Alex May is a home renovator and author of "Planning your Perfect Home Renovation". She has renovated three of her own homes, and says planning you renovation from the start is most important. Firstly work out what needs doing, how much time you can give and how much you can afford.

If you draw a rough floor plan you can guesstimate costs. Then, build in a bit of a buffer because generally costs run over budget.

In her book Alex talks about the three R's of renovation.

The first is repairs – basically cleaning up existing surfaces.

Next is refurbishment – replacing some items with new finishes.

Lastly is rebuild – you don’t want to do this unless you absolutely must, it's knocking down walls and starting again.

But she stresses that by doing it yourself is a money saver, it can take over your life to the detriment of your family.

So take the experts advice and you'll get from renovators dream to dream home a lot easier than you think.