Making Life Beautiful

One of the great joys of the work I do, is creating spaces that people truly enjoy.  I’m just about to start on a project which entails remodelling the main living areas of the home.  This includes a new floor throughout the majority of the house,  a new kitchen, colour scheme, furniture and window treatments.

I do spend a lot of time talking to the client at the outset to really understand the feel, look and style they are wanting to create.   Admitedly, not every one has an idea at the beginning, and look to me for inspiration, which is fine.  Anyway, back to this project, the client was thinking of remodelling as the colour scheme is a little dated as is the kitchen.  The project has now come to the forefront on the envitable ‘list of things to do’ because their current floor tiles have started to lift.   When I visited the home last week I was amazed to see how the tiles had risen up over a large area.  It was almost as though you had pushed the walls in, which resulted in the tiles being squeezed and raised in a ridge approximately 3 -5 cms above the ground. 

I found some beautiful new floor tiles from the local tile shop, as soon as I saw the tile I knew that would be the basis on which to build the client’s new decor.   Also, amazingly, the price of the tiles easily fit within the client’s budget and I know they will look magical in their home.  When I showed the client, his face lit up and the comment was WOW….  The floor tile has sat proudly on the kitchen bench top for the past week, with every member of the house getting excited about the new look and feel the home will have.

So, next week I’m meeting the kitchen cabinet maker and tiler on site to start the quoting and budgeting process.  From there its off to the fabric shop to hunt down beautiful fabric for window treatments and getting to work on creating the whole new design.   Just seeing the client’s face and hearing the comments when they saw the tile was awesome, that truly gives me satisfaction in the work I do, creating spaces that people love, and fulfulling my passion of making life beautiful – one space at a time.

For most homeowners, there does come a time when the decision is made to renovate………..

Changing lifestyles, for example growing families, starting a business from home or just realising that it is time to update your space can be the catalyst to renovate or restyle your home.  Renovating your home can add a great deal of value, and if you’re renovating to suit your needs, you can make your life more beautiful as your space will transform into one that you truly enjoy being in.

Simple changes, such as taking down a wall to open the kitchen into the dining area, or putting a beautiful bi-fold door through to the deck area can easily be tackled.  Conversely, larger projects such as adding a new room, raising a house or building a new level on top of your home will be a bigger drain on time and budget.  Whether your are renovating to make your home more useful, more attractive, or more suited to your growing family, you will find that renovating your space will be a worthwhile investment.

When considering the ‘renovation’ project, in the first instance, take your time to decide exactly what your needs are.  Start by writing down a list of your needs and then think about various ways you can achieve the outcome you want.  Once you have a clear objective, you can start breaking down the elements of the renovation    Will you need an architect to draw up plans for council?  Labour costs – will you need a plumber, tiler or an electrician?   Materials – what type of finishes do you want and how much will you need?  From this starting point you can then start to put together an very basic budget.  What you don’t want to end up with is a house that is half finished because you ran out of time, energy, money or all three.  Also, be realistic in the time you set yourselves to complete the project.  I know that by setting unrealistic time frames for renovations can cause many frustrations along the way.

The most popular subjects for renovating are the kitchen and bathroom; these are the rooms that tend to date the most easily, and renovating them adds the most value to the home.  Spotting an aged kitchen or a tired bathroom is usually easy by the type of flooring, the colours and the appliances.  However, these rooms usually require a reasonable budget, depending upon your selection of cabinetry, bench tops, appliances and tapware etc.  If you are thinking of selling your home in the near future, these two rooms are what potential buyers look most closely at in making their decision.

If you are handy around the home and prepared to ‘have a go’ yourself, or have friends or relatives who are, you may be able to do a great deal of the renovating yourself.  The labour involved in renovating is usually the biggest cost and materials the least cost factor, especially if  you shop around for bargains and sales.  Even though you may need to use a plumber and an electrician, you can probably paint a room and take away the debris, saving dollars on certain parts of the renovation.

Taking on a renovation project can be daunting and overwhelming, however with the right attitude it can also be fun, and the satisfaction at the end of the project will be worth it.   Just think about how much nicer it will look and how much easier it will be to live in if your upgrade and make the needed changes.

I thought I would share with you a short video I’ve put together showing the end result of a recent project.  The brief was to create a space that had clean lines, a contemporary look and feel which flowed through from the lounge to the dining and kitchen area.  A restricted colour pallette was used, predominantly black and white with accents of Aqua and Silver.   The wall behind the TV unit was painted in silver, using a special roller, to give the effect of wallpaper.  In the dining room, the focal point is the arch light, giving a beautiful pattern on the ceiling at night.  The kitchen optimises the space, with the breakfast bar also housing the microwave.  Waterfall ends on the breakfast bar turns this functional item into a piece of furntiure.