WE LEARNED...

COMMUNICATE WITH EVERYONE who is involved in your scheme. This includes all contractors and your partner. To run things smoothly, make sure they talk to each other.

DO NOT SETTLE for the first quote. Shop around and ask many professionals for their prices and thoughts – you will be able to make a better choice. We went with firm that was familiar to us, as we knew they had a high standard of workmaship.

THINK ABOUT THE SPACE and how you’ll be using it on a daily basis before you start any works. Thorough planning helped us make the most of our home – not only in terms of which rooms we would need but also what atmosphere we wanted to create.