Create your own House Rules in the kitchen -

If you were in awe of House Rules’ Claire and Hagan’s new kitchen last night, you’re in the right place to find help in achieving the same look at your home. We’ve gotten together some creative inspiration and tips from the experts to get you started. Soon you’ll be on your way to creating something like Fil and Joe’s industrial warehouse style kitchen – which judge Wendy Moore awarded a perfect 10!

First things first, set your budget

In order to makeover your kitchen, there are several critical elements to consider before deciding on the style.

Stephen from Epoxy Bathrooms Wall and Floor Tiling says it’s important to be clear and upfront about your budget before making any decisions with your builder.

“Your choice of cabinetry, bench top, white goods and tiling will all depend on the budget you’re working with. From there, you and your builder can discuss the different options available,” he says.

For any space or budget, Stephen says that a good wearing kitchen always has a two-pack polyurethane finish. While high gloss has always been popular, having a matte finish like Luke and Cody’s kitchen is becoming increasingly trendy.

Call in the professionals

While the House Rules contestants are all about DIY, Stephen strongly recommends hiring a professional to install a kitchen.

“It’s not as easy as it looks!” he says.

“The contestants on House Rules make it look simple but because they are under time pressure, they often don’t go through the correct procedures. You’ll end up wasting a lot more time without the help of an experienced professional.”

Even when it comes to choosing your tile colour, professional advice will help you make smarter choices.

“For instance, if the bathroom has no windows or skylight, I would recommend a white colour tile to brighten the space,” Stephen says.

Choose your theme

With the essential decisions made, you can move on to deciding whether you like the look of industrial warehouse like Claire and Hagan, retro like Rose and Rob’s theme, coastal chic like Nancy and Daniel or any other theme you fancy.

Magazines, design websites and apps are a good source of inspiration. House Rules powered by Home Beautiful, the show’s official app, is a great starting point with many mood boards to get your creative forces into gear.

Tiles come first

While it will definitely take you more than the seven days the contestants on House Rules had to transform their homes, making clear plans will allow the construction to flow and be time and money efficient.

Stephen says the most common mistake he sees is builders rushing the kitchen installation.

“The first step in any renovation is to rip everything out and then tile the floor. The kitchen sits on the tiles, then once the kitchen is in you do the splash back and finish.”

The average cost of hiring a tiler across Australia is $60 per hour, but most tilers will charge per metre rather than hourly.

The type of tiles you have chosen will also affect your price, with mosaic tiles averaging $45/m2 while porcelain is $90/m2 and terracotta ceramic $70/m2.

For cleaning purposes, Stephen recommends using larger tiles on the walls so there are less grout lines to clean.

Consider your plumbing

When it comes to plumbing, Tyrone from TV Plumbing says the typical problem home renovators make when updating their kitchen is trying to reposition the drainage.

“Moving the sink from one side of the kitchen to the other can be an issue,” he says.

To keep costs within budget, Tyrone advises: “Keep your drainage and water points in the same place so you don’t have to pay for the relocation.”

The average cost of a plumber in Australia is $75/hr. 

If they can do it, you can do it

Feeling ready to renovate your kitchen? Get some inspiration from these previous House Rules projects.