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Deborah Hutton’s tips to save money & time on a reno

July 11, 2019 Leave a Comment

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We’re all brutally aware of the pitfalls of renovating. With many going over budget and just as many taking longer to complete than expected, some would say it’s a brave soul that decides to renovate. One such person is Aussie TV personality Deborah Hutton who recently transformed her beachside Sydney, Hamptons-inspired home one month ahead of schedule and to a realistic budget. Not bad for a first-time renovator!

Deborah Hutton
Deborah Hutton in her dining room before the renovation began

“Renovating my two-storey home on Sydney’s eastern beaches was a passion project that consumed my life for 18 months. I can’t say it was always easy, but it was definitely worth it and there are things I’ve learned that helped me take some of the stress out of it,” says Deborah who shares her top tips with us today. 

Reduce the unknowns
“Renovating can be exciting, but don’t rush in. I spent roughly the same amount of time planning what the house would look like, researching my options and creating my timeline and budget, as I did actually renovating,” says Deborah. Ultimately this reduced the number of decisions made on the fly and it also meant that when Deborah had to make a last minute choice she knew exactly how it would affect the rest of the project and her bank balance too.

Deborah’s renovated lounge room

Trade time for savings
“Starting your renovation with a strong plan means you can start ordering your building materials and furnishings early. For me, this meant ordering over-oversized couches and chests from America a year out. That may seem a little premature, but I saved a considerable amount of money because I could wait for a sale and my bargains to arrive,” says Deborah in what I think is rather clever advice! Renovating a house with furniture in mind is just our sort of thinking.

Kitchen
A pair of Ralph Lauren pendant lights hang over Deborah’s new kitchen bench

Identify your time drains
“Rooms like a bathroom require a lot of amenities and can become slow moving compared to the rest of the home, as one trade will need to wait for another to finish their work before starting. This is where one mistake can really kill productivity,” says Deborah. For instance, if your electrician can’t start work on their scheduled day, it can take weeks to get them back, which then has huge knock-on effects for your tilers, plasterers and plumbers.

“Identify these rooms and find ways to keep the process moving. My downstairs bathroom is very small for many people to work in at once,” says Deborah who chose to use horizontal Scyon Axon cladding to speed up the process. “It gave me the shiplap look I wanted,” says Deborah of the product that is speedy to install and water-resistant too.

Deborah used Axon cladding in the bathroom to save time and money
Deborah used Axon cladding in her bathroom to save time and money

Speak to your builder daily
There’s no doubt that mistakes cost time and money when you’re renovating so it’s important to keep the lines of communication open with your builder. “My builders were amazing, but you can only rely on floor plans 80 percent of the time so there’s a big 20 percent you need to be on top of every day,” says Deborah.

Living next door to the site really helped Deborah keep on top of things but if you aren’t lucky enough to be physically present you could always video call your builder to check out which areas are being worked on. “I’ve heard of people who don’t visit their home for weeks and come back to huge issues that need a lot of work to be rectified, completely derailing the project. It makes more sense to spend a small amount of time checking in daily, than a lot of time at once fixing a problem,” says Deborah.

An early render of the home's exterior
An early render of the home’s exterior

Communicate well
“It’s one thing to have a vision in your head, but to communicate it is an entirely different skill,” says Deborah who did a rather impressive deep-dive into the building world which no doubt gave her credibility when she was negotiating with trades.

“I spent a lot of time learning construction terms, which helped me understand what my trades were saying to me,” says Deborah who communicated her vision through a file of images. “Those images were important so I felt comfortable that we were on the same page. It’s so easy to do with sites like Houzz and Pinterest, so best start there!”

The end result
The end result

For more on Scyon Walls |  For more on Deborah’s reno journey

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Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
📸 @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭 N The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭

None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

I've lost track of how many baskets I've thrown out because they've gone soggy or mouldy. They look pretty, sure, but they're not fit for purpose and they're often messy and overflowing.

Here's what I love about his @brabantia_australia one:

✔️ ventilation holes
✔️ no need to remove the lid for small items plus it hides your dirty laundry from view
✔️ easily removable and washable inner laundry bag that velcros back on 
✔️ corrosion resistant so fine in bathroom or laundry 
✔️ Brabantia make things as sustainably as possible
✔️ compact, sleek, European design
✔️ 10 year warranty
✔️ tall and skinny so takes up less floor in my tiny laundry

The Rolls Royce of laundry bins? I think so 👌🏻

TOLD you this was going to be exciting!

Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
"Living rooms are important spaces where our publi "Living rooms are important spaces where our public and private lives intersect."

So says stylist @nataliewalton in her gorgeous new book Style, the Art of Creating a Beautiful Home.

"They are where we gather to welcome guests and entertain. But they are also where we decompress and relax at the end of the day. Increasingly, they are open-plan spaces and need to work within a greater scheme. Bringing all the elements together cohesively requires care and consideration. And, if you want a space that lives up to its true potential, make it personal and create with conviction."

Read an extract, the chapter on elevating your living room, on the blog today via link in bio.

Published by @thamesandhudsonau Pix by @chriswarnes 

#livingroomdesigns #nataliewalton #coffeetablebooks #designbooks #interiorsbooks #livingroominteriors #elevateyourspace
Kids and husband messing with my vignettes again🤨

PS. The coaster was RIGHT THERE 🤪
#weatherforit 🥶 Need a new blanket? Look no fu #weatherforit 🥶

Need a new blanket? Look no further than these gorgeous South African blankets from @baobabcollective, sustainably sourced, ethically crafted and imported by a Southern Highlands couple.

On the blog now via link in bio.
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Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.

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Amy Collins Walker

About Amy Collins Walker

Amy is our regular feature writer, an experienced journalist and interior stylist living in Perth, Western Australia. Find out more about her styling work at http://www.amycollinswalker.com/

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