Tag: cherie barber

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Before & Afters DIY Expert Tips Interviews RENO ADDICT

Driveway paint: A cheap way to boost kerbside appeal!

AFTER driveway
AFTER driveway

There’s no denying the importance of a home’s kerbside appeal – first impressions right? Some studies even suggest that it accounts for up to 10 per cent of a home’s value which is hugely significant, particularly in these testy real estate times. And if there’s one kerbside deal breaker it’s a shoddy driveway but White Knight DIY renovation expert Cherie Barber has a simple and inexpensive panacea for that!

“Driveways are often the first thing people see, but the last you’d think to renovate. Transforming this area is as easy as any paint project and much more affordable than resurfacing, giving an uplift in value for a minor investment. Some additional finishing touches like plants, mailboxes and house numbers, can also help spruce your home up instantly,” says Cherie who shares a driveway paint step-by-step below.

Before: Driveway
BEFORE: Driveway
AFTER driveway
AFTER: driveway

Prep
“Preparing the surface correctly will ensure long-lasting results, so a crucial first step is to high pressure washer clean your surface, then allow to dry for 24 hours before painting,” says Cherie.

“If you’re painting smooth concrete such as garage floors or new concrete around a pool, use White Knight Ultra Pave Concrete Etcher to roughen the surface and help the paint bond to the concrete. Mixing half a kilo with five litres of water, evenly pour the dissolved mixture over the concrete and scrub with a broom, leaving it to foam up for a couple of minutes being careful not to let it dry,” says Cherie.

Prime
Before you start painting, prime your driveway by giving your surface another good sweep and make sure you have a paint brush, paint pots, roller tray and an extension roller. Cherie favours a roller with a 10mm nap to achieve a professional finish, easily.

“I chose White Knight Ultra Pave Quick Dry as it’s touch dry in just 30 minutes and can take a second coat in just a couple of hours. To help the first coat stick, mix the paint with 20 per cent water in a paint pot, a litre at a time, and mix in the pot before transferring into your roller tray,” says Cherie.

Cherie at work
Cherie at work

Paint
“Choose a colour that will complement your exteriors. For a modern look I like to use dual grey tones, with the darker shade on the paths and drive. For this project I used White Knight Ultra Pave in Smoke Storm, it’s modern and impactful and one of my favourite colours to transform a drab driveway,” says Cherie.

“Paint all the edges first with a paint brush, and any joins in the concrete, then paint the remaining area using a roller with an extension pole. Wait two hours before applying your second coat. For added grip, or if you’re on a slope, add White Knight Ultra Pave Topcoat Grip Additive to your second coat, pouring one litre of paint into a roller tray and as you stir, add 2-3 scoops of the grip additive per litre of paint. The second coat is now ready to apply, in a similar way that you applied the first, painting the edges with a brush then using a roller for the remaining area,” says Cherie.

Cherie Barber

Transform
“With just a few finishing touches and a makeover of your drive, you can make a real difference to the façade of your home,” says Cherie and independent real estate expert Bernadette Summers agrees. “First impressions are hugely important in real estate, not just for buyers but also for agents who look at the exterior as the first step in their evaluation of a property,” says Bernadette.

“Before a potential buyer comes to view your home, there is a chance they’ve already driven past and made a judgement call. Having kerb appeal can make all the difference between a property that instantly sells or lays in wait, as viewers see the exterior as a reflection of the inside,” says Bernadette.

Cherie Barber White Knight transformation
One last look at the finished product!

For more | Our dedicated renovating section

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Kids Rooms

Tween girl bedroom makeover by Cherie Barber for $500

The transition from tween to teenage years heralds a significant and often expensive personal style overhaul. During this time of rapid personality growth, how your teen styles their bedroom is just as important in expressing their newfound tastes as the clothes they wear.

Cherie Barber and 11 year-old Ava in her new room
AFTER

With a combination of creativity, clever ideas and White Knight’s craft and decorative paint range, White Knight DIY and Renovation Expert Cherie Barber shows that it is possible to restyle your tween’s bedroom into an ideal teen space in less than a day, and all for under $500.

To transform 11-year-old Ava’s pastel coloured room into a modern, tropical themed paradise fit for any teen, Cherie recommends upcycling as much furniture as possible, explaining that “the regeneration of old with new is the key to the creative vision of an eclectic and practical room.”

AFTER

Here Cherie explains her step-by-step makeover process to achieve the ultimate tween to teen makeover;

1. From single to double

Kicking off the bedroom overhaul was the all-important move from a single to a double bed. After finding an old metal bed frame at a local garage sale, Cherie used White Knight’s multi-benefit spray paint Squirts in Gloss Fuschia to inject some colour. As a two-in-one primer and paint, Squirts is easy to apply and bonds well to a multitude of surfaces including metal, wood, plastics and ceramics making it an ideal for both interior and exterior use. With over 40 colours available, the quick-drying formula is touch dry in 10 minutes, meaning Cherie was able to move on to her next project in no time at all.

2. Adding the tropical wow factor

To add excitement to the room and bring in the tropical theme to the top of Ava’s existing study desk, Cherie used White Knight Squirts in Lemon Yellow. When applying, Cherie suggests holding the can about 20 cm from the desktop surface and using a sweeping motion to ensure an even finish from several light coats. This way, you’ll achieve a beautiful, bright desk that makes studying so much more fun!

As an easy way to transform  Ava’s wardrobe doors, Cherie used White Knight Strokes to create a flamingo shape using stencils printed from a website. Cherie says: “I’ve chosen the White Knight Strokes for this feature as it’s a high gloss paint that is touch dry and ready for a second coat in 4-to-6 hours. White Knight Strokes is also an oil-based enamel, making it super hard-wearing for those areas which often take some wear and tear, and the pretty pink tone is ideal to further integrate the tropical theme.”

Using White Knight Squirts again, Cherie recoated Ava’s current chair to give it a new lease of life. Bringing in the tropical yellow tone, Cherie easily converted what was a once a tired looking piece of furniture, to a refreshed one which makes a cool addition to Ava’s relaxation area.

3. Get scribing on your personal message board

To help with the busy schooling and social lives that teenagers lead, they need somewhere to scribble notes. White Knight’s Chalkboard paint provides a hard-wearing finish that transforms surfaces into a fun and functional chalkboard. To do this, Cherie picked up a piece of melamine from a local hardware store and painted it with a coat of White Knight’s Chalkboard paint in Black, creating the ideal message board and perfect solution for this teen room.

BEFORE Ava’s room was pretty in aqua but she wanted something more grown up

4. Bringing the room together – the final touch

By using the pieces that are already owned, Cherie managed to stick to the budget yet create a completely new space fit for any teenager. With the help of White Knight’s Craft and Decorative range, Cherie has upcycled many of Ava’s tween fixtures and brought life to inexpensive furniture. With the addition of a range of tropical- themed décor such as bedsheets, wall pictures and the all-important pineapple cushion, Cherie’s stylish and affordable bedroom upgrade is complete for under $500.

White Knight paints are available from Taubmans Professional Trade Centres and Bunnings nationally.

For more White Knight DIY products and projects.

Cherie’s best tips and tricks for a cheap DIY kitchen makeover.
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Bedrooms Before & Afters Design Designers Expert Tips RENO ADDICT

Small apartment tips: get the most out of your space

AFTER kitchen & study nook featuring a barn door
AFTER kitchen & study nook featuring a barn door

By Cherie Barber

There’s a knack to extracting the most out of a small space, especially apartments. With no expansive foyers, hallways, multiple bedrooms and dead spaces to cram the extras into, you have to be especially inventive with the limited space you have.

This month I thought I’d share a couple of space-saving projects I recently completed for an apartment makeover. Although I had help from my tradie team, they’re projects that could be easily replicated by any capable DIYer.

Installing a barn door
This tiny one-bedroom Sydney apartment measures just 40 square metres, so there was not a spare nook and cranny in sight. On a challenging $5000 budget, the focus was on creating much-needed storage to capitalise on every square millimetre of space. Central to the cosmetic facelift was a dedicated media nook that could be tucked away out of sight when not in use.

BEFORE kitchen & study nook
BEFORE kitchen & study nook

There’s good reason barn doors are so popular: they’re super practical, cost-effective and look fantastic! You can either make a feature of the door, by purchasing something in a recycled timber or decorative design, or simply buy a plain timber door and paint it the colour you want. Instead of the traditional sliding door that needs a wall cavity to tuck into, a barn door simply attaches to a top bracket and slides across the wall.

AFTER kitchen & study nook featuring a barn door
AFTER the study is now tucked away behind a barn door

For my project, I wanted a work space and shelves on one side, and storage space on the other side, with the barn door sliding between the two. The plain door and fittings are from Bunnings, and I had my chippie add VJ (vertical joint) panelling, which I painted the same colour as the walls.

AFTER barn door
AFTER Storage aplenty!

There’s a mountain of clutter that can be neatly stowed away in what is now a stylish focal point of the room. The added bonus is that it has inserted a small entrance foyer into the tiny apartment, creating a more formal entrance.

AFTER kitchen & study nook from the lounge
AFTER kitchen & study nook from the lounge

Adding bedroom storage
The small bedroom already had a mirrored built-in wardrobe, but it wasn’t sufficient to contain the overflow. Adding a second full-sized wardrobe would have been overkill, so the compromise was a flat-pack robe from Bunnings concealed by a sheer curtain on a curved track. It’s a visually softer alternative to a traditional built-in, and you can vary the look by choosing a more decorative fabric.

Bedroom before
BEFORE bedroom

If you want to learn a host of interior design tricks, tune into this webinar by my good friend and colleague James Treble, as he runs through some of the key learnings from our Interior Design For Profit course.

AFTER bedroom
AFTER bedroom

Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit. 

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RENO ADDICT

A one-bedroom unit makeover for $6k in one weekend

AFTER bedroom

By Cherie Barber

Anyone who’s tackled an ambitious renovation will tell you that labour costs are one of your biggest outlays. And, of course, once you go taking down walls, demolishing decrepit kitchens and bathrooms, and pulling up old floors, you’re inviting nasty surprises that could demand deep pockets to fix.

So this simple cosmetic “spruce up” of a basic one-bedroom apartment will hopefully give any novice renovators confidence that they can pull off an inexpensive makeover in a small window of time. It really just requires a keen eye to target all those important details that, together, add up to a mini transformation. The fact any handy DIYer could tackle a lot of this work themselves would slash the budget considerably, but obviously demand more time (labour consumed around half my budget).
So let’s see how far $6000 stretched in a long weekend.

BEFORE bedroom
AFTER bedroom

Colour my world
The seventies apartment was unremarkable in every way and had no cohesive theme, so I didn’t want to settle for a neutral colour scheme. I needed personality, but not necessarily an overpowering one! The restful tones of Taubmans Sprig of Ivory teamed with Ginger Rose, and finished off with crisp white trims, injected a freshness that immediately lifted the apartment out of its drab shell.

Take the floor
The existing flooring was a mish-mash of old carpet, lino and tiles, which had a jarring effect in the open plan space. So I needed an economical flooring that I could run throughout the apartment. The answer was Senso Rustic vinyl plank flooring in “Pecan”, at a total cost of about $450. It’s an easy DIY solution that can be used in both wet and dry areas, so I was able to run it from the living area straight through to the kitchen.

Kitchen antics
Specialty paints provided a quick cosmetic fix for the dated kitchen, giving the benchtop, tiles and cupboards a gleaming white finish for just a few hundred dollars. However, it didn’t address the fact the kitchen had a lot of dead space and unnecessary clutter. Shelving is always a fantastic solution if you don’t have the funds for additional cabinetry. So I put shelving on one side, and extended the benchtop and tiles on the other, with room for storage underneath. The modernised kitchen now sits comfortably in the bright and breezy open plan.

BEFORE kitchen
AFTER kitchen

Bathroom bliss
While tile paint has always been a great stand by for bathroom tiled walls, it’s never been a durable option for floor tiles – until the Rust-Oleum Tile Transformations Kit came along. This two-part product is suitable for floor tiles; I tinted it a deep grey for the bathroom floor, successfully camouflaging the 70s brown tiles.

BEFORE bathroom
AFTER bathroom

This is a makeover most people could replicate if they wanted to simply update a rental property or place to sell, without any risk of overcapitalising.

–Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

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Outdoor & Exteriors RENO ADDICT

3 affordable ways to transform your home using timber

AFTER

By Cherie Barber

Anyone familiar with my renovating projects knows just how much I love timber, whether it’s gleaming polished floorboards, wood panelled walls, or outdoor rooms awash in timber. It just has such a warming effect and never goes out of fashion.

Here are just some of the ways to incorporate timber into your next renovating project.

Cover all bases
Cladding can be the answer to a whole raft of issues, from remedial problems you want to cover up to just pure decorative indulgence.

In this inner city courtyard, timber panelling deftly acts as both a privacy shield and as cladding on an ugly wall. The pinkish tones of merbau work beautifully with the old brick pavers. And built-in timber seating completes the cosy setting.

BEFORE
AFTER

This next studio was in an old converted warehouse, so I wanted rustic finishes that mirrored the old bones of the building. Recycled floorboards for a feature wall and old sleepers for the steps and office nook definitely hit the right note.

BEFORE
AFTER

Make an entrance
We all know the importance of first impressions, especially when it comes to street appeal. And whether you have a brick, weatherboard or plain old fibro house, a lavish spread of timber can certainly dress up a bland entrance.

BEFORE
AFTER

This is something you could easily pull off in a weekend. It was a matter of removing the old rusted iron railing and pillars, centring the new timber stairs in front of the entry door, adding timber frames around the windows and new planter beds. Together with the new exterior colour, it completely transforms the façade of this suburban home.

Lastly, a much more ambitious (and luxurious) project, here I’ve used extensive merbau decking to create a whole new outdoor living area – at the front of the house. It’s something to keep in mind if you have a generous front yard and a passion for outdoor entertaining.

BEFORE
AFTER
AFTER

–Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

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Expert Tips RENO ADDICT

6 feature walls that can work in virtually any interior

By Cherie Barber

In any interior, lashings of colour can be overpowering, but a striking feature wall can add real va va voom. The trick is to choose a highlight that blends into whatever interior style you have chosen, whether it’s retro chic or highly contemporary. Here are six feature walls that stand out for all the right reasons and can be easily used in virtually any interior.

Timber feature walls

The warm tones of timber have a calming effect on any interior, and not just as flooring. They’re perfect as cladding for walls, whether it’s rugged or smooth – or a combination of both, as I’ve used below. The same ironbark floorboards have been used for the fireplace, which I’ve then contrasted with red-toned timber panels. The modular panels are made from reclaimed Australian hardwoods fixed to a ply backing board.

Pressed metal wallpaper

For this apartment in an old converted Sydney warehouse I chose wallpaper that mimics the look of an old pressed metal ceiling; it blends perfectly with the exposed timber ceiling.

Panelled wall

This panelled wall, the standout feature of the master bedroom, was fashioned out of slats of MDF architrave, painted white and then glued onto the wall. It was done for under $200!

Blue wallpaper

This is one of my rental properties in Sydney’s west. It’s really light and bright and open plan, so can cope with a good smack of personality. This Lines wallpaper from Annandale Wallpapers was just the ticket!

Painted brick wall

Before you go rushing to clad or render an old internal brick wall, why not make a feature of it instead? In this sunroom I’ve used Taubmans Coalmine paint, framed by a crisp white.

Retro wallpaper

In this retro themed apartment I was looking for a wallpaper that would pay homage to the seventies – but not lairy 70s! I wanted a subtle backdrop for the furnishings and pendant lights, so opted for the vintage highlights of Orla Kiely Scribble wallpaper.

— Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

Our top 10 names in Australian wallpaper

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Expert Tips RENO ADDICT Styling

Compact living: 5 clever designs for small spaces

By Cherie Barber

Compact living is the buzzword of the moment. As cities like Sydney and Melbourne get ever more crowded; affordable granny flats, studios and smaller apartments are becoming more popular than ever. It’s all about extracting the most from any space, whether it’s a home office, kitchen, living area, or even a ramshackle garage. When you’re designing for maximum economy of space, it’s about making sure there is zero wasted space.

Here are five examples where I’ve used design innovation to fully capitalise on limited space.

1. Floating wall with storage

I designed this gyprock floating wall in the master bedroom of my previous home. On the wall facing the bed is a wall-hung television, with all the wiring neatly concealed inside. On the other side is a huge storage rack for shoes. Neat, eh?

2. Hallway kitchen

In this small studio the entrance hallway was dead space that, quite frankly, the owner couldn’t afford. My solution was to rejig the layout and shuffle the kitchen from its existing spot into the hallway. This provided the added bonus of freeing up internal space within the studio.

3. Raised sleeping nook

I then used the spot where the kitchen originally was to create a raised sleeping area with built-in robes, essentially turning the studio into a one-bedder. There’s now absolutely no space in this small apartment that doesn’t get used.

4. Gran designs

Here’s a two-bedroom granny flat I added to a property in Sydney’s west. This was three years ago, before the explosion in Sydney’s house prices. Fully completed, the granny flat cost $72,346, and way back then, was rented out for $330 per week. You can’t argue with that return on investment!

5. Under stairs display shelf

The space under a traditional staircase is quite often dead space. Even if it is a cupboard, the awkward triangular shape makes for restrictive storage options. However, build in bookshelves or an open display case, as I did for this renovation in the US, and the shape suddenly becomes an artistic asset.

Cherie’s final 2.5 hour free training workshops for 2017 will be held in Sydney and Melbourne on November 11 and 12. To secure your place, click here.

— Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

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Before & Afters Design DIY RENO ADDICT

How to renovate for profit by just picking the right paint colour

A recent US study highlighted the power of blue to tap into the psyche of buyers. Analysing more than 32,000 listing photos of homes that had sold across the US, it found blue was a colour that people gravitated to, which possibly explains why it seems to be the colour du jour.

In kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, dining rooms… blue reigns supreme when it came to attracting top dollar, so I’m feeling pretty chuffed about my choice of colour palette for a couple of recent renovation projects.

 

After: Painted in Taubmans Blue Willow with Juniper Berry for the feature walls.
Before

Twin shades

This was a whole-house renovation of a home in Sydney’s western suburbs. It was part of a low-budget cosmetic renovation designed to spruce up the property prior to the owners putting it on the market. The total renovation spend, inside and out, was a meagre $15,000, so a fresh new paint scheme was pivotal to the makeover.

After: Painted in Taubmans Blue Willow with Juniper Berry for the feature walls.
Before

I chose a mix of Taubmans Blue Willow and darker Juniper Berry for the interior. After’s a week’s work, the house was revalued at $25,000 more than when we started! A testament to the power of blue?

Kitchen essentials

This is the kitchen of one of my rental properties in Sydney’s west. The kitchen was treated to a facelift on a wincy $2,000 budget, which included a $700 appliance package and Senso vinyl flooring – most of the work (except the electricals, of course) done with the help of my sister, Jeneane. However, the real change in personality came from the powder blue colour I chose to gloss over the kitchen cabinets. It’s like a breath of sea air.

After: Cabinets painted with White Knight Laminate tinted to Taubmans Surf Spray.
Before

— Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit. You can pre-order her new book here.

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Expert Tips RENO ADDICT

Before & after: Check out this $2,500 apartment makeover

By Cherie Barber

A smart cosmetic renovation is one of the most effective ways to completely transform a home on a modest budget. There are many different approaches to take, but you can be sure that paint will figure prominently.  It’s cheap, it’s a straightforward DIY project and you can achieve miracles in just a weekend of hard yakka.

On a limited budget, you want to be looking at easy gains for minimum outlay and maximum impact. If you’re renovating to make a profit, as opposed to improving your own home, you need to educate yourself about what style of renovation suits your area: i.e, what do your potential buyers or tenants want? Laminate benchtops and budget flooring might be perfectly adequate for some properties but won’t cut it for a $1 million-plus property.

Whirlwind magic

Just to give you an indication of how much a quick, targeted cosmetic renovation can boost the value of your property, I’ve dipped into the archives to pull out this renovation from 2012. I spent around $2,500 on cosmetic improvements to this one-bedroom unit in Sydney’s northern beaches that the owners were gearing up to sell. But you’d never believe it was such a meagre budget when you see the transformation.

BEFORE kitchen
AFTER kitchen
BEFORE lounge
AFTER lounge
BEFORE bedroom
AFTER bedroom

I painted throughout, steam-cleaned the carpets, gave the bathroom an industrial scrub, updated the light fittings and window coverings, and treated the kitchen to a quick cosmetic refresh. For that, I simply painted over the old tiles and cupboards with specialty White Knight paint, resurfaced the benchtops using the Rust-Oleum countertop transformations kit, added a couple of overhead cupboards and updated all the cupboard handles to some nice, modern ones.

None of the improvements were particularly complex, so any competent DIYer could tackle them. And it’s a quick makeover and styling effort that is pretty much timeless. Pre-reno the apartment was valued at $380,000. One week after the makeover was complete the owners accepted an offer of $412,500. Not a bad profit for a few days’ effort. I can only imagine what that Dee Why one-bedder would sell for in today’s heated Sydney market!

Learn about Cherie Barber and James Treble’s Interior Design for Profit online course. 

–Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit. 

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DIY Outdoor & Exteriors RENO ADDICT

Two courtyard makeovers you could achieve this weekend!

As Spring approaches, thoughts turn to those long days of sunshine ahead and ways we can maximise our outdoor living space. It’s literally an extension of your home, so if you can find an easy way to turn a barren, unusable space into an inviting, resort-style balcony or courtyard, then what are you waiting for?

There are a few key things to remember when creating an outdoor room:

  • Privacy is important; you can often achieve this through screening or vegetation
  • Make it as multi-purpose as possible (eg, a lounging, eating and possibly even cooking area)
  • Make sure there’s sufficient shade
  • If you can factor in some storage, all the better
  • Create a smooth indoor/outdoor flow so there’s no jarring transition when you step outside.

With those pointers in mind, here are two courtyard makeovers that can be tackled in a weekend, and use the warmth of merbau timber to soften the surrounding surfaces.

Suburban oasis

This half-day makeover relied almost entirely on paint, plants and a flexible DIY decking system to transform a bleak slab of concrete into a beautiful outdoor room, for around $5,000.

BEFORE
AFTER
AFTER

I started with an industrial clean, then painted the walls a muted grey and used Good Times modular decking system for the hard surfaces, and for screening on both sides that were overlooked by neighbours. It also worked perfectly as a day bed, creating a cosy lounging area for the owners. The beauty of this DIY system is that you don’t need any holes or footings; you simply lay the framing straight over the top of what’s there. Plants, rustic pots and artful styling provide the homely touches that turn it into a true outdoor room.

City chic

This 12 square metre courtyard in Sydney’s Chippendale flowed out from an inner city studio, so was valuable space that had basically been relegated to a clothes-drying area. Engulfed in greenery, it had the potential to be an inner city oasis, but was anything but!

For around $3,000, I turned it into a proper outdoor entertaining area, with merbau decking boards, a daybed, integrated barbecue and bench, and a foldaway table. The deck was raised to make it level with the studio floor, creating that all-important, seamless indoor/outdoor flow.

It now easily doubles as an outdoor kitchen, as well as a calming oasis to relax in.

–Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

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Expert Tips

5 must-know basics for creating an interior that works!

By Cherie Barber

Anyone who’s tried to pull together a fantastic interior, only to end up with a mishmash of styles, will appreciate just how tricky it is to turn a design wish list into a dream home. A moodboard or scrapbook of ideas is a great starting point, but the masterstroke lies in bringing those vignettes to life in a coordinated, complementary way.

It’s little wonder that professional interior designers spend years training and honing their craft, learning from mistakes, keeping up with trends, understanding how and what colour combinations work together, and becoming adept at decoding exactly what their clients are after.  “I want something moody.” Huh? With a little more questioning and second guessing, it might become apparent that what they’re after is a cosy, intimate feeling that maybe a darker colour palette and tactile finishes can deliver. 

I’ve worked with many interior designers over my years as a professional renovator, and have seen firsthand how an amazing styling job can absolutely sell any property.

So here are a few novice tips I’ve picked up along the way.

Don’t look at things in isolation

It’s so easy to go shopping – whether it’s online or at a showroom – and be dazzled by some beautiful tiles, or curtains, or tapware, or whatever. But think of decorating in the same way as putting together an outfit. The whole ensemble is the sum of its parts, and the shoes may be magnificent on their own, but a disaster if they’re matched with entirely the wrong outfit. So never randomly choose beloved items for your renovation, hoping they’ll all magically work together in the end. You’ll just be fluking it.

The cheat sheet for novices

One easy way to ensure all the individual parts will work together is to visit showrooms that put together entire kitchens, bathrooms, or displays of living room or dining furniture settings. Look and learn. The best places will have hired professional designers to painstakingly put together entire looks that work as a whole: cabinetry, benchtops, splashbacks, etc. Because that’s their job – to sell the dream. Even if you don’t find an entire look to mimic, you should walk away with plenty of inspiration.

What floats the boat

Bulky furniture doesn’t just take up unwanted space – it makes a room look smaller. Think sofas, with wide arms, that sit flush with the floor; floorstanding bathroom vanities; and bulky sideboards. Wherever possible choose floating furniture so you have maximum floor space visible.

Making small spaces big

Sometimes just one large focal point is far more effective than a cluster of smaller bits and bobs. An armchair in the corner of a small bedroom, a large urn in a courtyard or a fabulous artwork… they draw the eye in and actually distract from the fact the space is small. And as for rugs, the bigger the better as a general rule; there’s nothing worse than a dining table and chairs hanging over the edge of a teeny-weeny rug.

The role of colour

There are a few important rules around colour: cool colours recede; warm colours advance is one you might have heard. That means that a charcoal coloured feature wall will jump out from the white walls around it. And when it comes to styling and decorating, the safest bet is to choose a neutral background and then make your accessories (cushions, lamp shades, bedding, etc.) the colourful heroes.

To learn about Cherie Barber and James Treble’s Interior Design for Profit online course.

–Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit. 

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Real Renos RENO ADDICT

When to add a touch of luxe to your reno

Last month I highlighted the importance of the “cookie cutter” approach when you’re doing serial renovations and working for profit.

It’s what astute developers do to streamline costs, reduce wastage and “recycle” their trusted trade team from job to job. However, I also emphasised the importance of individualising the look for each property, tapping into the unique architectural characteristics of a home.

Below is a great example, from a graduate of my Renovating for Profit course, who did a sensitive renovation of this house in an historical outer suburb of Sydney. Trish restored a lot of the original features of the weatherboard house, adding finials, an awning over the stain-glass window and federation-era balustrade on the front porch. She also provided symmetry, with a central path leading up to the front door.

Inside, important architectural details, like the original baltic pine floors, were similarly highlighted. The rest was “cookie “cutter” (you can clearly see from another of her completed projects in Newcastle; the colours look familiar?) and her efforts returned a tidy $50,000 profit in less than six months. Trish is a great testament to the power of cookie cutter, but there are many, many other RFP graduates like her who have similarly adapted their fail-proof palette.

When to add a touch of luxe to your reno

When to add a touch of luxe to your reno

At the other end of the spectrum is the power of luxe. When you’re renovating and selling at a certain price point, buyer expectations change, you have to up the wow factor, and the quality of finish needs to match the heady price you’re going to fetch for your efforts.

My Leichhardt property I sold for a suburb record price, $3.06 million, in 2015, is a prime example. Cookie cutter definitely wouldn’t have cut it! I purchased this modest workman’s cottage several years ago for $950K. I splurged on lavish design, intricate detailing, custom-made everything. I used recycled timber boards for feature walls and doors, marble benchtops, expansive glass, custom lighting, bespoke curtains … you name it. I even installed a shoe and handbag room that would make any woman green with envy.  Over one million dollars in costs flew out of my bank account for a full structural, high-end renovation. I was handsomely rewarded for my efforts.

When to add a touch of luxe to your renoLeichhardt front of house- BeforeWhen to add a touch of luxe to your reno Leichhardt front of house- After

When to add a touch of luxe to your renoLeichhardt kitchen – before

When to add a touch of luxe to your reno Leichhardt Kitchen – After

My previous home in Balmain I similarly splurged on, turning the rundown fibro cottage into a 4- bedroom luxury home over the course of more than a decade, eventually selling it for $1.8million – just before the Sydney market skyrocketed! I can only imagine what it would sell for now, with median house prices in Balmain rising from $1.2m when I sold in 2013, to nearly $2m today. But that’s the swings and roundabouts of the property game!

When to add a touch of luxe to your reno

Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

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Expert Tips Kitchens

The best tricks for a cheap DIY kitchen makeover

After

By Cherie Barber

Last month, I highlighted two bathrooms I’d renovated for prices that probably drew disbelief from some who might have forked out treble the amount for half the impact. Those two case studies hopefully did demonstrate what highly targeted cosmetic renovating is all about.

This month, I’m shifting the focus to kitchens. The trick, as always, is to zoom in on the obvious flaws, without delving into expensive and largely invisible or unnecessary updates. For example, updating things like old tapware, handles, lighting and power point covers are cheap fixes compared with moving your sink from one end of the kitchen to the other.

If your kitchen layout is perfectly okay, then don’t mess with it, short of maybe adding a few additional cupboards or shelves, which won’t require plumbing or electrical trades – that always bumps up the price.

Saving graces

If you really do need to install a new kitchen, there are a couple of cost savings worth considering. While I’d consider it design suicide to try and install your own flatpack kitchen and get it looking professional (hire a carpenter or installer for this), there’s no reason why any handy DIYer can’t assemble the cupboards themselves. If you’ve successfully pulled off an IKEA brain teaser, then you should be fine with this assembly task.

And if you’ve decided to project manage the kitchen renovation yourself, be sure you’re across the all-important “order of works”, which dictates which trades are needed for what stage of the renovation (eg, carpenter, sparkie, plumber, tiler, benchtop installer, etc); otherwise you’ll either be waiting on trades that aren’t available or paying for endless callouts when a couple would have covered it.

A couple of useful free tools are:

Bunnings kitchen planner 

Wattyl colour planner 

Here are two kitchens I’ve done that highlight what you can be achieved on tiny budgets if all they need is a few decades stripped away.

The $2300 kitchen

  • Paint existing kitchen cabinets and rangehood with specialty paints
  • Paint benchtops, tinted to Taubmans “Viking Gray”, finishing with White Knight Bench Top Clear
  • Install new feature tiles for splashback
  • Remove old oven and reformat the space to incorporate microwave
  • Install Gerflor feature panels on underside of the breakfast bar
  • Install feature light over breakfast bar
  • Install new slimline venetian blinds
Before
After

 

The $4000 kitchen

  • Reshuffle existing kitchen cabinetry for a more functional layout
  • Add corner shelving
  • Create a new large pantry (not pictured)
  • Install new benchtop in missing sections
  • Replace handles
  • Install new kitchen appliances
  • Install new splashback wallpaper
  • Install glass panel over wallpaper
  • Install white tiles around window
  • Repaint existing kitchen cabinets
  • Resurface benchtops using Rust-Oleum Benchtop Transformations Kit 
  • Install micro venetian blind
Before
After

Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit. 

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Bathrooms Kitchens RENO ADDICT

Budget reno: A kitchen and bathroom revamped with just paint!

It’s well understood that renovating a kitchen or bathroom, aside from making it much more enjoyable to use, can add substantial value to a home. But sometimes replacing kitchen cabinets or bathroom tubs is simply out of the question, due to the heavy financial burden, which is where DIY solutions come in. From resurfacing tiles to laminating cupboards, bench tops, bathtubs and basins, there are some great products out there for the DIY renovator, and paint brand White Knight produce some of them.

Cherie Barber hard at work

And to illustrate just how transformative their products are, White Knight called on Renovating for Profit’s Cherie Barber recently to undertake two impressive, low-cost renovations, starting with a dated, 1970’s kitchen. “The kitchen is the engine room and pivotal hub of a home, which can single-handedly add the biggest value to your property. With the right specialty products, you can take your kitchen from zero to hero for under $1,000, no matter how much of a scary 70’s screamer it is right now,” says Cherie.

Kitchen BEFORE

“First, rejuvenate tiles instead of costly re-tiling by cleaning with White Knight Tile & Laminate Cleaner, priming with White Knight Tile & Laminate Primer, and finishing off with two coats of White Knight Tile Paint,” says Cherie who has advice on transforming cabinetry too. “If your old cabinets are structurally in good nick, make them look like new again, starting with White Knight Tile & Laminate cleaner, White Knight Tile & Laminate Primer followed by two coats of White Knight Laminate Paint,” says Cherie. It’s worth noting that White Knight tile and laminate paints can be tinted to almost any colour, to match your home’s scheme.

Kitchen AFTER

“I would then use these same products on your laminate bench tops, but then add a layer of White Knight Bench Top Protective Coating which is a hard-wearing, clear coating that delivers a tough layer over painted laminate bench tops, protecting from heat, chemical cleaning products and stains,” says Cherie who warns that kitchen ceilings are often discoloured too. “Finish off by giving your ceiling a simple lick of paint to instantly refresh the room. Try Taubmans Endure One Coat Ceiling paint,” says Cherie.

Bathroom BEFORE

As for budget bathroom renovations, Cherie has some fabulous advice to impart too. “A new bath and basin can be a huge cost but may not be needed – use White Knight Tub & Basin to make these essential areas like new again,” says Cherie who used White Knight Laminate Paint to give the old vanity above an overhaul.

Bathroom AFTER

“I then brought the tiles into the 21st century with White Knight Tile & Laminate Cleaner, treating them with White Knight Tile & Laminate Primer, and finished off with two coats of White Knight Tile Paint,” says Cherie who advises updating taps and fixtures also. “Before you know it you’ll have a bathroom you can be proud of and a property that has increased in value,” says Cherie.

For video tutorials and more

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RENO ADDICT

How to ‘cookie cut’ your way to reno riches

Imagine if every time you cooked a recipe you went out shopping for all the ingredients from scratch. The butter, sugar, eggs, flour, herbs and spices… all the staples you’d realistically expect to find in any cook’s kitchen. You’d not only be wasting a lot of needless time hunting down ingredients, you’d also be wasting money as you toss out leftovers and start afresh each time. Wouldn’t it be a much smarter approach to buy all the key ingredients in bulk and maybe whittle your repertoire down to a few favourite recipes? After all, some of the world’s most successful restaurants don’t have a book-sized menu; they offer just a few key dishes and do them exceptionally well.

This is the rationale I apply to cosmetically renovating properties for profit. Welcome to what I call the “cookie cutter” approach.

cookie cut your way to reno riches

Cookie cutting your way to riches

Why cookie cutter?

For cosmetic renovations on low-budget properties, you simply don’t have the budget – or the need – for individual design. Not if you’re in it to make a profit. In modest suburbs, there’s always going to be a price cap on what buyers will pay for a renovated property, so the more you spend on unnecessary extras, the more you’re eating into your profit margin. Or worse, losing money. By developing a palette of colours, materials and even tradies that you transport from one project to the next, you streamline all your costs and reduce wastage.

Employ timeless design

The trick is to use colours and quality finishes that stand the test of time. It doesn’t mean every look is the same – you might have two or three different colour palettes to choose from, the same with flooring, kitchen finishes, etc – but the point is you have all those materials ready to roll out on every project. I provide my students with a Cosmetic Style Guide, which lists all the colour palettes and materials they need to buy, depending on the value of the property and buyer/renter expectations. It might be simple micro blinds for a low-priced property; plantation shutters for a higher price point. Laminate benchtops for the budget kitchen; Caesarstone for the next step up. Then you add individual flair, like a colourful feature wall or striking wallpaper, or some terrific retro lights, or a splashback of interesting tiles. None of those things are costly, but add real wow factor. And property styling at the end will be your final masterstroke.

Save on labour costs

Taking a cookie cutter approach means your team of tradies know exactly what to do with any new project, so there’s no need to be on site every day, micro-managing every detail – like you would if you were inventing a new look each time. Tradies can just get on with the job, and you can get on with finding new profitable projects to work on. The key is to replicate a successful template across all your projects, so you get maximum time, labour and cost efficiencies.

Here are four different looks that all use my cookie cutter concept. You can see the similarities, but also the subtle differences that give each their unique personality. After more than 25 years of profitable renovating across 100+ properties, I can safely vouch for the success of this proven formula.

Project 1

Gross profit: $45,000

cookie cut your way to reno riches Beforecookie cut your way to reno richesAfter

Project 2

Gross profit: $40,000

cookie cut your way to reno riches Beforecookie cut your way to reno richesAfter

Project 3

Gross profit: $35,000

cookie cut your way to reno riches Beforecookie cut your way to reno richesAfter

Project 4

Gross profit: $66,000

cookie cut your way to reno riches Beforecookie cut your way to reno richesAfter

Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

Categories
Bathrooms Expert Tips

Real homes: Two bathrooms transformed for just $3000 and $8000

AFTER

By Cherie Barber

A bathroom can be one of the most trade-intensive rooms in the house to renovate – and that traditionally means high labour costs. Expect your bathroom to be out of action for anywhere from one to three weeks, depending on the scale of the reno and any unforeseen problems that might arise.

A typical bathroom renovation can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $30,000 – unless, of course, you are smart with your shortcuts, in which case you can whittle your budget down to under $5000. And you’ll be talking days, not weeks, of work. Here are the five essentials of a cosmetic bathroom refresh.

Retain and rework

The minute you start ripping things out in a bathroom you’re asking for trouble. There’s ancient plumbing, asbestos, old electricals and decrepit walls to possibly contend with, which is why the budget on a full bathroom reno can easily spiral out of control. So the trick for a cosmetic refresh is to look at working with what you have as much as possible and replacing the bare minimum.

Amazing paint

If the main problem is simply that the bathroom looks dated, you can achieve a lot simply with the right paints. There’s specialty paints for vanity, tiles, sinks and baths. Together with painting the walls and ceilings in modern colours, a transformation can be pulled off for a few hundred dollars. And if you’re handy and meticulous with your finishes, you can probably DIY the lot yourself. That’s zero labour costs and no tradesmen traipsing through your property.

Replace the minimum

The next cheapest approach is to swap out a few key items. Bulky, old-style toilets take up a lot of unnecessary space, don’t have the water-efficiency of new ones and are just plain ugly. You can buy a smart new one that conceals all the inner workings for under $500. New vanities and baths are often on special, especially old stock and internet bargains, and as long as you work with your existing plumbing, won’t cost the earth to replace. Just be sure you use a licensed plumber for the install.

Glass distinction

Shower curtains are a thing of the past, not least because they are mould traps and have no place in a streamlined, modern bathroom. You can pick up fabulous looking frameless glass shower screens for under $500 online, so that’s a no-brainer.

Tile action

There’s no doubt that tiles can be one of the biggest wow factors in a bathroom, especially now the trend is moving away from clinical all-white bathrooms. Shop around for run-out stock, where they may have limited tiles left of popular lines, and you can pick up fantastic-looking tiles for under $20/sq m. The main cost will be labour: waterproofing and tiling. However, in a small bathroom, the dramatic impact versus financial outlay can be well worth the investment, especially given how much value a contemporary bathroom can add.

At the end of the day, you’re looking for a finished product that looks spectacularly neat, clinically clean, thoroughly modern, but for a price that belies the before and after transformation.

Here are two bathroom projects I’ve recently completed that show just what can be achieved on a modest budget.

BATHROOM 1

BEFORE
AFTER

What we did:

  • Modernise the bathroom joinery by adding trim to the doors, new hardware and laminate paint.
  • Install laminate benchtop and dual vanity.
  • Install new feature lights to the vanity area.
  • Waterproof and retile the bathroom floor and walls.
  • Install freestanding bath, open shower and new toilet.
  • Install new bathroom fixtures and fittings.

Total cost: approx. $8000

BATHROOM 2

BEFORE
AFTER

What we did:

  • Replace old shower screen with clear glass
  • Install new removable timber floor
  • Install new mirrored wall hung cabinets.
  • Paint tiles, walls and ceiling
  • Install new bathroom vanity.

Total cost: $2250 

–Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit. 

Categories
RENO ADDICT

Finding the best tradies… and keeping them

Finding the best tradies… and keeping them

Let’s face it: you can do all the research, planning and bargain shopping that you like, but it’s your trade team that’s going to make or break your renovation. That’s because labour is generally the biggest component of typical renovations – bathrooms particularly come to mind – and if anything is going to throw your timeline out, it’s unreliable tradies.

On the upside, a great team of tradies can make a potentially tricky renovation run like a well-oiled machine, bringing years of trouble-shooting experience and lateral thinking to the job.

Here are some of my top tips for finding the best team for the job.

Finding the best tradies

Finding the best tradies… and keeping them

1. Tap the network – Start by asking friends, colleagues and family for their personal recommendations. Having someone you trust vouch for a person’s quality of workmanship, reliability and that they charge a fair price for the work they do – that’s gold!

2. Don’t just take their word – There are some key people in your team – and one is definitely your builder. Even if he comes recommended, ask if you can speak to the property owner on his current job and the one before. If he’s confident in his work, this shouldn’t be a problem.

3. Get it all in writing – When it comes time to sign your building contract, make sure everything is itemised, and that you’ve read over every term and condition to minimise costly variations during construction.

4. Check their credentials – This can be done online in minutes, so there’s no excuse for not doing it. You can check licences of any builder or tradie at http://www.licensedtrades.com.au. Make sure they’re licensed for the work they’re doing and have all the necessary insurances.

5. Get 3 quotes – Get at least three quotes for any job. A seasoned renovator will have a ball park of what things cost; a novice won’t. The middle range quotes are generally the most realistic guide to the true value of the job. A really cheap quote should ring alarm bells and a really high one is possibly just trying it on or isn’t really interested in the job.

The bottom line is, always do proper due diligence on ANYONE you’re engaging to work on your renovation. Impulsive hiring decisions are a gamble that can cost you dearly.

TRADIE ETIQUETTE

  1. Always pay your tradies promptly, as per the terms of your agreement. Chances are they have equipment hire and labour costs associated with your project that they in turn need to pay on time.
  2. Never let tense situations get the better of you and lose your cool. Be firm, but fair, in all dealings.
  3. Hone your communication skills. Take time to learn some of the key tradie terms, as it saves tedious explanations and gives you credibility. Terms like “roughing in” and “scope of works” spring to mind.
  4. Go the extra mile for a great team, as they’re keepers. Make the occasional cuppa, offers cold drinks on a hot day, maybe shout them a case of beer at the end of the job.

Cherie’s next 3-day renovating workshop in Sydney is on May 19. See details here

Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

Categories
Expert Tips RENO ADDICT

Open plan living: How to make it work

By Cherie Barber

Few can resist the airy feeling of open plan, with the free-flowing sense of space and light, airy interiors. However, without a good sense of how to furnish and light a large, open plan area, it can feel cavernous and cold; about as homely as a storage warehouse.

The key is correct ‘zoning’, using elements like lighting, artworks, rugs, colour and furniture to create invisible rooms within the open plan, along with unifying elements that merge all the spaces seamlessly together.


Let’s come together
First up, you want a sense of cohesion as your foundation. When the whole space is empty it should feel like one big room. You achieve this with devices like flooring all at the same level (particularly if it flows inside/out), the same type or at least the same coloured flooring and the same colour palette throughout. Now you have a blank slate to work with.

Go with the flow
Next you need to create a flow that makes sense. To a large extent, the placement of windows and doors will dictate this. In typical open plan, you have a combination of kitchen, dining and living. It makes practical sense that the kitchen flows into the dining space. Depending on whether the space is L-shaped, square or rectangular, the lounging area may be an extension of these two ‘rooms’ or adjoin them. If you’re lucky, the interior will spill to an outdoor entertaining area.

Get in the zone
Now you create warmth and character and give definition to the open plan through zoning. You’ve decided where your designated rooms are, but it’s time to communicate this to the world.

Start with the kitchen. As the cabinetry and splashback are already in place by now, lighting is the most powerful tool at your disposal. Pendant lights over an island bench or breakfast bar, with obligatory dimmers, create a casual eating/work zone. High beam for chopping and low beam for relaxing with a wine after dinner.

Pride of place
For the dining area, a large table and chairs is an obvious statement piece, but think about how you can make this ‘room’ cosier. A rug that comfortably fits the chairs when pulled out (a 75cm overlap from the edge of the table will generally suffice) provides an obvious border. And again, a feature light over the centre of the table creates ambience and interest. Consider a mirror, artwork or even a console on the wall adjoining the dining table. It will help to anchor the space. And remember, a long piece of furniture, with floating legs, against the longest wall will accentuate the length of a room.

Easy living
The lounging area is really where you want to think about intimacy and warmth, and catering for a variety of moods. It’s a place to read, relax, watch TV and chat with family and friends. Along with the kitchen, it’s the social focus of the home. A mix of lighting such as floor lamps, table lamps and overhead lighting is ideal.

A nice big rug will define the space, and furnishings like a sofa and chairs create the boundary (a modular sofa that forms a right angle does a great job of this). A wall-hanging TV opposite the sofa is probably inevitable, but just try not to make it the focus of the whole room.

–Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

For more on Cherie Barber and James Treble’s Interior Design for Profit online course