Personally I think too many people make decisions in a very organic way. The easiest way to renovate is make almost all decisions in advance. Instead most people procrastinate, defer decisions then under the pressure of diminishing lead times, builders pressures to chose what is easiest for them, and with the added pressure of upheaval in the house they make impulse decisions that fail to deliver on the original concept or budget delivering overall a home that fails to meet their original expectations.

This is exactly the kind of experience I’m interested in — especially the point about decisions being deferred until there’s pressure to choose. In your experience, what are the most important things homeowners should have clarified or decided before the renovation actually begins?

Before people start they should nail down all the big decisions, all the major expenses. I think that when people fail to do that it’s because they lack the confidence to do so early and assume they have all the time in the world. I have then seen those people endlessly debate the same decisions, drive themselves mad, fear that they have made the wrong decision when they finally do , all because they failed to make the decision when they had the time to do so.
A great example is a neighbour building an extension. They needed a new kitchen, had chosen one before the builders started but failed to go ahead…… then when living with the upheaval of builders and the disruption to their lives they then revisited the decision, visited loads more showrooms, had lots of designers doing unnecessary work, ultimately confused themselves when they had no head space to take on more. Then overwhelmed by decisions made a heart purchase that ultimately did not deliver on the original brief and is unlikely to satisfy them long term. In my opinion they had the opportunity to have something amazing but in the end purchased safe and boring