RACHAEL’S RENO TIPS

+ Plan, plan, plan. Eighty percent of the preparation is in the planning. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you won’t get what you want.

+ Make your home a home for you. Live in the now and create spaces that work for you. We had lots of advice to retain the third bedroom but I can’t imagine when we would ever need three bedrooms.

+ Choose quality for fixtures and fittings that you use every day.

+ If you have the chance to redecorate a space, think of it in conjunction with the entire project. It’s important to have some continuity. We were lucky enough to do our home in one hit. Oak, mirrors, iron and gold are themes I’ve repeated in different areas. + Pick a builder you can have the hard conversations with. It’s important to be able to argue with your builder, and then make up.