4 costs to consider for a home renovation as a parent

Home renovation can be both stressful and costly. Finding the right materials, furniture, and even workers can be a tall task. However, renovating your home can be even greater of a challenge if you are also raising a family.

You must consider not only your wants and needs but also those of your children and family. It can be especially difficult to accomplish this while staying frugal.

Fortunately, you don't need to spend so much on your home improvements if you plan properly. Here are three forward-thinking considerations and costs for parents planning a home renovation:

1. Planning for the future

A costly mistake made by many new parents is planning your new home without a long-term vision. This is true not only for financing your home, but also planning the interior space. For instance, parents often purchase age-specific furniture for their children's bedrooms.

While this kind of renovation may help to address immediate needs, it can also lead to unnecessary costs and the need for future renovations or furniture replacement. For this reason, it's important for parents to remember that children are constantly growing — and faster than you might expect!

Instead of buying tiny beds or desks to accommodate your young children, you may be able to save later down the road by opting for furniture such as low-profile or platform beds.

These kinds of beds are not only easily accessible by kids due to their low height, but also often carry built-in storage for toys or other kids' items. Parents can also utilize accessories such as seat boosters — instead of buying kid-size chairs — to reuse furniture while accommodating to children's needs.

2. Purchasing childproofed products

As a parent, it's important to always have your children's best interests in mind. This applies to your home improvement project as well. For instance, using non-toxic paint instead of regular paint would be beneficial to your children's health.

Other products such as overhead lighting and hardwood floors are good alternatives that minimise risks for your kids.

If you are planning to do a major renovation, such as changing flooring or gut-renovation, finding childcare to keep your children away from active construction sites should also be considered.

ALSO READ: Baby-proof your home: All you need to make your place safe for the little one

You should always prioritise Best Savings Accounts while planning your home improvement project. The following table provides a comparison of the average cost of childproofed solutions and their potentially hazardous counterparts.

The data comes from ValueChampion's calculation of average costs of home renovations in Singapore and prices found from Singapore's online retailers.

3. Making storage a priority

As a parent, you will inevitably accumulate things in your apartment. Not only will you continue to buy things, but your children will also have various wants and needs. One way you can stay prepared and avoid future costs is by investing in storage space in your home.

To tackle this, you can make larger home alterations such as installing additional closets, cabinets, wardrobes, or shelving units.

This can save you the need to purchase additional furniture down the road, and will also contribute to decluttering your home. Both of these features can serve to benefit not only your wallet, but the overall energy of your space.

4. Choosing a versatile aesthetic

Lastly, new parents or homeowners should be aware of the high costs of constantly remodeling or switching furniture. A great way you can avoid this scenario is by choosing an interior design style that will withstand the test of time.

For instance, instead of painting your children's rooms to accommodate their tastes, you can instead choose a color that you anticipate will suit your family for years to come.

Furthermore, as outlined in a previous section, choosing versatile furniture instead of child-specific pieces can help you save in the long run.

ALSO READ: Here's how you can save more than $30,000 on your renovation costs

Of course, the cost of your home renovation project will still depend on the stylistic choices you make. While it isn't necessary to choose one specific theme or design style, it can be helpful to understand the prices of different styles.

Modern, Scandinavian, and Industrial styles may be appealing to you if you want a clean and timeless look at a reasonable budget. Likewise, you can make your space more child-friendly by adding throw pillows or other accessories for splashes of color.

The table below shows the approximate average costs of renovation based on style. Note that the data considers both labor and remodeling costs, so replacing only furniture will come at a lower cost.

This article was first published in ValueChampion.