When people visit our house, the first words they often say are, “OMG you’ve done so much! You guys should go on The Block”, usually followed by, “I’m serious!”. The idea of fame, fortune and a renovation that someone else is paying for sounds very tempting for about 10 seconds before I snap back to reality and remember that if I were on the show, I would probably hurl a paintbrush at Foreman Keith’s head within the first episode.
That being said, I’m pretty proud of the renovation work we’ve done, particularly without a team of professional architects and interior designers behind the scenes to guide us, and I often share our little wins on an Instagram page called @reno_rookies_. I am Ash and I do the dreaming, organising and crying, and my partner Matt does the heavy lifting.
Together we have renovated four of our own houses, and helped countless friends renovate theirs as well. We’ve learnt many lessons along the way, like where to spend your money, how to maintain your sanity (if you ever had it to begin with) and most importantly, how to achieve a result that you’re proud of. We’re still learning as we go, but across three blog posts I’ll share what we’ve learnt so far.
Step 1. Instagram the crap out of your renovation! Take your time doing this and know exactly what you want before you start. Even if you aren’t planning to renovate the rest of it for a few years, you still need to plan the entire house before you start. Collaging different inspo pics together is a good way to start.
(This was my first inspo collage. I did the same thing for the bathroom and laundry and then scrolled between all three to make sure there was ‘flow’ throughout the whole house.)
In our first reno we made the mistake of planning different rooms separately and whilst they all looked beautiful, they didn’t quite flow as seamlessly as I would have liked. We didn’t consider which spaces needed more warmth than others, or think about tying similar small features in across each space. We painted the entire house in the same colour, which was great for the living room but left the bedrooms and bathroom feeling a little clinical, and I ended up spending a fortune on new furnishings trying to warm them up.
(The original bathroom)
(The renovated bathroom, which felt a little clinical because of all the crisp white paint)
(The renovated bathroom with the addition of a $500 mirror to add warmth. I realised that had we chosen a warmer white for the walls, we probably would have saved a fortune… well, at least $500)
Since those early days, I’ve learnt that you can get paint in quarter and half strengths. In our current house we’ve chosen to use the same colour throughout the entire house again, except this time we’ve used full strength in the bedrooms, half strength in the bathrooms and quarter strength in the kitchen and living areas. This has allowed the colour to flow evenly throughout the entire house, whilst still creating the subtle difference of warmth in the bedrooms for cosiness, and brightness in the living area to enhance space and openness. We’ve also connected the different spaces by carrying similar trends throughout the whole house. Our kitchen cabinets are sanded back raw timber, and whilst we haven’t renovated the bathroom yet and probably won’t for a while, we will eventually sand back a beautiful large antique timber buffet that we will reclaim into a vanity with a top-mount sink. Subtly tying these two wooden wet-area features in together will allow us to continue the seamless flow of our style throughout the whole house.
(The hallway transformation - Before)
(The hallway transformation - After)
(The wall directly in front was painted in full strength, and the walls on the left and right were painted with quarter strength. This both added warmth and made our already high ceilings appear higher).
In the following blog posts I’ll share more of our initial failures and eventual triumphs, discussing what to DIY, and where to splurge and where to save. Until then, happy renovating!