HOW TO PLAN A RENOVATION: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
Renovating your home should feel exciting.
And eventually, it does.
But at the beginning? It can feel a little like standing at the bottom of a mountain wearing thongs and wondering who forgot to pack the map.
Where do you start? How much will it cost? Should you call a builder first? An architect? And why are you choosing tapware and tiles when you haven't even worked out where the bathroom is going?
We get it.
How do you plan a renovation?
After renovating many homes ourselves, there's one thing we've learnt over and over again: the smoother renos are the ones where the hard thinking happens before the building starts.
Our very first step is always planning. We spend quality time upfront creating a master plan, because being clear about what you're trying to achieve makes the rest of the renovation process much easier.
If you've been Googling how to plan a renovation while simultaneously opening 37 Pinterest tabs, this is your roadmap.
Three Birds Character Semi – Facade
Here’s what we’ll cover:
1. Define what you want to achieve
2. Assess your home and identify priorities
3. Create your renovation vision
4. Set a realistic renovation budget
5. Check whether you need approval
6. Build Your Dream Team & Know Who Does What
7. Develop plans and make selections
8. Get real about your timeline
9. Obtain and compare quotes properly
10. Finalise decisions before construction
11. Decide whether you'll stay or move out
12. Avoid these common renovation-planning mistakes
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONs
From Dream to Demo: 12 Steps to Plan Your Renovation
1. Define what you want to achieve
Be honest with yourself and ask: why are we renovating?
Maybe your kitchen is technically fine, but you're sick of cooking dinner with your back to everyone. Perhaps your family has outgrown the floor plan. Maybe you desperately need storage, better natural light or somewhere the kids can disappear with their friends.
When we’re planning a reno, we always start with one big question: how do you actually want to live in this home? Not just now, but in a few years’ time too.
Maybe it’s opening up the kitchen so everyone can hang out together, adding a mudroom to contain the school-bag chaos, or creating an ensuite that makes mornings feel that little bit easier.
In Reno School, we teach our students to get really clear on the why behind every change. Because once you know what’s going to make the biggest difference to the way you live, it becomes much easier to work out where your reno dollars should go.
Spend on the things that will change your everyday life. Save where they won’t. That’s the sweet spot.
Three Birds tip: Don't start with "We need a bigger kitchen." Start with "We want a kitchen where we can cook while the kids do homework and our friends sit at the island."
Three Birds House 16 – Kitchen & Dining
Three Birds House 16 – Family Lounge
2. Assess your home and identify priorities
Walk through your house and create three lists:
MUST IMPROVE: poor layout, lack of storage, dark rooms, awkward kitchen.
WOULD LOVE: fireplace, butler's pantry, pool, fancy outdoor kitchen. You know… the fun stuff.
Then rank them.
This becomes the beginning of your Scope of Work, AKA your ultimate reno to-do list.
And don't assume you need to extend. Sometimes a smarter floor plan can completely change how a home feels without adding a stack of expensive square metres.
3. Create your renovation vision
We start every renovation with a vision board. Not sometimes. Every time. It's one of the first things we walk students through.
And ours isn't simply a collection of pretty pictures. It captures:
How your home should LOOK + how your home should FEEL.
Think of it as the visual summary of your renovation goals and your compass when you're drowning in options later.
Choose 3–5 words describing your style and how you want the home to feel, then collect images that genuinely support them.
Create Pinterest boards for individual rooms too. And be ruthless. If something no longer belongs, delete it.
That random industrial kitchen might be fabulous. But it still does not belong in your Mediterranean beach house.
Three Birds Character Semi – Vision Board
4. Set a realistic renovation budget
Budgeting. YAWN.
Yep it’s boring, but very necessary.
We know you've got that dreamy picture in your head of what your home could be. But don't fall into the fairytale trap: designing the whole reno first, then hoping you'll somehow find the money to pay for it. That's a fast track to stress, budget blowouts and some very tense conversations at home.
Your renovation budget needs to start with what you can actually afford. Our cost guides are a useful reality check if you're not sure what things cost yet.
Work out your total budget first, then decide what that amount can realistically cover.
Make sure you allow for:
approvals
building and trades
excavation, demolition and waste removal
kitchens and bathrooms
flooring, lighting and painting
fixtures and fittings
landscaping
temporary accommodation
contingency
And please, don't spend your contingency before you've started ;)
Reality check: Existing homes have a habit of hiding expensive little surprises behind walls and under floors, in the plumbing and the electricals. So a buffer isn't a bonus. It's part of the plan. We like to allocate 20% for contingency, but if you have a complex build or are concerned about the budget, allocate more than 20%.
Excavation threatened to blow the budget at House 15
Three Birds House 15 – Front of House
5. Check whether you need approval
One of the most important parts of the renovation process in Australia is understanding what you're actually allowed to build.
Requirements vary between states, councils, properties and projects.
In NSW, for example, work may be exempt development, complying development using a CDC, or require development consent through a DA. Check this early because approvals can affect your design, budget and renovation timeline.
For NSW projects, the NSW Planning approval pathways are a good starting point. Your architect, building designer or draftsperson can also help establish what applies to your project.
6. Build Your Dream Team & Know Who Does What
Renovating is a team sport.
Depending on your project, you might need an architect, building designer, draftsperson, engineer, builder, certifier and specialist trades. The key is knowing who you need and who’s managing whom.
And don’t automatically choose the cheapest tradie. We learnt that one the hard way. Spend more time finding the right people upfront and you can save yourself plenty of heartache later.
You’ll also need to decide who’s running the build:
Owner-builder/self-managed: You coordinate the trades yourself. Potentially cheaper, but much more time and responsibility.
Project-managed/ design-and-construct: One team manages the design and build, simplifying communication but giving you less control over individual trades.
There’s no one “right” way. It comes down to your budget, available time, project size and how comfortable you are managing the moving parts.
7. Develop plans and make selections
A floor plan isn't enough to accurately price a renovation. Start documenting your:
electrical and lighting plans
flooring
windows and doors
cabinetry
benchtops
tiles and tapware
appliances
paint
handles and hardware
Why?
Because "allow for tiles" and "supply and install this exact tile in this exact area" can produce very different prices.
The more decisions you make upfront, the fewer assumptions your builder has to make.
8. Get real about your timeline
Your timeline should start well before demo day.
Include:
Design → plans → approvals → quoting → selections → ordering → construction → handover
And allow breathing room for approvals, busy tradies and products with long lead times.
Once construction starts, someone needs to own the master schedule. This is usually your builder on a larger renovation.
On our projects, we review the schedule regularly and update it when things change. Because they will change. That's renovating.
BEFORE – Three Birds Petite Pad Main Bathroom
DURING – Three Birds Petite Pad Main Bathroom
AFTER – Three Birds Petite Pad Main Bathroom
9. Obtain and compare quotes properly
Give each builder the same plans, detailed Scope of Work and specifications so you’re comparing apples with apples.
And when we say detailed, we mean detailed. Your Scope of Work should spell out exactly what you expect the builder to include, room by room and job by job. The more detail you give them upfront, the less room there is for assumptions, missed items and surprise costs later.
Then look beyond the total price. Check what’s included and excluded, allowances, materials, timings, payment schedules, licences, insurance, experience and references.
Communication matters too. We’ve found the quoting process can be a pretty handy preview of what a tradie will be like once they’re on your job.
Inside Reno School, we show you how to put together your Scope of Work and get properly prepared for quoting, so you can compare builders with confidence.
10. Finalise decisions before construction
Make as many decisions as you reasonably can before demo starts.
Bathrooms are a great example. There's a particular order in which the work happens, which means changing your mind halfway through can affect your budget, timeline and your tradie's patience.
Before construction, aim to have finalised your plans, contract, budget, major selections, kitchen and bathroom layouts, electrical and plumbing positions and long-lead orders.
Changes will still happen. But fewer surprises = happier reno.
11. Decide whether you'll stay or move out
Now for the less glamorous side of planning a house renovation.
Dust. Noise. Early starts. No kitchen. Possibly no bathroom.
Whether you stay depends on the scale of your project, safety, kids, pets, access to essential facilities and budget.
Ask yourself:
Can we safely separate ourselves from construction?
Will power or water be disconnected?
Can we realistically work from home?
What will temporary accommodation and storage cost?
Sometimes staying saves money. Sometimes moving out saves sanity.
Both count, and it's worth deciding early. This is one of the more practical realities of the renovation process in Australia, where extended trade lead times, weather delays and product backorders can stretch a "quick reno" longer than you planned for. Building a little flexibility into your living arrangements now means fewer stressful scrambles later. (You can read more about this here).
Three Birds House 13 – Kitchen
Three Birds House 13 – Boys’ Bedroom
12. Avoid these common renovation-planning mistakes
A few classics we've seen (and occasionally learnt ourselves):
Underestimating the budget
Getting quotes from vague plans
Choosing a tradie purely on price
Leaving important selections until construction
Forgetting product lead times
Changing your mind constantly
Creating an unrealistic timeline
Designing a beautiful house that doesn't actually suit how your family lives
Basically, plan hard now so you can enjoy the pretty stuff later. Future you, standing in your finished dream home with a glass of bubbles in hand, will be very grateful.
Three Birds Eclectic Escape – Alfresco
Three Birds Eclectic Escape – Kitchen
Three Birds Eclectic Escape – Living
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first step when planning a renovation?
Start with why you're renovating. Identify what's not working in your current home, how you want to live and what you want the finished home to feel like before developing your design.
How far in advance should I plan my renovation?
Start as early as possible. Design, approvals, quoting, booking trades and ordering products can take months before construction begins.
How much contingency should I include?
There's no magic number for every project, but your budget should always include a contingency for unexpected costs. The appropriate amount depends on the age, complexity and unknowns in your project.
Do I need council approval to renovate?
It depends on your location and proposed works. Some renovations may be exempt, some may qualify for complying development and others require a DA or equivalent approval. Check with your local authority and qualified professionals before starting — the NSW Planning Portal is a good place to start if you're in NSW.
What should I organise before my builder starts?
Aim to have your plans, approvals, contract, Scope of Work, budget, timeline and major product selections sorted before construction begins.
Feeling a little more "OK, we can actually do this"? Good. Now let's keep it that way.
We've pulled the must-dos into our FREE Renovation Planning Checklist. Our checklist will ensure you have ticked off everything you need to do before you reno or build.
Want help planning the whole thing?
Knowing the steps to renovating a house is one thing. Knowing exactly what to do at each step while your own money and home are on the line is another.
That's exactly why we created Three Birds Reno School.
We take you through the renovation planning process step by step, from creating your master plan and budget to choosing your dream team, designing your rooms and managing the project.
You'll get the lessons, templates, examples and support to help you stop secondguessing every decision and start moving forward with a proper plan.
