Building a new home is exciting… until you realise you’ve put the dining light exactly where your head will be when you stand up from the table.
As Melbourne electricians, we’ve seen it all – beautiful new homes and renovations that look amazing, until you notice the lights are in the wrong spot, the TV points are at the wrong height, or the internet cabling forces you to put the Wi-Fi in the laundry (yes, really). It seems small, but makes a huge difference to the outcome for your new home or renovation.
The good news? These mistakes are easy to avoid if you plan ahead and follow a few simple rules. Here are three electrical tips that can save you money, time, and frustration – and keep your new home looking as good in real life as it did in your Pinterest board.
Tip 1: See the Finished Room BEFORE You Install the Lights
Lighting isn’t just about being able to see where you’re going – it’s about setting the mood, highlighting features, and making your space functional.
Here’s the problem: during the build, you’re standing in a half-framed room trying to guess exactly where your kitchen island will be, how your couch will sit, or where the shadows will fall. It’s like trying to hang a picture blindfolded.
Our advice?
Get your builder to run electrical cabling and install junction boxes in the ceiling for all the spots you think you might want lights.
Hold off installing the actual fittings until the room is complete – with cabinetry, benches, and furniture in place.
Once you can see the finished room, you can make precise decisions about where pendants, downlights, or feature lighting should go.
Even a 10cm shift left or right can make a huge difference – especially with pendant lights over an island bench. Too far apart and it feels sparse, too close and it’s like you’re under interrogation.
At Luno Electrical, we don’t just install lights – we help you place them so they look intentional, balanced, and perfectly matched to the space.
Dad joke: Why did the electrician break up with the light fitting? It wasn’t very bright.
Tip 2: TV Wall Mounting – See the Finished Room BEFORE You Fit the TV Antenna and Power Points
Once a TV is mounted, moving it is about as fun as moving a fridge – and just as likely to damage your walls. That’s why placement is everything.
During the build, you can only guess where the TV will work best. But once you see the completed space, you might realise:
The couch is better on the opposite wall.
The window glare is worse than you thought.
The “perfect” spot is just a little too high or low for comfortable viewing.
Our advice?
Prewire for TV antenna and power points during the build, but don’t actually install the outlets until you’ve stood in the finished room and checked sight lines, glare, and furniture placement.
Think about hiding cables for a clean, modern look. That means planning both the outlet location and cable management before drilling anything.
The difference between perfect placement and “that’ll do” can be just a few centimetres – but those centimetres are the difference between hours of Netflix bliss and a lifetime chiropractor bill.
Dad joke: Why did the TV hate its wall mount? It felt a bit too attached!
Tip 3: Internet & Data Cabling – Prewire, Then Pause
A home without good internet is like a pub without beer – possible, but not recommended.
The problem is, if you fit your data outlets before you’ve seen how you’ll use the space, you can end up with:
Wi-Fi dead zones in the bedrooms.
Data points behind a door or hidden by furniture.
Ugly extension leads and cables snaking along skirting boards.
Our advice?
Get your data cabling prewired during the build so it’s hidden in the walls.
Wait to cut holes and install outlets until you’ve worked out exactly where your Wi-Fi router and key devices will live.
Think about future-proofing – smart home tech, streaming, security cameras, and working from home all rely on solid network planning.
Wi-Fi works best when your router is positioned centrally, away from obstructions. If you hide it in a cupboard at one end of the house, you’ll be relying on boosters and prayer to get a signal in the other rooms.
Dad joke: Why did the Wi-Fi go to therapy? It felt disconnected.
The Bottom Line: Plan Early, Install Late
These three tips all come back to the same principle: see the space before you lock in final positions. Prewire everything during the build so the infrastructure is there, but delay the final fittings until you can make informed, real-world decisions.
It’s faster, cheaper, and neater to get it right the first time than to fix it later – and it avoids the “face-palm moments” that can take the shine off your beautiful new home.
Why Call Luno Electrical?
If you’re building or renovating in Melbourne, we can help you:
Plan your lighting, TV, and data layout for maximum impact and function.
Install with precision so everything looks balanced and professional.
Future-proof your home for technology you haven’t even bought yet.
We’re registered master electricians with over 160 5-star Google reviews, always on time, and we clean up after ourselves. Plus, we’re Melbourne locals – so we know the styles, layouts, and little quirks that make a house here truly work.
So before you flick the switch on your new build or renovation, give Luno Electrical a call. We’ll help you avoid costly mistakes, make your home shine, and maybe even throw in a dad joke while we’re at it. We also provide free quotes!
If you want more tips on lighting installation read our article.
