Fifi McGee

I've worked my way through both the Home Design Lab and the How to Renovate a House courses now, and I can't believe how much I *didn't* know before, and how much more confident I am now about every aspect of planning, budgeting, shopping and negotiating. I have gone from a vague feeling of 'oh no this kitchen is awful and really needs fixing up' to having a clear idea of how I am going to oversee a program of major restoration on a large family home. I think planning in advance for design cohesion has been my most important take away. Instead of fixating on the kitchen in a 'just do it now' way, I've taken a couple of months to plan the whole house, drawing up the wants & needs analysis, layouts, interiors, work schedules and budgets for 8 stages of work, and I am confident that the last room will be in a perfect symphony with the first one. I even got adventurous and planned the garden renovation too, so that views from each window became part of the overall vision! Would definitely recommend these courses to anyone considering undertaking a renovation project.

We did the how to renovate your house course and it made such a difference in how our renovation actually went. It shows you where the pitfalls are in your plan and helps you methodically think through your plan. Honestly, it has saved us thousands and thousands of pounds. The budget planner and understanding our style in particular were God sends that helped us make quick decisions when a good opportunity arise as we were pre-prepared. Would highly recommend.

The course is easy to follow, helps you to understand the process of which steps to take when, gives practical and helpful tips they have clearly learnt through doing it themselves. The budget tool has been most useful to me and as finances are my biggest concern it’s been great to see rooms by spend and switch and change plans to keep working on things and prioritise what I need to. I like being able to keep links to items I’ve costed in one place. Hearing some of the stories of theirs has also saved me making expensive mistakes. I’m doing my renovation (1930s semi) room by room and having never done anything like this before, it’s nice to have a bit of structure to fall back on when I’m not sure where to go next.

It is a great course that provides fundamental information, examples, and tools that support me in decorating/renovating our house which used to be empty and not in good condition when we moved in. As I didn't have any experience in renovation, I didn't know where to start and was hesitant to take action. However, this course provided step-by-step instructions that covered all aspects such as renovating checklist and priority, measurement, layout design, and budget control tools, which made me feel secure during my decoration process. Moreover, I especially like the supporting group. People are very supportive and feel welcome! Right now, our home has been towards how I envision it, and I am not afraid to take action and understand I can always find support from the course and group. Thank you for creating this course, it helps us a lot.

I joined the FiFi McGee Renovation & Interior Course in Spring 2024 having bought a dated house that I wanted to renovate, and not having a clue where to start. I will really quite surprised at the lack of cohesive information out there about "how to renovate a house" for someone who hasn't done it before, and this one was one of (or perhaps the only one) out there. I found that this course to be extremely well structured; I genuinely went from knowing nothing at the start to have a decent idea about how to approach the house renovation, including having layout designs, speaking to and comparing contractors and having a holistic approach. I would strongly recommend this course to anyone who is seriously considering a home renovation who has not undertaken a project like it before. In my head, if I'm spending tens of thousands of pounds of my own hard earned money on my house, I want to make sure it's done right. I've definitely saved time and money on my project by taking the programme, and I continue to find myself returning to it for more information, design ideas and the like.

I have been undertaking the renovation course for several years, my project has been very slow going. I was a total renovation novice when I subscribed to the course but I would say the course has really helped me to talk with confidence to contractors and know what questions to ask. It’s also helped me to think ahead and plan my renovation properly. My builders have even commented positively on how I always have the information they need.

I recently enrolled in the Fifi McGee renovation and design course. I’ve found the course so helpful, covering everything I could need during my renovation in particular; The videos are so helpful, with so much information presented in an easy to understand way. Love the budget spreadsheet and the guide to costs. The course is invaluable.

The course tackles and centralises so many helpful tips and resources to help us through our reno project, from budgeting to designing layouts. This saves me so much time researching and honestly helps me keep my sanity...

Really excellent course - lots of helpful information and content, and really useful templates to help you through your project. As someone that researched renovations a lot before taking the course, it was also really helpful to pull everything together in a way that was easy to understand (or validate things that I’d found online). Even if not all of it is helpful or relevant for you, you’ll find something in it that is worth the price you pay - would highly recommend to anyone taking on a renovation or similar project!

I have recommended and talked about the course to many friends! I mention how thorough course content is to put one at ease at every renovation stage. I mention how the course is packed full of helpful tools and templates e.g the wants and needs sheets, budget worksheet, lighting and electrical plan. You can dip in and out at your own pace according to where you are in your reno journey and the reno club platform gives such peace of mind that you can get help and advice from ppl going through the same, no question is too obscure! Fi's short videos and blog posts and nuggets of advice have all been so helpful. Having signed up to the course I don't feel a whole house reno is out of my depth

Before joining Fifi's How to Renovate a House online course, I had no prior experience with renovations and felt quite overwhelmed by the thought of managing a project, especially the scale of my fixer upper in addition to a new extension. The course has completely transformed my outlook. The modules are so well-structured and easy to understand that I found myself excited to complete each one and eager to move on to the next. Thanks to the course, I now feel far more confident and ready to take on my renovation project next month. I’m currently at the stage of working with an architect, finalising drawings, and securing council permissions—all of which felt daunting before, but now feel achievable with the knowledge and guidance I’ve gained. This course has been an invaluable resource, and I can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone considering a renovation, whether they’re a beginner like me or have some experience.

I paid £19 for the 'Plan your Extension' bundle. Ok not loads of money, but still the use of the word 'bundle' is stretching it. Essentially it's a 30 minute video (that was at some point free on YouTube as it ends by asking you to 'like and subscribe'), and an extension spreadsheet template. Not a total rip off, just felt it was a classic case of over promising with marketing and under delivering in reality. Overall, a bit 'meh'.