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An Ideal Home contributor describes taking a slower approach to renovating a 1700s house begun in 2023, with work continuing in 2026. The account identifies six benefits, including adapting plans to daily life, avoiding rushed decisions and reducing pressure, but it is one homeowner’s experience rather than a measured comparison of renovation methods.
Ideal Home contributor Amy Reeves says a deliberately phased renovation of her and her partner’s 1700s house has helped them make more considered design choices and maintain a better balance with everyday life. In an account published by Ideal Home, Reeves outlines six benefits of taking the work slowly; the home improvement project began in February 2023 and was still underway in September 2026.
Reeves describes slow renovating as a move away from quick, trend-led changes and toward conscientious decisions and less overconsumption. She and her partner lived in the house for nine months before making major changes, using that time to notice how they moved through the rooms, where they spent time and how daylight changed across the day and seasons. Reeves says the observations led them to change their original plans and helped make the home more practical for their routines.
The work has happened in stages. The couple moved in in February 2023; they completed major services and a floor-plan remodel between December 2023 and January 2024, and a new roof was started in summer 2024. Later work included new flooring, a wildlife pond, a kitchen and a bedroom conversion. By September 2026, they had begun replastering upstairs, while two bedrooms, the staircase, a living room and an en suite remained to be completed, Reeves wrote.
Reeves also points to mistakes she says came from the pressure of coordinating early work. She recounts buying twice as many electrical faceplates as needed after a delivery delay and ordering the wrong bathroom tile, which was not noticed until installation. She says having more time has made it easier to compare options and avoid some rushed purchases. Her other stated benefits include protecting time for relationships, reducing material waste and finding enjoyment in the work-in-progress home; these are her account of the project, not independently measured outcomes.
How a Slower Schedule Shapes Renovation
The account offers a counterpoint to renovation timelines that focus on rapid makeovers and finished-room reveals. Reeves’ experience suggests that living in a home before committing to major design changes can give owners practical information that drawings alone may not capture, including circulation patterns, preferred gathering spots and seasonal light.
A phased schedule may also spread decisions and purchases over time, rather than requiring every material and layout choice to be made before work begins. For homeowners, that can mean more opportunity to reconsider a plan and less pressure to complete work by an arbitrary deadline. But a longer project is not automatically cheaper or easier: Reeves describes the benefits she experienced, and the account does not compare total costs, time or waste against a faster renovation.
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A Project Still Underway in 2026
Reeves contrasts the current project with an earlier renovation that her household completed before moving again for work after about two years. For the 1700s house, she says the goal was to preserve historic character while making the property suit their needs. The decision to take more time was therefore both a design approach and a response to the demands of living through building work.
In the Ideal Home account, Reeves says friends and family have asked when the house will be finished and whether the couple will move before enjoying the completed property. The timeline she provides shows that the project has continued for more than three years, with several rooms and jobs still outstanding as of September 2026. That chronology helps explain why her account treats slow renovating as a long-term way of managing a home project, rather than a short-term renovation technique.
“I’m a big believer in letting the way you interact in a house lead the design choices.”
— Amy Reeves, writing for Ideal Home
Costs, Waste and Trade-Offs
The account does not provide a full project budget or quantify whether the slower schedule reduced overall costs, material waste or the number of mistakes. Reeves describes specific purchasing errors and says she has become more waste-conscious, but does not give a measured comparison with a faster project. The article also does not establish whether the approach would work as well for households facing deadlines, limited funds, temporary accommodation or urgent repairs. The project was still incomplete in September 2026, and its final cost and completion date were not stated.
Remaining Work and Final Costs
According to Reeves’ account, the next stage underway in September 2026 was replastering upstairs. The couple still had two bedrooms, the staircase, a living room and an en suite to complete. No finish date or final budget was given, so those details remain open. Readers following the project would need a later update from Reeves or Ideal Home to learn how the remaining work proceeds and whether the couple’s assessment of the slow approach changes once the house is finished.
Key Questions
What does slow renovating mean in this account?
Reeves uses the term for a phased approach that avoids rushing into trend-led changes, allowing the household to live in the home and make more considered choices as the project progresses.
When did Reeves’ renovation begin?
She says she and her partner moved into their 1700s house in February 2023. The renovation remained unfinished in September 2026.
What benefits does Reeves say she experienced?
She identifies six perceived benefits: better work-life balance, designs informed by daily routines, more considered spending, greater awareness of waste, reduced pressure to meet deadlines and more enjoyment of the renovation process. These are her personal observations, not independently verified findings.
Is slow renovating proven to cost less?
The account does not establish that. Reeves describes mistakes she says resulted from rushed decisions, but provides no complete budget or comparison of the total cost of a slow renovation with a faster one.
Source: idealhome.co.uk
