She isn't much to look at...

If you have found the latest copy of Your Home and Garden (July 2015) you would have seen the house we recently renovated. However she was never this beautiful, she was far far from it.

Throughout the project, we have been recording what we have gone through and what we have learnt. We have sharpened our renovation skills over the past few years and want to share what we know, so why not go through the journey of a complete renovation, from beginning to end. Sharing our process in transforming this run down house into something worthy of a magazine cover. Including along the way tips and lessons, project management and interior design advice – our thoughts and commentary of the renovation. If you are up for it, come on the journey with us and feel free to let us know your thoughts and any questions along the way.

An uncut diamond, good bones, black canvas, potential plus – real estate agents use these sayings all the time. This particular house was titled “Hidden Treasure” and that’s what we were planning for it to live up to.

The key attractions for us to this house were that:

• It was still in its original state and in need of a renovation, so we were confident in the return on what we would spend.
• It had many favourable items already including privacy, double garage, good aspect, good location.
• The bones were solid and it had a new roof put on.
• The layout was favourable, allowing the living spaces to have a northern aspect and get good sunlight.
• Large site, with ability to be subdivided (if the house was shifted on the site).

The section was big enough to subdivide and this was our intention. As part of our feasibility (financial assessment) on options we looked at getting rid of the house altogether. Starting from scratch. This had some appeal, but we couldn’t go there. We were too excited about renovating and the numbers still favoured renovating – the cost of relocating the house and renovating was still cheaper than building a new house from scratch.

You have been the after photos, now for the before ones. Here is our little Mount Wellington do up, before she got her makeover.