You’ll spend the most money on things you can’t see; new roof, electrics, new boiler, reinforcing floors, and all of this is essential before you even start on the fun stuff. It also came as a shock how expensive it is to remove and dispose of rubbish. Skip hire, permits, and waste companies are all hidden costs that you shouldn’t overlook from a cost or time perspective.
The biggest learning curve for me was how essential – and how difficult – it is to find a good joiner. They’re the most valuable tradespeople you will use. A good one can do most things in a home; lay floors, skirtings and architraves, make shower cubicles, fit windows and doors, build-in storage, fit kitchens and so on. When you find one, treat them well!
Becky Wilson,@bohomeinteriors
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My husband and I argued over ripping up the original wooden floors in our period house to properly insulate underneath them – I thought it was going to cause a lot of chaos and ruin the floorboards by crowbarring them out. Eventually, I caved and agreed to do it, and thank goodness I did because we would have frozen this winter with the cold air rushing up from beneath.
I also wish I’d put more planning into our wall lights and I really regret not adding more. We had to rewire the entire house and I rushed and hesitated about where to put them. I hate ceiling lights – I much prefer soft, cosy lighting and sometimes you don’t have space for a table with a lamp on.
Eva Farrington, Art Editor
I recently converted my loft and re-did our kitchen, and if I could do anything differently, I’d make sure that the important details were worked out properly and agreed on in advance with the architect and the builders. All builds require a bit of give and take but the sudden arrival of a loo pipe in the living room and the utter failure to organise a heat pump (which I eventually sorted myself) made me a lot less jolly.
If you have children or like tea in the kitchen, avoid light-coloured stone flooring – I can track my family using water splodges on the floor.
If you have an idea that you really want to realise, stick to it and don’t compromise. I have a secret hole-in-the-wall for drinks, hidden behind a painting, and it's my favourite bit of the house.
Emma Milne-Watson, @emmamilnewatson
Dating back to the 17th century, Emma's rectory in Sussex has tiled exterior walls typical of old Sussex buildings.
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