The Selection process for your build or renovation project can be made easier and less stressful by preparation and research. By deciding prior to your selection shopping what Must-Have items you really want to include, you will be able to say yes or no to any potential variations or upgrades with confidence, saving valuable time that you might have spent in showrooms agonizing over certain design decisions! Read on for a handy list of design selections we believe are worth their weight in gold, and where you can cut costs, so you can confidently breeze through your selections!

Where to Spend/ Splurge:

Main flooring

This is your homes’ visual foundation, which will ideally last decades, so you’ll want to invest in the very best you can afford. With so many flooring options available, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so do lots of research early on, talk to your builder, look online, and visit showrooms. Your main flooring should not be something to skimp on, so explore luxurious and hardwearing options like engineered timber, beautiful large format or natural stone tiles, or polished concrete. The investment will be one you’re glad you made.

Tip: One of my favourite engineered timber suppliers is Woodcut, once you see and feel their range you’ll understand why. The natural look and feel of real timber without the solid hardwood price tag, and their large array of quality timbers is impressive.

Kitchen Stone

The kitchen, aka the heart of the home, is a place where you can justify splurging on a hero piece of stone. If you’ve ever experienced the hunt for the perfect piece of natural stone, you’ll understand the feeling when you find The One. If you’re using engineered stone, you can always upgrade to a stone from the high-end/ luxe range for your kitchen island, and keep to a standard range stone in a complementary hue to the returns and butlers. Or, simply splash out on the fabulous stone you love for your whole kitchen, and use the standard range stone in your wet areas. Whether you upgrade to natural or premium engineered stone, you can splurge on your kitchen stone in my opinion.

Undermount Sink

I would always justify the cost of an undermount sink in your dream kitchen. Although there will be extra cost in the cutting/ polishing of the stone, the overall effect is seamless and contemporary.

Kitchen Sink Mixer

Your kitchen sink mixer is one of the workhorses of your kitchen so you can certainly justify the splurge on a wizz-bang one! Some features that will increase the price of your mixer include the finish, the height, the profile, and different attachments such as pull-out/ retractable. A Zip tap is always a good investment, with the option of instant boiling water, chilled, sparkling or simple filtered water. A factor you might want to consider is the height and scale of your mixer, if you have the room for it. The larger sized mixers completely lift and transform the feel of the kitchen into an opulent and luxurious-feeling kitchen. In the same way that large tiles make a small space feel bigger, a nice tall mixer elevates your kitchen into a more spacious feeling one.

Handles

Handles or hardware can be described as the jewellery of the home. Handles should not be an afterthought, as they contribute towards the overall impression and style of your home. Many a good kitchen has been ruined by the cheap, rectangular builders- range handles which instantly date your kitchen and make it feel like a project home.

Tiles

Tiles are similar to your flooring, in that you’ll want to get a nice long life out of them. That’s why I believe in the value of investing in quality and beautiful tiles. Aesthetics-wise, I also believe in splurging on amazing feature tiles.  Although some tiles can cost upwards of $400/m, you can use them as a feature on your bathroom vanity wall, kitchen splashback or shower wall to amazing effect. These areas are typically only a couple of metres, so by tiling only a relatively small area you’ll get a showstopping tile that will become of the hero features of your home that you’ll love and enjoy for years. Which is worth every penny!

Your ‘Ultimate Dream Feature’

This is where each client will have their own special feature they’ve always dreamed of having in their own home. This is different from person to person, and can vary from the super luxurious (a built in wood-fired pizza oven; an infrared sauna; a temperature-controlled wine cellar, undercroft garage) to a simple but beautiful little touch that makes life more easy and efficient  (a pot filler behind stove, a designated space for shoes and schoolbags). This is your big opportunity to plan for and include the very thing you’ve always wanted in your dream home. I suggest taking a moment to reflect on what that is to you, so that we can explore the possibilities and budget requirements to make it a reality.

Where to Save

White stone

If you’re wanting a clean, white stone for your Sunshine Coast interior design project, why not keep to a standard range stone which will do the same job as a deluxe or premium-range white stone? Some of my favourite standard range white stones are Caesarstone ‘Snow’, or Quantum Quartz ‘Reflections’. Stone Ambassador has quite a good range of whites in their Essentials range too.

Laminate Cabinetry

With such a huge range of laminate cabinetry available, you can get the look of natural timber in your home without the price tag. The technology behind laminate has advanced hugely and brands like Polytec, Laminex and Torsel have a large range of timber-look ranges. My tip when using timber-look cabinetry is to always choose a textured or woodgrain finish over a flat or smooth finish for a more natural look and feel.

Matchy-Matchy

Many clients will worry about not having the same product throughout the home, for example once they’ve decided on a stone benchtop they wonder if they have to continue all the other benchtops with this selection. However I don’t believe in being ‘matchy- matchy’, not only can we save cost by mixing a few different benchtop selections throughout the home, it’s also unnecessary to match them all! In my opinion, it’s nice to have a special piece of stone for the kitchen, but we can have the bathrooms in a more economical range, and the laundry benchtop can even be in laminate! If the whole home flows and feels cohesive, that is more important than all selections and products matching perfectly.

Ultimately, you can spend as much as you like on your dream home. If you’re working to a budget however, I recommend to my Sunshine Coast interior design  clients to research and create a game plan prior to their selections so they can prioritise where to spend and where to save. The outcome will be a beautiful home that you can feel confident and happy in!