So, as you know, we bought an ordinary house with an incredible view in a great location. We figured we could change the house, but we couldn’t change the view or location, so here we are, in our very Vanilla home.
She’s not pretty, she’s not big and she’s got no personality ….. but we’re going to give her a facelift, maximise every inch and inject buckets of character.
So, here it is!
Please note: These are the realestate.com photos and are not of my furniture or styling.
As you can see, it is very boring, but I think it has great bones, and I can see so much potential. We will be adding walls, removing walls, refinishing all the floorboards, installing a new and expanded kitchen, laying new flooring downstairs, painting throughout, changing the staircase …. and the list goes on. Oh, and don’t even get me started on those pine doors, eeesh, can’t wait to get rid of them!
Then of course the fun parts, we’ll be adding some fabulous lights, wallpaper and decorative touches that really make a house your home.
Unfortunately our budget is not unlimited, and I will probably leave the bathrooms (there are 4 of them) with minimal changes for a few years. I’ll switch out the cabinetry handles, tap ware and fittings and they will be fine, very vanilla, but not offensive.
We’re are starting a few of the smaller projects in the next couple of weeks, i.e.; the pool fencing will be changed to frameless and the dining room doors and windows will be removed and changed. Stay Tuned!
What do you all think? Can you see the potential I can see?
Hayley x
It does indeed have great bones and what a view. If a house is going to be bland, then let it be vanilla because it can always be lifted with colourful accessories whilst some of the more difficult or expensive jobs are being realised . Good luck
Thanks Kim, I can’t wait to get started, and I agree Vanilla is easy to work with. I look forward to dressing it up up with accessories until we get to the fun stuff! Thanks for stopping by! Hayley x
Looking forward to seeing the transformation and maybe getting a few ideas along the way for my latte monster. Ps vanilla is way better than latte
Hi Monica, thanks for stopping by! I can’t wait to start, and I hope I can inspire you for your ‘latte monster’, lol! Hx
Looks big enough to me! Tonnes of potential right there.
Hi Karin, Thanks for stopping by! Yes, definitely big enough, but much smaller than our last home, which is fine, except we have too much crap, lol! Actually loving a smaller house! Yes, lots of potential, I hope I can do it justice. Hx
Amazing home with amazing views. So many people follow your beautiful style, it’s a shame you go out of your way to tell us how ‘not big’ ‘not pretty’ your new home is. Most can only dream of what you have, for many others live in a quarter of the size with one bathroom. While you have obviously worked hard to deserve it, making comments such as that and others like how ‘very vanilla’ it is and heaven forbid there is ‘pine’ in the house, comes across as not someone allowing others to follow a design journey but instead comes across like bragging and putting down others who heaven forbid have these things in their homes that you find hideous. Even displaying the price of your property is flashing your wealth and making followers of yours feel you are out of touch with helping others make their homes beautiful, simply because more than likely don’t have your ‘budget’.
Hi Bella, Thanks for stopping by, and thank-you for the compliment about my style. I’m sorry you feel this way. I certainly didn’t feel like I was going out of my way to tell you the negatives, because my first post about my new home was showcasing the positives and sharing the amazing views that I am grateful for everyday. I understand that not everyone is as fortunate as me, believe me, the first home I lived in with my husband was a tiny concrete block fishing shack, we have renovated 7 houses, and worked extremely hard to get to where we are today. I don’t think I am being flashy or bragging, I am an extremely honest, maybe even too honest, and I say it like it is. I mentioned that we do not have an unlimited budget, everyone has a budget, and everyones budget is different, I don’t know how I can cater my blog to absolutely everyones budget. I have never displayed the price of my property, and I don’t know where you got this from. This is a blog about interior styling, so of course I am going to share my views about certain elements in my home like the pine doors, thats the whole point of my blog! This is my journey, with my ideas, my opinions, my likes and my dislikes. I do not get paid to blog, it is a gift to my followers, feel free to unfollow me if it is making you feel bad about your own situation. If you choose to continue following I am sure you will see that my budget is a lot tighter than you assume, we undertake nearly all the work ourselves, and we re-use everything we can, we stretch every dollar as far as it will go and I shop around for the best deal. All of which I will be sharing here. Thanks, Hayley.
Thanks for the reply Hayley.
In response to not having displayed your property price, it was referred to on your blog posted on June 24, 2105 titled ‘were moving’. You included the link yourself to the real estate listing which displayed the price.
Bella, ‘displaying’ the price of my property is very different to providing my readers with a link to the real estate listing. Most people know that real estate listings contain a house price, if you didn’t want to see it, you shouldn’t have clicked on the link. I actually had multiple requests from my readers to see the listing. I don’t know how I could have done that and censored the price.
Hayley , ‘displaying’ the price yourself or providing a real estate link to where it is displayed is one in the same.
Im sure you had many who wanted to view the home, myself included as it is beautiful, but the price no.
You censor that by choosing the real estate photos that go on your blog as you do with every other that you post of your home or in your support of local businesses.
I own a lovely home with a great hubby and kids and what you have in no way makes me feel bad about my ‘own situation’.
I wish you all the best, I was simply expressing a point of view.
You need a much bigger kitchen darling!!! I can’t wait till you transform this baby.
I know! Actually, it’s not so much a bigger kitchen that I need, it’s just a pantry to hide away all the mess that having 3 kids brings! Crossing my fingers hubby can move some walls and beams for me! Hx
Thanks for sharing Hayley. I look forward to reading all about your Reno’s! We have only renovated once and we were so scarred by the experience that we won’t be doing it again for a long time! It’s so wonderful and positive to hear that after 7 Reno’s (that’s extremely hard work!!) you are still so keen. Lucky you and your family love it so much and do it so well. Maybe you will give me hope to try it again… All the best!! xx
Hi Sarah! Thanks for stopping by.
You are so right, renovating sucks! I have my moments of curling up in fetal position, crying and vowing to never do it again. But here we are, 2 weeks in and I am currently battling IKEA flat pack furniture, eek!
I hope I give you some inspiration, or maybe cement your decision to never do it again, lol! Hx
I HAAAAATE that oval kitchen bench with the weird leg at the end! It’s ick. So glad to hear you will be changing it 🙂