Five Home Renovation Tips from Interior Designer Zachary Pulman
Photo of Canonbury by Zachary Pulman Design Studio
Are you looking to renovate your home but unsure where to start? Zachary Pulman has decades of experience transforming London homes and working internationally on residential and commercial projects, including Swingers Crazy Golf, Topgolf, Nike and Puma. His studio Zachary Pulman Design Studio was the first London practice to gain listed planning consent for a full-width contemporary addition. So he sure knows how to make even the most ambitious renovation projects a reality! He shares five home renovation tips for you to keep in mind, and spills the beans on what you should avoid along the way.
Photos of Little Venice by Zachary Pulman Design Studio
1. Know your priorities
When planning a major life upgrade like renovating or redeveloping your home, knowing your priorities is of utmost importance. What does your lifestyle look like? How can you make your home work for you and those you’ll share the space with? Does your home need a music or art studio? Have you always wanted a cinema room? How many kids do you have or plan to have soon? Do any family members you want to visit live far away (cue guest room)? Is having rays of sunlight pouring into your room to wake you up every day critical to you (or annoying)? With the rise in popularity of working from home – how can you balance open-plan living with the need for silent headspace for home working?
Get to know what you value most, and your designer can make everything else fit around this. The result is a home with no dead space, where every inch is used, if not daily, at least weekly.
Don’t get too caught up thinking about what improvements will add value when you come to sell. This is an opportunity to make your home optimal for you, and by choosing the right designer, they’ll ensure the development is tasteful. This process is emotional as much as it is about function, so don’t be afraid to dig deep.
2. Be bold
Be bold, daring, and ambitious. Share your style, be different or eclectic if you want to. Let your home reflect your interests and passions. Renovating your home is an amazing opportunity to be the master of your own ship.
3. Commit to your brief
Be so confident in your brief that you know you’re not going to want to make changes once you get started. Delay the starting point until you’re 100% sure.
To help with decision choices, see real examples of the finishes you’re interested in, in actual spaces. In morning light as well as in artificial light. Scale is very important, for example, a flooring option in a wood shop looks great as one plank, but perhaps a whole floor in a hotel looks too intense. So, if you can see your chosen flooring in a similar scale setting, go for it!
4. Choose your team carefully
Choose to work with a contractor you trust and get on well with, and make sure they come highly recommended via a good source. You could be working with them for a year in planning, a year in construction, and even beyond that for tweaks, so this will be an important relationship! The same goes for amazing craftsmen and bespoke designers who can create custom furniture and completely bespoke interiors and finishes that are ideal for you and your space.
5. And let them help you
Share your style, interests and passions with your design team and keep the conversations flowing. By being sure and confident about your design choices, your team can create the best results for you and avoid costly reshuffles to your project mid-way through.
Four things to avoid
Photo of Central Saint Giles by Zachary Pulman Design Studio
1. Don’t be shy
It’s a shame to play safe with your vision or make choices based on the resale factor. This is your opportunity to express your unique style, so don’t be a shrinking violet.
2. Stay somewhere else
Avoid at all costs living in your home renovation during any major works. It’ll end in tears!
3. Be clutter-free
Don’t hold on to stuff you don’t use or need to use every week.
4. The wrong team
90% of the battle is getting the right contractor – if you can work with people you like, you can overcome any obstacles or challenges.
Want to chat about your home?
If you’re plotting your next move or to transform your home, we’d love to hear from you and chat about your vision. Get in touch to book a complimentary 30-minute coffee chat in London or via Zoom with Zachary Pulman.
About Zachary Pulman
Award-winning Zachary Pulman is one of London’s transcendent designers, with a team of creative gurus including experts in their fields of architecture, design, engineering and construction. Zachary Pulman Design Studio prides itself on a united passion to create exceptional design and unique spaces that inspire and engage.