My partner and I moved into our new house in New Zealand at the end of January 2009. We knew at the time of purchase that we were buying what some might term a ‘do up’. I would term it ‘slightly unloved’.
As our inspecting builder pointed out, the issues were mostly cosmetic. Yeah sure it’s needing a new bathroom floor downstairs, a lick of paint upstairs, a garden makeover, a new carpet throughout, but there’s over 1000 metres squared of native bush down there, and four bedrooms up there. Believe me, for the price we paid, it’s all good!
We don’t only want a cheap renovation, we want to do it right. Right for me is to use as much as we can of what is already there. The previous owners have left stuff behind, most previous owners do, but these guys really left loads behind. In the garden there was an old container barrel, under the house a few hundred white bathroom tiles buried in the dirt and don’t even get me started on the shed! I don’t mind this at all. They are all useful materials. Even those that don’t immediately seem it, are.
So that is the plan: to turn this place into our dream home, re-using as many materials and as much stuff as we can.
First up is the garden makeover. Check it out soon!
