Never let go

Glenn and Jess bought their transitional villa and began renovations by taking on potentially the most difficult room of all – the bathroom.

Luckily, they were building the bathroom in a spare bedroom and didn’t have to rush the project. Just as well, with both being relatively novice DIYers, it was dozens of YouTube videos and endless blow-outs of time estimates for various things like straightening walls, making a built-in cupboard and transforming the bathroom vanity, which was a dump shop find. Nothing was done by halves but plenty of pennies were saved trawling with second-hand purchases (doors, bath, sink, toilet cistern, lights, etc).

Painting-wise, both decided upon the navy colour scheme before beginning the project. I think the inspiration came from Pinterest. As they never intend to let this property go – they love it to bits, both realised the potential for a fun and expressive décor, one that only needs to appeal to themselves. Both have been bitten pretty hard by the DIY bug and invest quite a bit of their recreational time into making the home into a beautiful, creative and unique space. Hence the dark colour choice.

It wasn’t the easiest to paint – particularly when it came to applying the second coat and considering its ability to highlight imperfections. Nevertheless, it is a hundred-year-old home and the bits that are not quite perfect don’t really seem to spoil the look – they just add to the character of the house.

Actually, it turns out, the home is even older than that. When Glenn and Jess were ripping off the old linings in the bathroom-turned-bedroom, removing plasterboard, then wallpaper on hessian, they were left with scrim board covered in old newspapers – The London Illustrated Times dated from July 1884. There were lots of cool images of things from all over the world including drawings of NZ Maori, arctic expeditions and stories from the gold fields.

Seeing history captured like that made both want to honour the home’s history while adding something of their own. The house used to be a large colonial cottage but was remodelled in 1915 in the transitional villa style.

The bathroom wall is finished in Resene Blue Night, with a glossier version on the wainscoting. The ceiling is Resene Black White and the trim is Resene Barely There. The vanity has Resene Half Raven beneath the pink Resene Princess and has been sanded back very slightly to help give it that antique look.

The staff at the local Resene ColorShop provided lots of useful advice on how to go about getting the right look.

Thrilled with the bathroom, Glenn and Jess are charging into painting the exterior of the house – again with Resene colours. This time inspiration for the colours came from Resene’s website, with a palette of Resene Sea Nymph walls, Resene Pearl Lusta trim and Resene Sakura for the sashes.