There's nothing like pressure

There's nothing like a tight deadline to get a DIY project moving. That's what Shell and Jon Finderup discovered when renovating their home in Wadestown, Wellington. After buying the house in 1995, Shell and Jon, who is a commander in the Royal New Zealand Navy, moved to Australia for seven years.

In 2002 they returned to Wellington with their daughter Taylor, then aged 2, and set themselves up in the two downstairs bedrooms so they could renovate upstairs. With their furniture and belongings arriving from Australia in five weeks, they had to get cracking.

"It was crazy; the scrim and sarking walls and old ceilings were insulated and replaced with new lining, which we did ourselves, then while the gibstoppers worked, we frantically undercoated and painted skirtings and architraves, then moved on to the walls," explains Jon. "We painted the rooms in different colours and removed the old pot belly fireplace."

The tight time frame meant they were working constantly, from dawn to midnight. But the hard work paid off when, just the day before the furniture arrived, the new carpet was laid and the Finderups attached the new skirting boards.

But the project wasn't over yet. "After the house was unpacked, Jon's dad did some expert wallpaper hanging for us in the dining room. Then we moved on to re-plumbing and renovating the two bathrooms," says Shell.

When it came to redecorating, the couple wanted to keep the home's original charm. One of Shell's favourite elements are the plaster ceiling roses that Jon added when replacing the old ceilings. She wanted different patterns in the study, toilet, master bedroom and dining room, and then matching themes for the lounge and hallway.

Shell, who runs her own fabric design and interior styling business, likes to mix and match styles so she has a wide range of pieces in her home - from vintage to floral, Kiwiana to Asian, and animal prints to damasks.

There are a few special objects she is attached to, such as the ruby red chandelier in the dining room, a gold and black Buddha panel in the lounge, art deco-inspired red leather couches from Singapore, a large Asian-inspired Anna Chandler print in her office, and an original retro lip chair that has been re-covered.

She also collects bevelled-edge art deco mirrors. Taylor, now aged 10, and her sister Ivy, 4, have two in their bedroom. One was their grandmother's engagement present from the 1960s and the other is a beautiful oval dress-length mirror bought on the internet. Their brother Stefan, 7, has a nautical theme in his room, which Shell has teamed with a round mirror etched with a sailing ship.

The next big job is to renovate the kitchen. "I don't even want to think how much time, effort and money is going to have to go into that," says Shell. "I have to start planning and saving."

Style tips

Have a go: Shell and Jon recently learned how to tile and were confident enough to take on two bathrooms. "Shell smashed vintage floral china plates, cups and saucers, and mosaiced them into the white wall tiles," says Jon.

Break the rules: Mix styles and patterns in the same room. "We bought back some beautiful Asian furniture from Singapore and mixed it in the lounge with a floral rug, red art deco sofas, animal print throws, damask drapes and a retro coffee table," says Shell.

The white stuff: The Finderups have used white as a unifying colour throughout their home. "Somehow it pulls all the different colours together," Shell says.

Leanne Moore is the editor of Your Home & Garden magazine. See the latest issue for the full story on this home and other ideas for your place.