KEY POINTS:
Most couples are lucky to survive one renovation, but Carolyn and Mark Loveday have twice made major changes to their Mt Eden, Auckland, home - since buying it 12 years ago - and their marriage is still intact.
"Mark and I made a promise not to let
the renovation impact on our marriage," says Carolyn. "We promised to support each other and not get too grumpy, which sounds pretty cheesy but it's just not worth having a barney over. You have to psych yourself into it and try to see it as an adventure." The second renovation, in particular, stretched the definition of the word "adventure".
For six months, Carolyn, Mark and their four children camped out in the living area while builders made extensive changes to the front and the back of the house simultaneously. For three months they had no kitchen, so they did their cooking in a microwave and electric frypan and washed their dishes in a bucket. For six weeks they had no bathroom, so Sam, now 11, Anton, 9, Drew, 5, and Portia, 3, bathed in the pool while Mark and Carolyn went to neighbours and friends' places. "At the end of it the kids were pretty fed up," admits Carolyn, who is an at-home mum.
But the inconvenience was worth it when the couple added up the $18,000 they would have dished out on rent if they had moved out (they spent the money on window shutters and wardrobes instead). And now they can relax and enjoy the result - a modern kitchen and stylish living areas - to complement the character of the four-bedroom villa.
The new open-plan kitchen and living room at the back of the house open directly on to a large back garden. As with the house, the garden has been renovated twice, once in an English garden style and then in a subtropical theme with plants more suited to Auckland's humid climate. A deck running the full width of the section is a great play space for scooters, ball games and tricycles, and also serves as a buffer zone for mud.
Inside, Carolyn's style is leafy and fresh, inspired by the three years she and Mark spent living in Singapore. "I fell in love with the feel of India and Asia, the palms, white walls and dark timber. It's peaceful and beautiful," she says. "I wanted a lofty and calming home. I have enough busy-ness in my life with four children so I need my surroundings to be calm and not fussy. I don't like following fashions.
If something isn't beautiful to you, it shouldn't be in your home. If you buy that way, it will always work when you put it together. You just need to be confident with your own taste." She says Mark has been an amazing support. "It helps to have a divine husband. He understands that this is my work environment and that by spending money on it and making it work better, I'm happier."
Order please
A place for everything: Use the "touch it once" rule to keep the house from lapsing into chaos. If you pick anything up, immediately put it where it belongs and not on a bench or table for relocation later.
Work to deadline: Carolyn has a seven-day paper and ironing rule, meaning every piece of paper and ironing gets dealt with within seven days.
Do as I do: Instil a strong sense of responsibility and care in your kids. Teach them to be tidy and to respect the home they live in. Behind closed doors: Go for fully fitted wardrobes, they give more floor space for playing.
Be prepared: Choose dark carpets. No matter how strict your "shoes off at the door" and "no food in the living room" rules are, there will always be mud and spills.
* Leanne Moore is the editor of Your Home & Garden. See the issue on sale now, for more ideas and inspiration for your home and garden.