BY LANA

A few weeks ago I realised the overseas trip I had planned for the family in December was not going to happen. Even though Australia was containing COVID better than other countries, it was still very unlikely that international travel would be possible or even a good idea come Christmas time. So, I put my thinking cap on and started to dream of a holiday within Australia. I wanted to start the planning process now so that I’d know exactly what I wanted when the restrictions ease. So I jumped on my local mums’ Facebook group (yes, it’s called Chicks in the Hood) and asked for some recommendations of fabulous places to travel domestically. The first comment popped up and it read: “I think you should delete this post, who’s thinking about travel at a time like this.” Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that. My first thought was “How could I have misread the situation? Perhaps it is too early to start researching a holiday at Christmas?” But after a few supportive comments followed by the self-deletion of the “not happy Jan” comment, I realised that NOW is exactly the right time to put plans in place (and yes, they’re only plans, not firm commitments) while I have a little extra time on my hands to research possible destinations, dates and prices. If travel restrictions soften, come December, I certainly don’t want to be scrambling to plan and decide then. I’d prefer to be organised and confident, knowing I’ve chosen the right place and locked in the best prices.

What has this story got to do with renovating, I hear you ask? Well it got me thinking… this planning business doesn’t just apply to travelling but to so many other facets of life too… especially renovating!

TURBO BOOST YOUR PLANNING

Now is the perfect to time to plan within an inch of your life - to investigate, research and learn about every detail of your renovation. There’s really no way you can over-plan a reno (or new build).

Things might seem a bit scary at the moment, I get it. My husband’s job is on hold, households are cutting their spending and launching into a new renovation project may not be right for you, even if current restrictions in your country still allow construction to continue.

But with planning, you’re not committing, financially or otherwise, to proceeding with the plans down the track. But, when the time comes and you DO decide to go ahead, you’ll be ready!

Our very first step in any renovation is creating a Vision Board. It's never too soon to start working on yours!

Good things take time

The saying may be clichéd, but the sentiment definitely isn’t. Did you know that Bonnie started planning her dream home 12 whole years before we started renovating it?! It didn’t turn out just how she’d always envisaged because she threw her ideas on paper 6 months before the first truck rolled onto site. The success of Bonnie’s dream home was the result of years of carefully thought out plans, creating a vision and continually evolving and perfecting it over time.

Learn, learn and learn some more

When we started renovating houses back in 2014, Erin and I had no renovating experience so we relied on Bonnie’s knowledge (and a whole lot of winging it!) to complete our first project. Since then, we’ve been transforming a few houses every year and each one of them has presented an opportunity to learn something new. We’re up to House 12 now, with 13 and 14 close behind, and we’re still planning and learning every step of the way. We often say that “we’ve made the mistakes, so you don’t have to”… and it’s true! We share all of them in our course The Reno School – the ultimate online course for anyone planning a renovation or new build.

In Reno School we’ll teach you everything we know about how to design, renovate and style your dream home. We share our years of experience to fast-track your knowledge, build your confidence and get you ready to reno. And what better time to do this than NOW …. when you’re in ISO? We currently have over 5000 Reno School students and graduates and guess what one of the most common pieces of feedback we get from them is?

“I wish I’d done it sooner!”

Our next intake of Reno School starts on 1st June 2020. It’s a 6-week course, totally #stayathome friendly (it’s 100% online!) and you’ll get lifetime access to the course materials and the exclusive Facebook Community. So, when the time comes to actually swinging that hammer starting your reno, you can take the whole course again as a refresher, as many times as you like.

The COVID curve ball has certainly put pressure on all of this, but I think we should seize the opportunities where they present themselves, like having the luxury of more time to plan the important stuff, so when you’re ready to pull the trigger down the track, you’ll be first out of the blocks!