It has been over 12 months since we moved! It has quickly become home, and we have all settled in - enjoying and exploring the property. Whilst we came in guns blazing to start doing projects, we have instead slowed down our approach to design and planning. This time has proven to be a great way to understand the house, what we like, don’t like, amongst other great learnings. Here are my top 5 benefits for living in your home before you renovate .
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Creating a great space doesn't need to be complicated. There is so much value in making an open-plan living room and using whites and soft tones to create a light, bright, inviting feel. Our latest blog shares exactly how we did it...
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The Master Bedroom in our Original Reno had a colour scheme that was all kinds of dark and dreary and it needed design salvation. With the power of wallpaper, oriental inspiration, and a wardrobe upgrade, we created our zen bedroom haven. Check out our latest blog with all the images, break down of cost and product information.
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Renovating a bathroom isn’t an easy project and there a lot of things to consider as you make your selections. In one space you need to fit in a shower, vanity, storage, toilet, bath, mirror, towel rail and lighting… and that’s just the essentials. Discover how we took on our this challenge task in our latest video…
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Our guest bedroom renovation was all about giving this space a distinct look with bold design. We took a room that blended into the rest of the house to a show stopping zen retreat! See our reno recap to discover how we did it…
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Our Diamond in Richmond. She might not be a diamond just yet, but we can sure see her potential. We didn’t seek out another old character home, but she definitely stood out. Another 1910’s beauty, a flat faced villa with a central hallway, high studs, and the lean-to extensions added over her 100 year life. Another big outside area, screaming for some attention and the chance to create some great outside living spaces.
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See how we took an overgrown and neglected outdoor space and created a lawn, a spa pool area with a spa leaner, a fire pit area with wood storage and then fenced off space for the washing line and the bins. It was big project that was our largest allocated budget... but so worth it.
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Our kitchen renovation was all about adding practical elements to the existing space and updating the design. We kept the original benchtop, cabinetry and layout but gave it a completely new look.
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This bathroom renovation has taken us by surprise, we haven’t made any major changes and yet the reno recap says it all! We didn't have budget to make any big changes, we had to work with what we had and embrace the existing farmhouse style. It meant hours of hunting down the right products to add and giving everything a good clean and a new coat of paint.
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The previous owner had used this space as a bedroom, but with the flow through the the dining room - we decided this was the best place for the lounge. This renovation was all about enhancing the timber details, accentuating the fireplace and adding some impact pieces in the lighting and drapes.
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Part Four of our Dollars and Sense budgeting series, we share about how we spend the budget we have set! We give advice on how we price our reno plans, source products, work with tradies and find ways to save as we spend.
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Our hallway renovation was all about enhancing the character of this 1900s mudbrick house while adding some modern influence. What was once dark and dated, is now trendy, light, bright and breath-taking!
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I have come to appreciate the simplicity of a small bathroom space and see the true potential of what a small space can hold. Being a small sized individual myself – I am an advocator for the fact big things come in small packages.
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Renovating the exterior of a house holds a lot of value and importance. Simply put, the exterior is the only space in your house that every single visitor will see, when it comes to high traffic areas the exterior will always rank #1. With exterior renovations you have the opportunity to make a strong first impression in terms of design and create additional living areas to relax and entertain in. It would be safe to say, most New Zealanders place a high value on outdoor living. In fact, as we searched for our relocatable house for our section, we only considered houses that had a layout that would allow for indoor/outdoor flow.
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Our next renovation would fit nicely into a House Rules structure – we have our house renovated, we have our outdoors renovated (come on summer) and now we have a rumpus space as our final project. I have been dreaming of this for over a year. The rumpus room had been converted by the previous owner and has served as storage for my home staging furniture and décor. Ultimately though I wanted to makeover the space to create my own home office and a play area for the kids, while still using half the space for storage.
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I couldn’t stand in the house a moment longer - the smell was overwhelming. We had been to long lists of open homes and Caleb had been focusing on some select suburbs trying to find the next project for us. I got to see some things I would rather have unseen - inappropriate drawings on walls, bedrooms that feel very “fifty shades of grey” (I don’t mean the wall colour), hoarding. But this was the most memorable of them all. At the open home we entered a room with a male tenant laying across a bed in the lounge, shirtless, smoking, who said we had to keep the door closed as there were four cats who weren’t allowed outside. I counted 8 litter boxes - though from the smell I could tell it wasn't the only place these cats relieved themselves. I stood outside trying not to vomit, Caleb looked at me not sure what to expect and was getting ready to start his sales pitch.
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To be honest, the only plan we were intending on making during Alice’s pregnancy was a birth plan, and 2 months out we had the sudden addition of a renovation and a subdivision. We needed a plan, a good one...
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I have a passion for property – all things property. While Alice can spend hours looking at clothes on line - I spend hours scrolling through property listings on trademe.
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Landscaping is more than just planting, you can create extra room to live and play.
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