Renovating With Dogs : Things To Consider

Whilst most of our reno was completed without us and the dogs around (and what's left of our sanity will be forever grateful for that) for a good six months or more after move in day tradesmen were very much a regular part of our lives. The house might have been finished enough for us to live in, but there was a lot left to do. 

We had carpenters on site building our garage and installing our deck; we had the tilers and the pool guy (technical tradie name) working on our big spa/small pool; we had a whole flock of joiners finishing our kitchen and our wardrobe. Some days there were electricians and tilers and landscapers and painters. And there were stonemasons, who brought their own gas stove and coffee percolator. 

I didn't think too much about what that would mean for the dogs, apart from some vague notion of staying home to make sure they didn't run away. But after one day of trying to get my own stuff done whilst juggling all the tradies and two very curious and loud and possibly likely to escape dachshunds I realised I needed a better plan. 

So if you're about to start a building project and you're dealing with dogs, here's some things to think about:

Find a good doggy day care. Day one I tried to have the dogs at home. By 11am I was googling doggy day care. If you have a lot of tradespeople going in and out of your house it's worth thinking about putting your dog in day care, or finding someone to watch them. With all the comings and goings gates and doors will be left open, even with the best of intentions. It's not worth the stress or the risk. 

Doggy day care also saved my eardrums. Our dogs are quite annoying protective and so feel it's their duty to bark, loudly, every time someone comes in the front door, or back door, or moves more than a metre in any direction. Taking them out of the equation when the tradies were in the house made for a much more peaceful day all round. 

Dogs and power tools don't mix. And neither do dogs and paint cans, or dogs and excavators, or dogs and giant pits in the backyard. Whilst a building site might be a fine environment for a smart working dog who is used to all the mess and noise and sharp edges (my dad was a builder and always had his dog on site), it's definitely not a suitable environment for two dachshunds who think they need to play with and / or attack everything, including power saws. 

Tradies like to eat. So do dogs. At the end of a long day at day care Elfi loved coming back home and having a good sniff about, and cleaning up whatever food scraps she could find. Which might have been fun for her, but I'm pretty sure cheezel crumbs, yogurt tubs and banana skins aren't part of a healthy dog diet.

Once she found the remains of a kebab, in amongst all the builders rubble. (I only realised because things had been very, very quiet for awhile which always means the dogs are either dead or up to no good.) After that I made very sure to check the site over for any food scraps before they came home. (It's worth checking the site over at the end of each day for anything else not dog-friendly too, like paint and chemicals, or dog-sized crevices.)

A few months later we had some painters on site. Two guys who are lovely and who I trust to never leave a door or gate open, so the dogs were home too. The painters had brought their lunch with them, a sandwich of some sort, which Elfi dutifully sought out and ate. Luckily they were quite taken by our hounds and laughed it off, but it was all rather embarrassing. I made sure they had a safe spot up high to store their lunch after that.

Dogs get stressed too. Renovations are stressful. Aside from the logistics of it all there's the emotional part too - you constantly have people in your house, in your space. Your happy calm place, your retreat from the world, is not that at all during a renovation. And your dogs will feel that too. 

Although doggy day care was the best and safest option for us, Elfi (the neurotic one) found it incredibly stressful going there each day. And on the days I kept her at home she found the constant invasions by strangers incredibly stressful too. She actually began to show physical signs of distress - her coat wasn't so shiny, she had a temperature and an upset stomach. Poor thing. Luckily the vet had some good advice on diet and other things we could tweak to help her through. 

If you've got a dog that's bit nervy keep an extra eye on them. Do whatever you can to make them feel loved, and to give them a stable environment, and get them to the vet if they're feeling under the weather.

Have you renovated with pets in the house? How did you manage?

Things I Learnt Whilst Renovating : My Top Ten Tips*

(*Alternative titles that were rejected: 'Renovating? Don't Make All The Stupid Mistakes I Did' or 'Renovating? How Not To Have Several Nervous Breakdowns. Like I Did'.) 

Guys! The house is starting to look really goddamn good! We've had the landscapers here this week so the garden is mostly done, we have lights where we are meant to have lights, and decking and bookshelves and a heater. There's still a longish list of defects and incomplete stuff that's being slowly ticked off but generally the whole thing is looking more house and less building site. This is really, really exciting. (I have a rule of not swearing online but I'm finding it pretty hard not to swear in this post because it's freaking amazing that we've finally gotten to this point. I want to swear, a lot, in happiness.). 

It's been quite a journey. I have learnt a lot. If we ever do this again (DEAR LORD NO) I will do so many things differently. If you're like me and are embarking on this kind of thing you'll probably just wade in blindly with optimism in your heart despite of all those Grand Design episodes you've watched. So, I'm actually not writing this for you. I'm writing this for future me. Future me - pay attention, okay?

1. Invest in a really, really good vacuum cleaner. Or just hire a full time duster. Or both. 

2. Be nice. To the various builders and the tradies, to the architect if you're using one. These people are building your house. Yes, you're paying them lots of money to do the job, but a smile and a thank you will go a long way too. If you're the have-a-cuppa-and-a-freshly-baked-biccie kind of person share that with whoever is on site. I'm not very good with that kind of hospitality - I blame my parents (that's a joke Mum, okay?) - so that's not me. I try to be nice in other ways. Basically if someone does something awesome, tell them. 

We've met some really talented, passionate tradespeople throughout this project who've variously worked magic with wood and plaster and bricks, and steel and sandstone and joinery (and I can't forget the upholstery whisperer; he takes cushions to a whole other level). They have unique skills and they are proud of their work. It's really great to let them know when you think they've done something really great. 

It also pays to be nice to your neighbours (even when they complain), and to the council rangers (who are just doing their job). Keep the neighbours in the loop. When things were dragging on a bit I dropped a thank you note with my contact details and a bribe block of chocolate in a few letterboxes. I also put a thank you hamper together for our immediate neighbours. Without patient and understanding neighbours your big build won't happen. 

3. But not too nice. You may not want to be the annoying person who says 'You know how you spent six hours yesterday building that thing? Well it's in the wrong spot / looks like crap / shouldn't be fluro pink and you need to redo it'. But sometimes you need to be that person; you're the one who is going to have to live with that thing.

I'm not very good at being the annoying person; I tend to avoid conflict. But it just ends in tears if you put the short term needs of a tradie ahead of the long term needs of you and your family. Trust me. (Side note: our architect was awesome here. He is passionate about getting everything as 'right' as possible. Which sometimes made us all roll our eyes (like when he got the builder to redo a particular bulkhead for the third time just days before we were meant to move in) but with every decision, push, annoyance I can honestly say the short term pain was worth the long term awesomeness.) 

To be honest the whole renovation process has forced me to really look at my idea of being nice and what that actually means. It's okay if you live in a bubble, but sometimes you do need to be the bad guy to get things done or get your point heard. Which sucks, because I like to believe that people are generally lovely and nice and do the things they say they are going to do. But sometimes they don't, and you'll need to hold them accountable for that. 

4. Don't be afraid to look like an idiot. If you're a newbie like me you will go into this having no idea at all of what to expect, and you'll spend most of the time having no idea at all as to what's actually going on. Two things I wish I'd done differently: 1) Paid more attention in the early months (I didn't because we were still living in Korea and I kind of thought it was all okay), and 2) Asked more questions from the beginning. I didn't want to ask too many questions because I'd look like a fool (so I didn't ask questions and felt like a fool instead). These days I ask a ton of questions, and I'm thoroughly enjoying being more involved in the process. (Related - this post by Lana of The Sharpest Pencil was all too familiar...)

5. Don't underestimate the importance of relationships. The biggest lesson for me? It's not bricks and wood and paint that get your house built - it's communication. The interaction between the architect, the builder, the foreman and you is vitally important. Don't neglect those relationships because when you do delays and mistakes happen. 

Make sure everyone gets along on day one (when things are easy), and do what you can to make sure everyone still gets along on day one hundred and one (when things may not be so easy). I'm not talking a campfire love-in with hugs and singing and toasted marshmallows. I'm talking a good, working relationship. There will be creative tension, there will be differences of opinion and there will be the occasional rolling of eyes - and that's all fine and part of the process. But if open and clear communication becomes a casualty, you're in for some rocky times.

6. If you're paying for an expert, take their advice. Be prepared to compromise. Our approach throughout the whole project has been that we are paying good money for the advice of an architect, so we better bloody listen to it. And it's been a good approach. The injection of light into the house, the clever resolution of some tricky spaces, the flow from inside to outside - all of this has come from the advice of our architect (and the hard work of our builder and many, many tradies). 

Obviously the first step is making sure you've got the right expert for you and your project. But, once you do, pay attention to what they're telling you. If you've chosen well it's likely they know what they're talking about. 

7. But don't compromise on everything. If you feel really, really strongly about something, fight for it. For me there were three things that I really wanted in the house - a black front door, a Coco Flip light, a marble waterfall bench top. Those three things are in the house, and I adore them. 

Our architect made it clear from the outset that there were some things he felt strongly about and would petition us to invest in, but equally he was happy for us to put the case forward for things we felt strongly about. I thoroughly enjoyed both sides of that equation.

8. It will never be perfect. Well, maybe if you had unlimited funds and you were dealing with a completely new build it might be perfect. But generally you will be working to a budget and a timeframe, and you'll be dealing with the legacy of many, many previous builders and do-it-yourselfers (we've discovered there's not a single straight line in our terrace house...). Your renovation might turn out to be awesome and amazing, it might be 'very you', but don't put the pressure on it (or yourself) to be perfect.

9. It will never be finished. A few days after we moved in to our (still quite unfinished) house we did a walk-though with the architect outlining the things we wanted to change (remove a pendant light here, get rid of a door there, build in some shelves here...). Three months later and I'm currently in the midst of completely reorganising our upstairs spare room / office space, and I'm already planning to get the painters back in a few months to give the house 'one last' go over. There will always be something more to do.

10. Don't buy all your furniture at once. See how you use the space, what the space actually needs, before you rush out and get everything. Spreading it out over a long period of time also gives you the chance to both: a) snap up a bargain when you come across one (our bedside tables were the one's on display in The Design File's Open House which meant we got a decent discount), and b) invest in some super special pieces (our couch is freaking awesome...and took more than three months to arrive once ordered).

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So, that's a few things I've learnt - how about you? Have you undertaken a big renovation project? What did you find out along the way?

The Big Project : We Moved In!

A few weeks ago we finally moved in to the house we've been renovating for…well, a very long time. It's our first house - both in terms of it not being an apartment and in terms of it being something we actually own. Exciting, and overwhelming. 

Being in the house is great but it's also really, really messy and a little frustrating. There is still so much that needs to be done. There's still little unfinished bits everywhere. And there's still big unfinished bits everywhere - nowhere to put our clothes (so we're still living out of suitcases), nowhere to put our books (hence all the boxes patiently waiting to be unpacked in that photo up there); no garage, no garden. 

Some of our furniture doesn't fit the space, at all. (Which is kind of secretly awesome because yay! furniture shopping, and I never really liked our couch anyway…). 

So clearly things aren't perfect, and they won't be for a long time.

But, it's still ace being home. No more nomadic life, no more paying riduclous amounts for serviced apartments, no dogs at the boarding kennel. 

And as annoying as the dust and the early mornings are, I'm actually enjoying seeing the tradies come and go, seeing things getting fixed and finished, each day. Seeing progress being made.

And getting to know the house and the neighbourhood is pretty ace too. A few years ago we bought a dark, dank terrace with potential - now we have a beautiful house with light in every corner (thanks Alex!). 

I love watching the light change throughout the day, moving across the space. I love the kitchen, which was basically designed around the Coco Flip pendant light which stole my heart some time ago. 

I love the family of currawongs that live on our street (I don't love it so much when they get trapped in the house though). I love the parrots and kookaburras and cockatoos, and the bats that fly overhead en masse at night. 

I love that we have so many tasty options for when we can't be bothered to cook and want to walk somewhere for dinner (we've barely scratched the surface but my favourites so far are the fancy Italian here, the burger here, and the pizza here). I love that there's a dog on (almost) every porch, and people that smile and say hi when you pass them in the street. 

We're still getting to know each other, this home and I, but I think we're going to get along just fine…

The Big Project : Update 1

So, with the move to Sydney a definite thing that is actually happening, it's been all systems go on The Big Project. Yep, we're renovating. From a distance. 

It's our first time going through the process (which is a nice way of saying we have no freaking idea what we're doing), but thankfully we have an awesome architect who is holding our hands. And who, after five long months, is only just now starting to get annoyed by my midnight emails agonising over kitchen bench options. Anyhoo...

Here's what has happened so far:

1. I found an architect. Via Google. Now I'm sure there's all kinds of checklists and such that give you detailed instructions on choosing the right architect for your project. But there's also Google, which is what I went with. I googled 'Paddington architect' and a bunch of options turned up. I picked Roth Architecture because a) I really liked their portfolio - light, modern and clean but with the personality of the owners coming through in each project; and b) they'd done a bunch of terrace houses in the area, which meant they'd dealt with the council on similar projects before. Very helpful. 

2. I put together a brief. Basically a list of things we wanted in the house plus a package of inspiration images. All those pages I'd been ripping out of magazines and pinning for the past year or so, with little notes explaining what I liked about each image. It was kind of like scrap booking your dream house and then handing it over to someone who might actually make it all happen. This bit was lots and lots of fun. 

3. We had a chat with the architect. We talked on the phone and then met in person. We talked about our lifestyle and how we think we'd use the different spaces in our house. We talked about what we liked and what we didn't like. And we got a bit excited about all the possibilities. Well, okay, I got a lot excited about all the possibilities. 

4. The architect sent us a sketch design, a rough plan of the house. Basically a starting point to play with, to talk over; something to check we were all heading in the same direction. Seeing all those fragments of ideas come together in a drawing - of our house! - was pretty awesome. 

5. We went to council for approval (well technically our architect went to council for approval). The finalised sketch design was turned into a plan with all the lines and measurements and stuff that proper plans have. Then we had to get a bunch of reports, which our architect coordinated for us - geotechnical, water something-or-rather...my memory is a bit vague. But I do remember that there were a lot of invoices to pay. Come to think of it, my biggest learning so far is that this whole renovation thing involves a lot of paying of invoices.

6. We got council approval. Hooray! Our architect was great at advising us on things that would be giant red flags (like our original idea to add a second story to our garage), so we'd kind of compromised on things before we went to council. It meant that the plan we submitted was pretty inoffensive. Aside from one adjustment to a roof line, all was okay. 

7. Things started getting serious. Up till now it'd all been pretty pictures and scrap books, but to move forward we needed to zoom in on each room and really finalise the layouts. And to start making decisions about tap ware and floor finishes and lighting. So naturally I froze. I did absolutely nothing. I felt a bit overwhelmed by it all, completely overcome with indecision. But we met with our architect in Sydney last month and it was very reassuring and helpful. Although I guess I am still breaking out in a nervous sweat whenever I think about lighting. Or kitchen bench tops for that matter. 

Right now we are in the process of getting a council construction certificate and finalising the detailed plans and all the specifications. Then all that information will go out to tender, we pick a builder, they build, we pay another bazillion invoices and then we move in... Easy, right? 

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The light at the top is the Muuto E27 pendant lamp in black. You can get it from Kido.

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UPDATE: I just sent my husband an email about toilet options. I am totally turning in to Bill Murray's wife from Lost in Translation. At least it was just an email and not a box of carpet samples. Though to be fair we aren't actually having carpet in our house so...