Living in regional areas can definitely have its perks. Those who move to regional towns and cities trade in obnoxious inner city traffic and endless construction for the ambience of the bush. Instead of blaring sirens, you get cheeky kookaburras. And instead of sharing walls with your neighbours, you share hedges, paddock fencing, and perhaps even riverbanks.
But what if your country cottage needs a little bit of a pick-me-up? In this case, you may find yourself yearning for the sounds of endless construction because it means that your home renovation is well underway. The reality is, however, that organising regional home renovations isn’t as simple as commencing a renovation project in metropolitan areas.
So how do you make sure that your regional home renovation project is set up for success? We’ll be answering just this question today, by exploring these following 5 considerations that all regional homeowners must make when planning out their next home renovation project.
Work with local contractors and trades professionals
The first thing you’ll want to do is enlist the services of locally based contractors and trades professionals. Granted, if you’re looking to renovate a home in Swan Hill, then you could find an electrician in Victoria and a builder in New South Wales and they’d just be able to drive the same distance. That’s one of the perks of living in a locality that shares a border with another state.
Regardless, however, you can only benefit from working with local construction and trades professionals, as doing so will help ensure minimal obstacles in the timely completion of your home renovation project. Similarly, working with local professionals can both help support your local regional economy, as well as potentially even save you a little extra dollars here and there if your trades professionals charge for their travel time or charge an extra callout fee when travelling greater distances.
Look for locally sourced fixtures and materials
Alongside working with locally based tradespeople, regional homeowners are also encouraged to use locally sourced materials, fittings, and fixtures when planning their home renovation project. There are actually a few different benefits to using locally sourced materials over imported materials. For starters, you won’t have to wait as long for deliveries on locally sourced materials, which means that you can get the ball rolling on your home renovation project with minimal delay.
Using locally sourced build materials can also help you save money, as you’ll be likely to spend a lot less on materials that are readily available rather than paying for internationally sourced materials that bear additional costs due to importation tax. Avoid paying extra for markups wherever possible.
One of the foremost benefits of designing with locally sourced materials, however, is that you can effectively keep your home’s carbon footprint to a minimum. Locally sourced home renovation materials will require less transportation, which means that the environmental impact of securing those materials will be comparatively minimal to securing imported materials. Using raw locally sourced materials like organic timber will further reduce your home’s carbon footprint – ensuring that your country cottage is constructed to honour the country it occupies.
Monitor your waste production
Speaking of managing the carbon footprint of your home and wider renovation project, it’s important to keep in mind that clearing up after a renovation is complete looks a little different for regional homeowners. Whilst there is no shortage of construction waste disposal companies in metropolitan areas, these services may be a little trickier to come by in regional areas. For this reason, regional homeowners are encouraged to plan out their renovation project so that it results in a minimal amount of waste.
Achieving this is actually easier than you may think possible too, as it’s really all about getting your measurements and materials orders as accurate as possible prior to commencing construction. You can work with your contractors to get your ducks in a row here, and then work with local suppliers to make sure that you’re only ordering materials that you need and nothing in excess.
If you do have excess materials on your hands, you could easily just send them right back to your local supplier to be repurposed on their end, or you could perhaps keep them on hand in your shed just in case you may need to make any home repairs down the line. For instance, if you ever need a wall repainted, it certainly does pay to have excess paint in the same shade ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Don’t forget about landscaping
Finally, the appeal of country cottages or just any regional properties isn’t just in their interiors. You move to regional areas to reconnect with the natural world. That’s why your garden spaces require just as much TLC as your home.
With that, regional homeowners are advised to invest in their landscaping as an important part of renovating their property. Add garden features like pathways, garden beds, outdoor tables, and other alfresco dining and entertainment amenities so that you can do just as much living outdoors as you do indoors.
There are so many ways that you can design a country garden and utilise the existing natural assets that can be found on your property. For instance, if your property does border a creek or river, you could set up a waterside picnic area for you and your guests to enjoy. Or if you have plenty of wide, open lawn space, you could set up a little field for playing backyard cricket or footy. And if you’re feeling particularly creative, why not make your very own outdoor statue gallery by artistically trimming some hedges or even just investing in some garden sculptures? Your garden is a blank canvas, so do with it what you will!
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All these tips considered, the most important thing that any regional homeowner can do when embarking on a home renovation project is to simply maintain realistic expectations. Renovations for regional homes can take a little longer than those in metropolitan areas for numerous reasons, including materials shortages and longer wait times for deliveries.
With this in mind, all we can do is simply advocate for patience and ask that you enjoy the process as it happens. Savour the transformation of your property, and stay present for every part of your renovation project. In doing so, you may just find yourself feeling even more connected to your home space once all the work has been done and dusted.
