The story so far

Wednesday, 21 February 2018. The day it all began. 

It also happened to be Chris’s 30th birthday.

For a long time, it had been Chris’s goal to buy a house before he turned 30. Although we had started looking, we missed out on a few places and were beginning to wonder whether it was the right time.

Not big on birthdays at the best of times, Chris was adamant that he didn’t want to have a party (despite my best efforts to convince him otherwise) and insisted that he just wanted a low-key kind of day.

After a birthday breakfast with his parents at our favourite local café, we went to an inspection he had set up. To be honest? I wasn’t interested at all. The pictures listed online didn’t draw me in, and my heart was set on moving somewhere further down the Mornington Peninsula. 

Nonetheless, I agreed to take a look (it was his birthday after all, ha) and we both knew right away that we had found the one.

Don’t get me wrong – there was a lot that we didn’t love. Deep mauve wall paint throughout, a deck that looked as if it were about to crumble and a paved concrete backyard… It clearly needed a lot of work.

But, there was a lot that we did love. It was on a nice street in a nice part of town, it had a great layout and the original hardwood, and it was on a much bigger block than what we thought we could afford. 

We saw a lot of potential, so we put in an offer. 

And, that night at around 8pm, we received a call from our agent telling us the sellers had accepted. If that’s not a birthday miracle… I don’t know what is!

Stage One: Pre move-in date

We had agreed to a 30-day settlement period, so it wasn’t long before we picked up the keys.

It. Was. Incredible.

We had wanted this for so long, and to finally have reached this milestone was surreal.

But, with another two months left on the lease of the house we were renting, we saw this as an opportunity to tackle the interior, or as a much as we could, before moving in. 

Chris didn’t waste any time, and got to work almost immediately. With the help of some excellent contractors, some very handy mates and Chris’s amazing mum, we were able to get so much of the work done before our move-in date.

This included:

• Refurbishing and re-staining the hardwood floors
• Removing the kitchen tiles for more hardwood gold
• Laying new carpet in two of the bedrooms
• Removing the dado rail and patching up the plaster 
• Repainting the walls, window frames and doorways
• Replacing the laundry sliding door with a solid wall
• Swapping one of the laundry cupboards for a new doorway
• Installing new downlights and completely rewired the house

Stage two: Post move-in date

Getting so much done early made our move a lot more comfortable. As anyone who’s done it before will know, living through a renovating isn’t easy, and at the time, I was also self-employed and working from home. So, I was definitely appreciative of having a semi-calm space. 

While I’m so proud of what we were able to achieve before we moved in, it was after the move that we really turned it up a notch. 

Actually, I’m probably going to struggle to recall all of the work we’ve done, but to give you a rough idea:

• Removed concrete and two sheds from backyard
• Rebuilt backyard retaining wall
• Upgraded pergola and decking area
• Put in new paving around the deck
• Laid turf in backyard
• Installed outdoor lighting
• Built new garden beds alongside the deck
• Planted trees and plants in garden beds 
• Painted kitchen cabinets
• Replaced all door and cabinetry hardware
• Installed a fan and split system in the master bedroom
• Installed new venetian blinds throughout

Stage three: The here and now

Yup. It’s certainly been a busy two years, and there’s still plenty more to get done. We’ve had our fair share of ups and downs, but we’ve learnt so much along the way, and that’s what this blog is all about.

Renovating our home has been a labour of love, and January Revival is our new passion project in which we plan to document our home renovation journey, and share our learnings, tips and tricks with anyone who might be thinking about doing the same. 

Right now, we’re in the process renovating our laundry, and I hope to be able to share our progress with you very soon. 

Until then, if there’s anything else that you’re particularly interested to know about, whether it’s to do with renovating, DIY, interior styling or home organisation, leave us a comment below and I’ll try to get that next.

And, don’t forget to subscribe to stay in the loop with the latest from January Revival!