and stick temporary wallpaper.

7. Upcycle and Recycle

Rather than buying all of your materials afresh, why not try re-cycling and up-cycling second-hand materials. Check out your local Habitat for Humanity ‘ReStore’ and you’ll find a whole heap of homeowner treasures, including floorboard, cabinet details, carpeting, and more! It is a total myth that custom finishes always look better - you’ll be so surprised at the treasures you can find amongst second-hand standard features.


Furthermore, if you are gutting and stripping out your house, rather than sending off all of your old features to the scrap heap, you could even make some money back by donating your used furnishings to the ReStore! 

8. Get Involved (Even If You’re Using Contractors!)

According to HomeAdvisor, contract labor might well eat into 20-35% of your budget. If you are willing and ready to learn some new skills and put your back into it, this doesn’t have to be the case. While we appreciate that not everyone has the time or lifestyle to take on a full DIY renovation project, here are some ways to compromise on contractors that might suit you.

• Handle all the upfront demolition work yourself, and give your contractors a clean slate to work with.
• HomeAdvisor estimates that in terms of time, roughly 5% of your contractor budget goes towards the daily process of cleaning up. What if you committed to handle the cleaning and shaved this off the final cost?
• Go to the source. Find out where your contractors order their fixtures from, and make the order yourself. This isn't always possible, but when you can do this you can count on some great savings!

Give it a go - Sometimes we didn’t feel the most prepared to take on our own renovations. But slowly, with a lot of research, we learned what we could handle. Insulation? Painting? Sanding? You’ve got this! Don’t be afraid to ask for help, but also don’t be afraid to find your own solutions where needs are. (After all, never forget the time that I glued our front door numbers on, rather than using a hammer and nails!)

Have questions about what renovating on a budget was like for us? Don't be shy.. reach out to us here or leave a comment below!