Essential Final Details for the Perfect Renovation

With your plumbing and electrics in place, the end is in sight and your renovation project is nearly complete. But before putting your feet up and reaping the rewards of your efforts, there are all-important finishing touches to be considered – don’t underestimate their value to the overall enterprise.

Complete renovation part 8: Plumbing and electrics

These details are the things you’ll see and live with day-to-day, influencing the overall style and feel of your house. So it’s worth spending time researching the options. Here’s an outline of key areas that benefit from some attention.

Skirting boards

As well as being aesthetically pleasing, skirting boards help hide untidy joins between walls and floor while preventing knocks or scuffs from damaging plaster. All too often, a mish-mash of ideas and styles ruins a house design, which is why the right option will be down to the look and age of your property.

If rooms have high ceilings, small boards may be disproportionate and look incongruous. Likewise, high skirtings in a small room can be overpowering.

While modern varieties are slimmer, smaller and usually cheaper, traditional-style skirting can have a striking effect in the right property. Several varieties exist so check what works best and retain that same kind throughout.

Staircases

Within any home, the staircase can make a powerful statement and will set the tone for the look you’re trying to create.

This Georgian-inspired staircase by Bisca has brought heaps of wow factor to this hallway.

“Does your home have a classic or contemporary aesthetic? It’s important that you consider this because a flight needs to fit within the house,” says James Murray, senior staircase designer at Neville Johnson, specialists in stair renovation.

“Every staircase refurbishment we undertake is bespoke and tailored to the client’s specific requirements. Do you want to invest in a wow factor statement flight or create a subtle style?”

Tiling

When you’ve added your feature fireplace, new kitchen or perhaps restored a vintage porch, what better way to highlight it than with unique tiling? A seemingly endless selection of styles and materials are available for floors, walls and other elements – everything from colourful patterns and minimalist designs to vintage and retro styles.

Learn more: Choosing Bathroom Tiles

Replacing hearth tiles on a renovated fireplace, for example, can bring it to life. Feature flooring also works well, says Mark Findlay, founder of Harvey Maria, experts in luxury vinyl tiles (LVT): “Creating a statement underfoot packs a powerful punch and can transform a room. Using distinct flooring allows you to add focal points, frames and borders to zone off specific areas. A border is probably the most discreet approach and one that works really well in
a kitchen where it could frame a central island or table.”

Porches and hallways are also good places to make statements. Porcelain tiles are popular because not only are they less expensive than some other materials, they’re easy to maintain, hard wearing and available in many realistic, natural and non-slip finishes.

Andrew Chappell, UK area sales manager of tile manufacturer Vives, says: “There are now many more anti-slip tiles on the market, which is an important factor when selecting a floor tile for the outside or a work area, such as in a kitchen or bathroom.”

Window dressing

From curtains and roller blinds to Venetian blinds and shutters, many options exist to maintain your light and privacy. “When choosing window coverings, think about how much energy and heat you might lose through the window, who can see in and out and how much light will stream through,” says Chris Rocker of Just Shutters.

Your choice of window dressing will have a big impact on the room; this subtle design from Just Shutters lets the interesting window shape become the focal point

The colours you pick are important, too. “We created coloured shutters because we recognised that the modern homeowner is having fun with decoration and seeing new possibilities in how to experiment to make their home unique,” says Chris. “We were inspired by the British coast when creating this range. The neutral yet eye-catching shades add a sense of tranquillity in the home.”

Snagging list

Be prepared to compile a snagging list, which means going over the work and understanding if anything isn’t quite up to scratch. It’s inevitable that little problems will arise that need resolving, perhaps poorly fitted doors, for instance, or shrinkage between skirting boards and walls.

If you’re reading this early in your project, then bear in mind that rather than letting the list grow, it’s always best to try and fix problems as and when they occur.

If a building company was hired to complete your renovation, you’ve probably agreed to hold retention monies from any payments. Not releasing such sums until the snagging list has been actioned is an effective way to retain links with your builder once the main thrust of the project is complete.

“Any good tradesperson should be more than happy to remedy work that’s not up to scratch,” says David Conlon, head designer and founder of En Masse Bespoke Interiors. “This would
only cost extra if you’re making changes to the spec that was first agreed within the original contract.”