Renovating – it’s a perfect way to enrich your indoor living experience: How easy it is to imagine how your space will look when it is done, but without the right guidance and professional help, it can be challenging getting there.
Verve caught up with renovation consultant, Dave Georgetti a few weeks ago, for a few well-considered insights into that home refresh.
What are your 3 top tips to consider prior to launching into a home improvement project?
- Consider whether you have the time and the skills to manage your own renovation project. BRANZ research shows that a typical renovation project wastes around 30% of the budget through poor planning leading to delays, materials wastage and reworks. That’s almost a 1/3 more house you could have had.
- At the early stages, make a wish-list for the things you want to achieve out of the house or space, rather than what you want to change. Focusing on a “solution” too early might see you miss alternative ways to a better or more cost-effective outcome. This is where a consultant/designer can add value through their understanding of Council building controls, existing structure, materials, build costs, natural light and flow.
- Prioritise your wish list from “change-your-life” to “might-be-nice”. If your budget doesn’t extend to everything on your list, plan to achieve as much of the list as possible. If you need to split the project into stages, plan to ensure future work doesn’t go back on the money you’ll have already spent.
Tell us more about the services you offer and your unique point of difference.
- When you deal with Refresh you have one point of contact – your Refresh Renovation Specialist deals with the designers, Council and any other consultants required. We select suitable sub-trades, mange the quoting process and present you with a fixed quote for the project. The end-to-end service includes overseeing all aspects of the build and quality control, including Council inspections and obtaining the Code Compliance Certificate at the end of the job.
- In terms of how that differs from what you’ll find elsewhere… our fixed quote really is that. A fixed price contract can be found with new-home builds, but I haven’t seen it elsewhere in reality in the renovations space. Also, unique to Refresh is our 5 step process (visit refresh.co.nz) which starts with us leading the client though lower cost design and feasibility stages before they invest more heavily in full design and consent. This is all part of ensuring that as much of the clients’ budget as possible goes into the build. Too often we’ve met new clients with a set of plans (from a previous designer) that don’t meet the brief or the budget, and they don’t get that money back. In those cases we both wish they’d come to us first.
Which rooms in a home do you most like to renovate and why?
- My favourite spaces are the family and social heart of the home, We normally try to avoid kitchens as stand-alone rooms, and integrate them with dining, family and outdoor spaces. The kitchen alone has so many components and options, there’s a chance to give the client something no-one else has. When we extend this to the related spaces around, there’s a chance to make sure all spaces are used to the full and can adapt from family breakfast to swanky cocktails and dinner.
Can you share any great on-line/social media resources you love using for inspiration?
- I like Houzz.co.nz (or .com). For many clients I make a custom “Ideabook” of relevant pics for their project, and use their feedback to find what they do or don’t like. Houzz has thousands of pics of houses/rooms and a great search function. Most pics are posted by designers so are of a professional quality. Some of my completed jobs can be found there so I suggest potential client searching for my name there. Many clients are regulars on Pinterest, so we also use that for the same thing.
The benefits of a good renovation.
- At a functional level, a good renovation can cost-effectively provide the living spaces the owners need – often by better use of the existing footprint rather than an expensive extension. With a more discretionary budget, a good renovation can transform a home and surrounds into somewhere filled with light, good flow and beautiful spaces – somewhere that is really comfortable, that the owners love to spend time in, entertain guests in, and be a bit proud of.
How can one contact you?
- For a free consultation call Dave on 0800 004 544 or visit refreshrenovations.co.nz/people/dave-georgetti
