Hi lovelies,

So, you have “that” space in your home or apartment and you know exactly what you want to do with it.  Now, if only you had an awesome budget to get some vision-board quality contractors in to do it for you.  But...what if you didn’t them?

Here’s your cheat sheet to do you, while you do DIY.

#1 BE REALISTIC
Go ahead.  Dream big and load that vision board with all of your favourite images for your project, update your “Pinterest” whenever you see anything that tickles you but at the end of the day, keep it real ladies unless you’re a “1 percenter”, you’re going to need to know what you want versus what you can afford and where you can cut corners, without cutting style or safety.

#2  MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
You need to find the magic centre of the “triangle of expectation”.  So, you can have it fast and quality - but it won’t be cheap, or you can have it cheap and fast but you won’t get quality or you can have it quality and cheap - but it won’t be fast,  and that’s the one you really want because not only will you fit squarely into the “delayed gratification” check box, you’ll have more freedom to change your mind along the way should your personal situation change.

#3  YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING.  (ALMOST).
Unless you are from the background that’s equipped you with the skills you need to rewire your apartment or make sure that your construction is up to code, ladies - you’re going to need to call in specialists for certain functions.  Think, commercial plumbing services for when you want to remodel your office or workspace for example.  As a matter of fact, think about home plumbing for when you’re doing it at home.

#4 GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS
Ok “Wonder Woman”, no one doubts you and you shouldn’t doubt you either but there’s a big difference between doing wallpaper and having to tear down drywall or pour concrete and if you can’t afford specialists then ask around.  Your friends are a great resource and if they don’t have the skills you need, they may know the person who does.  Know thyself - you’ll be glad.

#5  START SMALL, START SMART
Start with what you know you can do and don’t expect it to be done in a day.  There’s a reason why remodelling fits into the category of “the most stressful things that you can do”.  It’s right up there with divorce or changing your career, so take some time to work in some self-care during this process.  

So start with what you know you can do and work from there.

Ok, so this post makes it sound easy and it isn’t.  But, that doesn’t mean it has to be hard either and there are libraries of resources online and plenty of guides for you to call on to get you started and always remember to have fun, laugh when things go wrong and definitely get some paint on your face.