my house ‘sanity makeover’ / Reveal

Today I was on The AM Show talking about how I transformed our home with the power of paint, so I thought I’d share more details here on the blog today. We bought a leaky home year before last that we plan to re-clad at some point, but that will take a whole lot of planning, cost and chaos all of which I’m keen to avoid for a while! Sooo we decided to do what I like to call a ‘sanity makeover’, a quick freshen up on a budget to make the home feel more like our own until we can afford our dream reno. This year really does feel like the time to go easy on yourself and not add unnecessary financial pressure, so we decided on a budget that was enough to create real visual change, but wouldn’t blow out as as some point the house will literally be ripped apart. Overall we spent $15,000 on painting, new flooring upstairs, repainting the kitchen, changing the cabinetry handles throughout the house and adding curtains to the living spaces. So what exactly did we do? Let’s dive in!

Patio area

Our home has a ‘U’ shape layout downstairs with a covered outdoor patio area in the central space. It’s lovely and sunny in the mornings and stays warm well into the evening thanks to plasting sheets covering the pergola structure, and there’s a gorgeous grape vine trailing down the stairs into the garden. However the space itself looked a bit tired and the cat was the only one who used it regularly. We decided to transform it into a social BBQ area with a new coat of paint both to freshen up the look but also to protect the existing cladding. We used Resene Alabaster on the walls and Resene Blanc on the deck - the deck is in pretty average condition so rather than stain it we chose Resene Walk-on Paving paint to cover the discolouration. I’ve had lots of questions on how the painted deck is performing so will do a separate post on that! Then I zoned the space into a living and dining area using groupings of furniture. The circular table fits well into the small square space and is easy to manouvre around. The outdoor sofas are great for sitting and talking or lying down and reading a magazine, and there’s a small Weber BBQ off to the right.

table, chairs, pot, planter, sofas and table, cushions, bowl. Square tiled table made by Tilehaus.

Entranceway

While the tiled floors aren’t exactly what I’d choose for the entranceway, they’re practical, neutral and in good condition so they’re staying put. The entrance area is quite a large space so it needs a piece with some scale. The arched mirror fills some of the vertical space and bounces light and reflections around making the space more visually interesting. A vintage travertine console styled with a selection of objects and a piece of art above fills a blank wall and is also a handy spot to place keys etc.

mirror, planter, vintage console, vase, floral arrangement, ceramics my own.

Kitchen, Dining & Living

Our upstairs kitchen, dining and living zone is one open plan area that’s quite a tight space for all three ‘rooms’ to co-exist. While the downstairs area is tile the upstairs area was black carpet which felt nice underfoot but didn’t suit our family lifestyle (cue grains of rice and Weetbix squished into the carpet under the dining table). I wanted a light and airy feel to create a sense of space, so had the carpet replaced with a white timber plank that’s very practical and easy to clean. Furniture and a rug zones the living space, and a vintage Betty Cobonpue dining table with a sculptural base and glass top lets light in and doesn’t visually crowd the dining space. I would love to add pendants but that will just have to wait.

vintage betty cobonpue scultura table, dining chairs, ceramic, sofa, coffee and side table.

The kitchen cabinetry was brown so to give it a fresh facelift we painted the cabinetry fronts. To do this gently sand the cupboard fronts, and if you’re changing out the handles fill any holes that are in the wrong places. Then give the cabinets one coat of Resene Smooth Surface Sealer, and two coats of your chosen paint colour (we used Resene Half Sea Fog). We swapped out the old chrome handles for acrylic ones with gold detailing to update the look.

Master bedroom

We swapped out the black carpet for white plank flooring again in the master bedroom. To give the room a focal point I designed a headboard and had it custom made to be a feature piece. The wide headboard extends past the bedsides and the upholstered panels fixed around the bed base make it all look like one unit. I like an upholstered base as you can tuck your bedlinen neatly down the sides with minimal effort.

headboard and bedsides available through SF Studio, please enquire. Table lamps from Freedom, brass vase from Ballantynes.

Family living room

In the downstairs family living room I added a large rug to cover the tiles, with accent colours of green and gold to break up the white. I wasn’t sure how practical a light coloured sofa would be for this space but now that the boys are ten and eleven I decided to try it. The sofa is now a year old and I’m pleasantly surprised. The key to choosing a light sofa fabric is selecting one with a heavy texture that also has flecks of darker neutrals through it, so it’s more forgiving when stained or marked. I also had the sofa Scotchguarded and will get my go-to upholstery cleaning company to come in once a year. A circular coffee table, occasional chair, and gold metal wall sculptures give the room a more lived in feel. I covered orangey-toned shelves with a marble-look vinyl as a quick and easy ‘for now’ solution - there are lots of bad patterns out there but I liked and used this one.

sofa, metal wall art. rug, cushions and chair available through sf studio, please enquire.

Along with the updates above I also did a deep clean of the whole house, and added organisation systems to storage areas. Overall my ‘sanity makeover’ has definitely improved my relationship with my home - it really is amazing how much simple updates and some elbow grease can improve spaces. While it’s not in line with my long term vision for the house, the spaces are now fresh, clean, light and lovely and work well for our lifestyle. And I can take my time considering a longer term renovation while enjoying and appreciating our home right now.

Before photos