Custom home renovations in Melbourne are always unique. Unlike volume builders with set plans, a custom renovation adapts to your lifestyle, property, and budget.

STEP #1

Define Your Home Renovation Goals

The first question to ask yourself when undertaking a custom home renovation is ‘is this our forever home or somewhere we’re going to sell in the next three to five years?’ This decision drives every budget and finish choice you'll make. For example, whether to make conservative choices on the finishes or to go super-luxe for something you’re going to be happy with for the next 10 to 20 years.

The second thing to consider is your overall vision for your space. Without this, you risk throwing money at random improvements rather than a considered custom home renovation. Consider how you want the space to flow and feel.

The third thing to get clear on, is what are your must-haves? These non-negotiables keep you focused when decisions get overwhelming.

Without being clear on these from the get-go, you risk making costly changes halfway through. Once you’ve finalised these three goals, then you’re in a good position to begin engaging with a builder/renovator.

Things to Consider when Defining Your Custom Home Renovation Goals

Floorplan - what’s currently working, and what are your main pain points? This may be space, light, storage, flow, style, sustainability, etc.
Does your home need to adapt for a growing family, guests, accessibility, or working-from-home requirements?
If this is your forever home, will it still suit or adapt to your needs in five to ten years?

If you want to dive deeper into specific room considerations, check out our other helpful articles: Bathroom Renovations Melbourne: Your Complete Guide and Kitchen Renovations Melbourne: Your Complete Guide.

STEP #2

Gather Inspiration for Your Home Renovation

Now that you’ve considered the space and how you’d like it to flow, you can begin moodboarding the look and vibe of your home renovation. Think textures, colours, materials, and overall design style or theme. Pinterest is great for finding inspiration (and saving it), or Canva if you’d like to annotate your moodboards.

We also recommend the following publications for inspiration:

The Design Files (Australian)
Dezeen (International)
The Local Project (Australian)
YellowTrace (Australian/International)
Co-Architecture (Australian)

If you’re having difficulty deciding on a particular design style for your home renovation, we can also recommend designers to help guide you through this.

STEP #3

Anticipate the Practical Constraints of a Custom Home Renovation

Every home renovation project has surprises. When we’re integrating new with old, challenges are always presented; it’s part of the process and completely normal. An expert builder/renovator will guide you through these constraints and offer solutions where possible. Some common things that may impact your plans include:

Existing structural elements may limit design choices.
Council regulations (like overshadowing or heritage regulations) can affect extensions.
During demolition, older homes may reveal hazardous building materials or outdated plumbing and electrical systems that require removal/updating.

For peace of mind, we recommend having a contingency plan with a 10-20% budget buffer. That way, if any surprises arise during the renovation, you’ve got a backup, and if they don’t, you’ve got some extra dollars to put towards styling your home once it’s finished!

STEP #4

Get a Rough Idea of Costs + Timeline for Your Custom Home Renovation

Online cost calculators can help you understand ballpark figures before you talk to a builder. We can’t stress enough that these are rough guides only; some people find them to be good starting points. Given that the concept is largely adopted from volume builders, they tend to oversimplify the process, not taking into account things like the shape and condition of a room, or the complexity &/or expertise required of trades for site-specific requirements.

If you’re at the start of your renovation journey, we recommend the following to give you a general gauge for costs:

Calculators:

Articles

Examples of a Home Renovation Budget of $500k, $1m & $1.5m
Tips for Calculating Your Home Renovation Budget and Timeline.

Keep in mind, every site and client brief is different, so use these resources as a guide not gospel! Don’t forget to add 10-20% for your contingency plan.

At this point during your home renovation planning, it’s also a good time to consider timelines.

There are multiple stages to a build, from clearing the site and foundation, framing, weatherproofing & lock-up, rough in/services added, completion and practical completion. The size of your project impacts how long each stage and total build time requires. As a rough guide, based on a 2-storey Melbourne home, a knockdown/rebuild can take approximately 9-12months, where a extension or renovation can take approximately 4-9months.

It is possible, but not ideal, to live at home during a renovation. Early morning starts for trades, dust, noise, and a lack of access can make it uncomfortable for you. Consider a feasible time for you to move out taking into account quieter times for sublets, short-term rentals, or staying with family/friends while your home renovation is happening.

A good resource to help you get clear on your budget and timelines is our Tips for Calculating Your Home Renovation Budget and Timeline article.

Once you’re ready with your vision for the space, your ‘must-haves’, budget, and timelines - that’s when a custom builder like SMD Projects can step in and refine the details.

STEP #5

Assemble Your Dream Team for a Custom Home Renovation

Custom home renovations often require architects, designers, engineers, and an experienced builder.

You’ll need plans, structural drawings, a soil report, and sometimes an energy report before you can get an accurate quote. If you don’t have these ready, you’ll be getting “building estimates” which are very much a rough projection, and are a non-binding agreement. These work well as a way for you to gauge your financial feasibility for a custom build or renovation. Here at SMD Projects, we can help guide you through both processes and work with what you have.

Note, when it comes to plans, we can work with drawings from draftsmen, or even architectural designers, but our preference is to work with an architect as they’re the most detailed and accurate… meaning less room for error once we begin building, and less chance of surprises for you.

We partner with leading architects, designers, and experienced trades professionals across Melbourne to bring your dream home to life. Alternatively, if you’ve already assembled some or all of your dream team of architects and designers, we’re happy to collaborate with them.

Feel you’re ready to engage with a builder/renovator?
Here’s your checklist:

Plans
Structural Drawings / Engineer’s Drawings
Soil Report (if applicable)
Energy Report - if applicable, dependent on council (generally required if the build is more than 50% of the original footprint)
Permits (Planning / Building)
Title Survey (Land and Title Survey)

STEP #6

Start Planning Your Custom Home Renovation!

At this stage of your custom home renovation journey, you’ve locked in your must-haves, the things you can’t compromise on your renovation. You’ve got your budget set. You’ve worked out your timeline for when you’d like to start your project, and you’ve created a visual moodboard for how you want your project to look at the end.

Before the hammers come out, you want to meet with your builder and designer, and work out what’s feasible. SMD projects and our design team can help take your moodboard and budget and bring your visions to life.

Useful Resources

Find a property/parcel, generate a planning property report, and view zones and overlays

VicPlan

Finding Your Local Council/LGA (Local Government Area)

Planning Permission

Department of Transport and Planning (Victorian State Government): Apply for a Planning Permit (general overview)
Council (LGA) Specific:
- City of Melbourne
  Carlton, Carlton North, Docklands, East Melbourne, Flemington, Hotham Hill, Kensington, Melbourne, Melbourne West, North Melbourne, Parkville, Port Melbourne, South Yarra and Southbank.
- City of Yarra
  Abbotsford, Alphington, Burnley, Carlton North, Clifton Hill, Collingwood, Cremorne, Fairfield, Fitzroy, Fitzroy North, Princes Hill and Richmond.
- City of Port Phillip
  Albert Park, Balaclava, Elwood, Garden City, Melbourne, Middle Park, Port Melbourne, Ripponlea, South Melbourne, Southbank, St Kilda, St Kilda East, St Kilda West and Windsor.
- City of Stonnington
  South Yarra, Prahran, Malvern, Armadale.
- City of Boroondara
  Ashburton, Balwyn, Balwyn North, Burwood, Camberwell, Canterbury, Deepdeene,Glen Iris, Glenferrie South, Greythorn, Hawthorn, Hawthorn East, Kew, Kew East, Mont Albert and Surrey Hills.
- City of Glen Eira
  Bentleigh, Bentleigh East, Brighton East, Carnegie, Caulfield, Caulfield East, Caulfield North, Caulfield South, Coatesville, Elsternwick, Gardenvale, Glen Huntly, Hopetoun Gardens, McKinnon, Murrumbeena, Ormond, Patterson and St Kilda East.
- City of Moonee Valley
  Aberfeldie, Airport West, Ascot Vale, Avondale Heights, Essendon, Essendon North, Essendon West, Flemington, Keilor East, Moonee Ponds, Niddrie, Strathmore, Strathmore Heights and Travancore.
- City of Darebin
  Alphington, Bundoora, Coburg, Coburg North, Fairfield, Keon Park, Kingsbury, Macleod, Northcote, Preston, Regent West, Reservoir and Thornbury.
- City of Merri-bek (formerly City of Moreland)
  Batman, Brunswick, Brunswick East, Brunswick West, Coburg, Coburg North, Fawkner, Fitzroy North, Glenroy, Gowanbrae, Hadfield, Merlynston, Moreland, Oak Park, Parkville, Pascoe Vale, Pascoe Vale South and Tullamarine.
- City of Bayside*
  Sandringham, Hampton, Brighton (fringe)
- City of Kingston*
  Cheltenham, Moorabbin, Sandringham, Mentone
- City of Hobsons Bay*
  Williamstown, Spotswood, Altona
- City of Maribyrnong*
  Footscray, Maidstone, Seddon
- City of Monash*
  Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, parts of Oakleigh
- City of Whitehorse*
  Box Hill, Blackburn, Nunawading

* Please note, the starred (*) LGAs are areas we only service larger-scale projects, contact us for more info.

Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) (formerly Victorian Building Authority (VBA))

Home Renovation and Building Essentials

Energy Report

Victorian Building Authority: Building & Plumbing Commission / Nationwide Housing Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERs)

Selecting a builder or renovator

Tips for Choosing Home Renovation Contractors in Melbourne

Renovation Budget Calculators

Home Design Inspiration

The Design Files (Australian)
Dezeen (International)
The Local Project (Australian)
YellowTrace (Australian/International)
Pinterest

Moodboard Creation

Pinterest (create an account and save images from Pinterest or almost any website - install the “Pin” extension on your browser to do this)
Canva (allows you to move images around easily and annotate them).

Two male builders with their back to the camera, standing on scaffolding assessing a timber frame. Green leaves frame the right side of the image while the sun light obscures the neighbouring property.

Custom Home Renovations FAQs

Every detail is tailored to the client’s lifestyle and property. Unlike volume builders, custom builders and renovators work with your plans and vision to create something that is uniquely yours.
✅ Your must-haves (non-negotiables)
✅ A clear budget
✅ A realistic timeline
✅ Moodboard for your vision (overall style, vibe, finishes)
✅ Plans
✅ Structural Drawings
✅ Soil Report
✅ Energy Report (if applicable)
They help provide a rough starting point for budgeting estimates before you begin engaging with builders/contractors. However, for custom builds, the cost-per-metre rule isn’t the best guide as it can’t take into account variable and experienced trade/labour requirements.

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