While you may know Tiffany Watson from Made in Chelsea, she’s also renovating a Victorian property in Fulham and has given Sterlingbuild her top tips for undertaking a project

One question that tends to be asked about reality TV stars is what they get up to in their spare time when they’re not filming and in Made in Chelsea star Tiffany Watson’s case, she adores home renovation.

In her time off camera, she’s been working flat out on her Victorian apartment in West London, which is beginning to take shape.

The reality star has told Sterlingbuild five of her secrets to a good renovation, which you can read below!

1. Don’t settle on the first builder

While it may be less work to just go with your first builder, it’s so important to get lots of quotes from different builders before you decide who to use.

By doing this, I figured out who was actually offering value for money and who was just trying to rip us off. That’s not to say I necessarily went with the cheapest quote that I got, but it meant that I was confident I wasn’t being taken for a ride with the building company that I chose.

2. Don’t have a set-in stone deadline

No matter how efficient you are or can be, there are always delays! As such, try not to set a timeframe of when your renovation needs to be done, as it just adds unnecessary stress to something already stressful enough.

 

Believe me, I am such an impatient person, but not having a set deadline helped so much. Generally speaking, take what the builder says and then add some time onto that.

3. Stay in touch

Renovations are a big deal, so it’s important to have a regular line of communication with your builder so you can check in on the project as much as you can.

That way, there are no big surprises given you’re constantly in the know and on the ball, rather than just letting them get on with it. This is especially important if it’s your first renovation – ask all the questions you can, ultimately more knowledge is more power.

4. Document the essentials

One thing I found vitally important is to keep a document of all the measurements you need, just so you can refer back to it.

Honestly, with the amount of times you need to know measurements when either ordering products or for reference points for your builders, it’s so helpful just to have them all in one place. It also saves time, too.

5. Don’t rush in early!

Renovations are very exciting, but you should only move in when the property is actually liveable! If you’ve never lived in the property before either, you fully realise once living there what you need, what you don’t need and what’s missing.

It’s really fun seeing the last bits all come together, but don’t rush ahead and potentially leave more work to do.

You can follow Tiffany Watson’s home renovation page on Instagram here