Renovation planning starts with how you want to live

This post is part of our Renovation Planning series.

When people begin planning a renovation, they often start in the same place: Pinterest boards, saved Instagram posts, and a clear idea of the look they love.

Sometimes they are deciding whether to move house or renovate - check out my previous blog post - Relocate or Renovate?

But what’s often missing from those early conversations is something far more important — how they actually live in their home.

Why style-led planning often falls short

Many homeowners come to a renovation having already decided they want to extend or rework their space, without fully understanding why.

They’ll show me a beautiful image and talk about the lifestyle it represents — calm, minimal, perfectly styled — but that image often reflects an idealised version of life, not the reality of busy households, children, pets, bags, shoes, and everyday mess.

Homes aren’t showrooms. They’re lived in every single day.

If a renovation is planned around how someone wishes they lived, rather than how they truly do, the finished space can quickly feel uncomfortable, impractical, or oddly disappointing.

Designing for real life (not Instagram life)

One of the first things I always ask clients is how they actually use their space.

What happens when you walk through the door? Where do things naturally get dropped?Where does the family gather without thinking about it?

Every home has a place where clutter naturally lands — keys, phones, bags, shoes. It’s often a source of tension, with one person asking why the other always puts things there.

Rather than fighting those habits, good design works with them.

Something as simple as placing a beautiful bowl or designated storage where clutter naturally falls can instantly transform a daily frustration into something that feels intentional and calm. The behaviour doesn’t change — the environment does.

Your home isn’t a workplace with systems and rules. It’s your sanctuary. Design should support that.

The everyday things that are often overlooked

When renovations aren’t planned around lifestyle, it’s usually the small, everyday details that cause frustration later on.

Commonly overlooked areas include:

• Storage — there is almost never enough, and it needs to be where you actually use it

• Lighting — often under-considered, yet hugely impactful on how a home feels

• Furniture size and layout — rooms that look good on plan but don’t work in reality

• Working from home — spaces that aren’t designed for long-term use

• Children and teenagers — allowing room for growth, independence, and change

• Future-proofing — creating spaces that work now, but can adapt later

These aren’t things you want to be fixing after a renovation. With the right planning, they can be addressed from the start.

When renovations don’t reflect real life

When a renovation doesn’t align with how a family actually lives, it can feel like something has missed the mark.

Clients may live with it because of the cost involved, but the space doesn’t bring the ease, comfort, or enjoyment they were hoping for. Sometimes it’s only one small thing that’s wrong — but it’s one thing too many, and it shouldn’t have happened at all.

This often comes down to honesty. People don’t always want to admit they’re messy, that they like having things out, or that their life doesn’t fit the minimalist ideal they admire online.

But the more honest you can be at the planning stage, the better the end result will be.

Renovation planning can be a positive experience

Renovations have a reputation for being stressful, messy, and expensive — and while they can be challenging, they don’t have to be a dreadful experience.

With the right planning (check out my 'Renovating planning guide') enough time, and the right team, renovation can be exciting. It’s a chance to move closer to the home you’ve always wanted, rather than something to simply endure.

One of the most important steps is bringing the right people in early. Ideally, an interior designer should be involved from the same stage as an architect — not added in later. This creates continuity, clarity, and momentum, and means you’re not left coordinating multiple decisions on your own. I have written a blog post about renovation planning here

A well-supported renovation feels guided, not overwhelming — and that makes all the difference.

If you’d like help planning a renovation that reflects how you truly live — not just how you want it to look — a design-led approach from the very beginning can make the process calmer, clearer, and far more rewarding.

Book a discovery call here so we can have a chat about your project and how I can support you with your renovation.