Restoring character

For a serial renovator like Colleen Dromgool, the temptation was too great when she saw a character bungalow being relocated to a Cambridge section. "I watched the progress as they put it all back together," she says. "I liked the shingles, the front bay window and how, on the corners, it had pieces of copper. And they replaced the old brickwork with big fat bricks.

To me, it looked a bit French." Colleen, who has renovated 12 houses in New Zealand and Australia, bought the 1930s home with husband Peter about a year ago and says he loves its history and design. "It's the height of the ceilings, the big skirting boards, the old doors - they have soul."

When the couple and their 20-year-old son Ciaran moved into the home, they decided to improve its flow. "We took down a bedroom wall, opening the space into an L-shaped dining/living room," says Colleen.

"We made the bedroom into the dining room, the dining room into the lounge, and the lounge into the main bedroom. "I was going to make it more open-plan right through to the kitchen - but we found that if we knocked the extra wall down the roof would have fallen down."

Recycling some materials helped to cut costs when they renovated the kitchen. "I liked the kitchen but I had to make it more functional," says Colleen. "The shelves were narrow and it still had the flour bins and I had no use for those. We recycled the wood for cupboard door-fronts. The stainless steel six-burner stove and dishwasher contrast nicely with the timber and the chocolate and black decor. Black shelving turns the focus to the glassware and the Crown Lynn pieces that Colleen collects.

Below the shelves is a blackboard for scribbling recipes or reminders. Colleen, who works at a gallery specialising in outdoor art, searched long and hard for the right colour to go with the black chandeliers in the hallway, eventually opting for yellow, with a green tint. "I wanted one colour with impact," she says.

"When people come to the door, the hallway gives them an idea of what sort of person you are and what to expect in your house." While Colleen loves renovating, the work was still done to a budget.

"The most expensive part was the kitchen, but we expected that, and then the building work. The least expensive would be my curtains because I am a sewer. I got great fabric at a good place. You do save money doing it yourself."

A new lease of life

Stand out: Be brave and ignore fashionable colours. As Colleen says, "I like to do something that other people aren't doing, and I use only colours that I would be comfortable living in. If you love it, it will work. Have a look at your clothes. If you like wearing a colour, you'll like living in that colour."
Skin deep: Painting is one of the most affordable ways of giving a house a facelift. Paint can be used to make rooms appear bigger, warmer or lighter.
Cut costs: You can make painting even more affordable by looking out for specials. Check paint shops for mistints. Paint that has been rejected by a customer might be just the colour you're after and you'll pick it up at a bargain price.
Wide spectrum: When it comes to choosing colours, look at everything from nature to magazine covers for ideas about colours that work together.

* Leanne Moore is the editor of Your Home & Garden. See the latest issue, on sale now, for more inspiring home ideas.