Method to My Madness

Written by Jaqui Lividini

Believe it or not, when it comes to renovating, there is a method to my madness. I have created three books that are basically my holy (house) grail! Encompassing all the different aspects of the renovation, I use them religiously for the project.

The first book is my Inspiration Book – this is where all things creative coming to fruition in the house first start. Divided up by room, the sections have different inspirations for what I want each room to look like (in a perfect world my house would match the delightful images on each page of my inspiration book). Every month I go through dozens of home magazines and tear out what inspires me – making the book a delicious bevvy of tear sheets, magazine clippings, and appealing images.

The second book is the Working Book I carry with me every day (it’s basically become an extra limb). It’s filled with things I need to order, notes on the renovation by room, and a list of fixtures that need to go in each room. This way, when I meet with my Design Development team I have notes on each space in the house and can refer back to it always. Each room section begins with a floor plan of that space, so I know the dimensions I need for everything I’m ordering.

And finally the third book (a little more boring) is my Accounting Book. This is where the less glamorous magic happens. Again organized by room, each section has everything I’ve ordered for that room and the invoices for it; so when the renovation is over, I know how much I’ve spent.

When this is all over I’m thinking of auctioning off the three renovation books of Jaqui Lividini.  After the saga of this renovation, I have a feeling they’ll be worth millions someday...