Renovation goals: Glow-up or full reno?

Deciding to renovate is a big step, but enhancing where you live can be done in many different guises, and according to property gurus Alice and Caleb Pearson, it doesn’t always have to involve enormous sums of money.

“There are so many things you can do to improve a home that doesn’t involve a full-scale renovation,” says Alice, whose passion for interiors was first seen on The Block NZ in 2013.

“Renovation really means a transformation, and you can transform spaces without spending a huge amount of money. You can invest your time, do mini-projects, and make a big visual impact. I really enjoy this concept, it’s kind of like a ‘glow-up’ - an instant transformation of a space that doesn't cost you much money.”

Alice and Caleb are committed budgeters and have learnt many clever tips and tricks for getting the most out of every dollar when it comes to home improvements. Often it’s about investing your time, rather than your money.

One of Alice’s favourite, cost-effective ways to breathe new life into things is by using paint. Often she’ll buy second-hand furniture and transform it with spray paint to suit the look of her home, or update tired areas of a home with splashes of colour.

“Paint is an amazing way to transform things. A fireplace for example can look really dated, but painting it makes it look so much better and doesn't cost much money at all.”

She also tries to sell anything that’s pulled out of a house and would ordinarily end up in a skip. Caleb loves a weekend project of creating a feature wall, either with paint, wallpaper or panelling. “It’s a really easy and affordable way to totally change the look of a room.”

There are lots of ways to save money in a renovation, too, they say. Pulling up old carpet yourself, for example, rather than paying someone, or sweeping up a building site at the end of the day yourself, rather than the builders, can save money too.

They also urge people to shop around for quotes from contractors, rather than agreeing to the first price presented.

Learning new skills such as wallpapering can save thousands.

“Caleb has a mindset of ‘it isn't broke, don't fix it,’ which means if something functions and it works fine, just because you may want it to look slightly different doesn't mean you have to demo the whole thing,” Alice says.

Avoiding structural work in a property, or work that requires a building consent can usually keep your spending lower, too.

But Caleb also points out that spending money on a property often pays off in the end, so set a budget and make your decisions accordingly.

“Renovations can add value to the property's value, but they also add a lot of value to how you live in the property, your lifestyle, how you integrate with your family, and the flow and the connection of a space. There's a lot of benefits for doing a renovation,” he says.