Foresight pays off

We have lived in our Devonport villa for close on 20 years. We did a major renovation about 15 years ago, but very little since. At the end of 2016 we decide it was time for a freshen up and to finish some of those ‘jobs I’ve been meaning to do’.

When our original renovation was done – by myself, on weekends, room by room, as we could afford it – I did it methodically and purposefully with the plan that any future alterations would only need to be cosmetic. And I’m proud to say it paid off. Our most recent update was all about colours, lighting and finishing details.

The hard yards I put in years ago have stood the test of time.

Sash windows in my workshop getting a coat of Resene Lusta-glo semi-gloss enamel

Resene really works for me because it has different paints for specific uses

The biggest re-arrange we did was to give our son Joseph the room at the front of the house. The large sash windows were taken down, dis-assembled, 2mm glass replaced with 6mm glass and brush seals added. Now the room is extra warm and quiet.

We completed a list of small things that in themselves seem simple but add to how easy the house is to live in. Extra power points to eliminate the use of multiple extension cords. A wall-mounted tv so we can do away with piles of leads on the floor. Door handles on wardrobes. Extra lighting that is on-task.

We gave the house a coat of white paint throughout, thanks to the good folks at Resene.

By using their paint system, we have created a fresh clean space with a hard-wearing finish that will last another decade plus.

Even with mini-makeovers it is easy to experience scope creep. This is where our good foundations came in handy. In our bathroom the team from GroutPro did an amazing job cleaning and re-grouting our tiles. The bath was re-surfaced and re-coloured, and we updated the lighting. The bones of the room remained the same but it feels like a new bathroom.

Best of all the process required us to move out and de-clutter. Every room was shifted into a 40ft container on the front lawn, and only the important useful stuff was moved back in.

It was an opportunity to rethink what furniture we needed. In our hall, the old church pew that didn’t get sat on has been replaced with a vintage dresser with 24 drawers – one for homework, one for wallet/phone/keys, and no more ‘have you seen my’…

Thanks to the brilliant workmanship of our team of helpers (Joseph is getting his apprenticeship hours up) our house will be home-sweet-home for another 20 years to come.