Master Bedroom Renovation

Sometime in the middle of winter we decided to tackle the renovation of our master bedroom. We said 'Hey it will be fun to sleep on a mattress in the lounge for a couple of weeks!' Yea well try a couple of months! There was so much prep work involved in this room, especially since we are fixing up the cracks and other bits made by the Christchurch earthquakes.

The windows had a few coats of paint on them and we stripped them right back to the original wood so we could even them out a bit. Paint, sand, paint, sand.

The walls and ceiling had a bunch of cracks in them that needed scraping out and filling with plaster. We are getting better at this job after doing the hallway and Addison's room. More sanding. Then a few late nights of painting before retiring to our mattress in the lounge. We packed up the mattress each morning and kept it in the hallway so Addison could use the lounge to play in.

I love the way the paint has brightened the room. The curtains give a bit of colour and of course we have our feature bed that makes a statement of its own. We tried to keep things simple once we moved the furniture back in. It's been relatively easy to keep tidy except now that we are doing more reno in the kitchen, things seem to be migrating into our room for storage.

The colours we used were:
Ceiling: Plain old Ceiling White
Walls: Resene Half Haast
Door, Skirting and Window Trim: Resene Haast

During the chaos

Since we finished the bulk of the room and have lived in it for a bit, Dave made some funky wall brackets to hold our bedside lights. I love them! We have also hung a door on the wardrobe which was previously just open. It streamlines the room so much more now that our clothing is out of sight!

We had a lot of fun doing this room and I have no regrets. It is slow going though when you only have a couple of hours each night to get work done, or trying to work the noise of tools around a sleeping child. But we got there in the end! I hope you enjoyed seeing what we accomplished!

xx Amy

Addison's Room Renovation

 

It has been a long time coming, Addison is approaching 18 months old and we have finally finished her room! I have been hunting for my before photos but they have gone awol so you will have to make do with a blurry couple of photos from the builders report!

When we moved into the house, the second bedroom was a bit worse for wear. It had a weird stripy wallpaper thing going on - one strip a fawny brown and the next a really light brown, all the way around the room. The window frames were green and the edges of the wardrobe had been well scratched by a giant German Shepherd.

Before

Before

(those photos were from the previous tenant of the house!)

 The first thing we did once our awesome flatmate moved out was rip down the wallpaper. It stayed that way for the first year of Addison's life. Once we had finished the hallway, I moved onto the week-long task of scraping off the wallpaper backing that stuck to the wall with concrete glue. Then we did the all too familiar task of scraping out cracks and then plastering, sanding and painting.

Finally I got to do some decorating and I managed to hold back from my usual style of filling the walls up with stuff, and Dave convinced me to stick with a slightly more minimalist style. The wardrobe alcove will eventually have some louvered bi-fold doors but until then it is the perfect place to hide away some of our junk as well as Addy's drawers.

The general colour scheme is light blue, gold and light pink but we were never going to go all out on colours. Function wins in our household, as well as keeping it neutral for sellability. We also kept the original curtains as they keep the light out pretty well and our small budget didn't allow for new ones.

I feel like this room will transform well from nursery into a little girls room. I am thinking about getting Dave to build some shelving for book storage and to free up floor space. I am loving the job we did and I think Addison will be happy spending her time in this room.

After

The Time I Trashed My Wedding Dress

To be honest, right now I am in some sort of creative slump. But I know that it will pass and I am just enjoying spending my free nights snuggled up by the fire watching Breaking Bad with Dave and Killer.

So to give you a bit of awesomeness to get you through the rainy week I thought I would share with you some of my favourite photos from the time I did a Trash the Dress photoshoot.
My amazing friend Adele from Adele Krantz Photography took me out for the day and we found the most amazing spots to shoot in. Plus she even did my hair and makeup for me!

This was way back in April 2010 so most of these landmarks have either been destroyed or significantly changed since the earthquakes. We used the old Sale Yards on Deans Ave, Christchurch and Sumner Beach, Christchurch.

A Trash the Dress Photoshoot is basically another excuse to get some great pictures of you in your wedding dress. It can be done with or without your partner. There are no limits to how creative you want the photos to be - I got my dress wet, I have seen others use brightly coloured paints or gone up trees or been under a waterfall - basically anything you think would look epic that is not logistically possible on your wedding day! I also wanted some photos of me wearing my trusty Chuck Taylor's. 

Adele did a great job right! I'm not usually this photogenic! P.S - That water was FREEZING!
xx 

Please don't re-use these images without my permission
Credit to Adele Krantz
Not a sponsored post - just seriously love these photos!!

Going, Going, Gone

Over the last couple of days the building across the road from my work has been in the process of being demolished. Apparently it was only around 17% of current building code*
*I may have made that up. In any case, it was easier to knock it down than fix it up. The occupants moved out over a year ago so it has been sitting there all empty and tagged since then. It is not quite down yet but my goodness it is amazing how much more sunlight gets through now! Amazing.

The cordons around Christchurch CBD have all gone now (for pedestrians) and all there is to look at now are big empty spaces where you rack you brain to remember what used to be there pre-quake. Christchurch has become a giant gravel car park (where you STILL have to pay for parking - thanks Wilsons).

I am looking forward to this blank canvas becoming something new, edgy, and modern with still that small city charm. Because lets be honest, Christchurch's way of life is on the lazy side of NZs largest cities. Which is exactly what I love about it.

First Home Buying - Lessons Learnt the Hard Way

As previously mentioned we are lucky enough to have purchased our first ever house!

We have yet to move in (any packing tips would be much appreciated) and are anxiously waiting for June 7th when we GET THE KEYS!

We had a bit of a long and tedious road getting to where we are now and I know we learnt a lot of lessons the hard way. So to save you the hassle I thought I might share a few little tips and tricks for first home buyers. I know everyone has a different experience but this is what we found worked best for us.

• Brokers are your friends. A broker gets paid commission from the bank you choose to get a mortgage with. So it is a win-win situation - you get the best deal on a mortgage, he/she has to work hard to make you happy if they want to get paid.
  Lesson learnt: Trying to fill in application forms yourself may be fun at first, but having to go back and forth and back again to each bank is time consuming and soul destroying. Find a broker and they will be your middle man. If the bank needs more paperwork, the broker will ask you for it. The hardest part is pre-approval, once your offer has been accepted then it is nearly all out of your hands.

• Pre-Approval is also your friend. Go to said broker and say you want to look at buying a house. He will ask a few quick questions to make sure you are in the right place financially and go from there.
  Paperwork you will need: 2 forms of photo ID - usually copies that have been certified by a JP
  - 3-6 months of bank statements for all accounts including credit cards. Handy tip - keep your accounts in the green for this whole time, it has been known for banks to refuse you if you go into overdraft.
  - A letter from your employer stating when you started and what your yearly earning are.
  -Different banks need different things but get organised and get a printer!

• Kiwisaver pros and cons - Kiwisaver has a couple of interesting ways of using your retirement money for a first home. The first way is that you can use your employers and your own contributions plus any interest earned to go towards the deposit of your house. This does not include the $1k Government kickstart or any Govt contributions. You can find out how much you can withdraw by logging into your online IRD account and clicking the Kiwisaver tab. This money is to go towards the deposit of the house but the catch is that it only gets paid out on settlement day (or up to 10 working days after) so when you pay the deposit when the house goes unconditional you will need a temporary overdraft from the bank to cover this amount.
  
  - The other way Kiwisaver helps is by partnering with Housing New Zealand to provide a First Home Deposit Subsidy. If you have been contributing to Kiwisaver for more than 3 years (read: 36 solid months) then you are probably eligable for a grant. You get $1000 for every year you have been CONTRIBUTING to Kiwisaver up to $5000. Per person. The catch here is that we got caught out because although we have had our Kiwisavers open for 3+ years, we have been studying and had odd jobs or casual jobs that we didn't contribute to Kiwisaver. When you go to do the form you have to cross reference a list of your Kiwisaver contributions with a list of your income and make sure it adds up to more than 36 months. Ours didn't :( PLUS that part is super headache inducing!!
  
• Research - As soon as you have decided that buying a house is the next Big Step in your life then go to as many open homes as you can. I am serious here. The more you look, the better idea you get for what a house is worth in the current market. We got our house valued after our offer was accepted and it was bang on what we paid for it. This is down to the research we did and what we thought the house was worth. It wasn't our max price, it was us being sensible and knowing what the limit was.

• Open Home Hints
  - Don't be afraid to put your details down with an agent, if you find a nice one they might be willing to let you know of any places that suit you before they are advertised.
  
  -Ask lots of questions - know your way around insurance claims, ask what sort of ballpark figure the vendors are after, ask what chattels are included.
  
  - Don't be afraid to open every door and examine everything. That is the point!
  
  - Have a debrief after and list the pros and cons of that specific property, what the max price you would pay for it would be and if there are any deal breakers (ie next to train tracks)
  
  It also helps to have a list of ideals you would like your first home to have. Keep in mind you aren't spending mega bucks so if you aren't keen on DIY then you might need to keep saving or downsize a bit.
  Our major ideals were that we wanted some land and we wanted a standalone house. We also wanted a garage or shed but that didn't quite happen but there is the opportunity for one.

•  Money in your Pocket - There are a few costs that appear once your offer is accepted that you need to be prepared for. You need to make sure you have enough money that is easily accessible (not in a trust fund etc) to pay for the below items. This money should not be included in the amount you have for your deposit.
  I recommend approx $3000
  
  - Builders report - $400-$800
  - Valuation (some banks require this) - $500-$600
  - Lawyers Fees (some banks put towards this as an incentive) - $1200 - $2000
  - Lease Break (1 weeks rent + GST generally)
  - Moving Costs ($50 - $1000+)
  
  Obviously every situation is different but I am mentioning this to save you from a giant shock when the invoices start arriving!

• Builders Report - This is a requirement to all house buyers. Not all builders are qualified or experienced enough to carry out this inspection as you need to get it signed off and approved by the bank, the lawyer, the insurance company and yourselves.
  You can get a variety of services for this report - starting from a basic package to a package where the builder does the inspection and quotes for all the work needed to get the building ship shape. This can be handy if you want to know how much you will need to fork out once the house is yours. Not so necessary if you have an amazing hubby like mine who can do most of it himself. It is also worth mantioning that the insurance company will not approve your application without your builders report so as soon as your offer is accepted get onto this ASAP. You usually have 10 working days to get the report and the insurance sorted but things are crazy right now, especially in Christchurch.


• Lease Breaking - Since this is your first home you are likely to be renting. The ideal situation is to have a periodic tenancy which you only have to give a few weeks notice. Unfortunately most property management companies have fixed term tenancies so unless you time things really well then you will have to break your lease.
  It seems that some companies do things differently but in my experience we are required to give written notice and pay 1 weeks rent + GST for an administration fee to get the house advertised again. You are also liable to keep paying rent until a new tenant is found. Lucky for us in Chch I am fairly certain that this will not be a problem.  

• Welcome Home Loan - This is a Government incentive scheme to aid people who have trouble coming up with a deposit for their first house. There is an income cap and a whole bunch of strict conditions but if you qualify then it may be worth your while! You only pay 15% deposit on the amount of the house over $200,000. This could mean no deposit!
  We have gone through this scheme and have had ups and downs. I recommend going through a broker familiar with the process, having a good lawyer also familiar with the process and making sure you extend the finance condition on your offer from 10 working days to 15 working days.

Information Overload? Sorry about that. I would love it if this information helps in any way, any stress saver is a good one right?

Please, please keep in mind that all this information is from our own experience and may not be completely accurate forever.Some things I am still a bit hazy over but I think the basics are there. If you have any questions feel free to email me at amyliz80 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Good luck house hunting!

22/2 - Reflecting and Hoping

The chairs representing the heroes that lost their lives in the quake

 Today, the nation remembers, mourns and some try to forget. this date is etched into our memories and everyone in the country can remember what they were doing when they either experienced the 6.3 earthquake or heard the news. If you are interested here is my blog post about my experience of the 6.3 Christchurch earthquake.

I had the day off today, for some relaxing time, it just so happened to be this date. I had a wander around town and boy does it feel different. It isn't depressing, its different and ever-changing and quiet and noisy all at the same time. Sure there are road works and detours and bumps in the road, but however slowly, things are happenning. It sucks to have to add 10 min to your commute to detour but that is the price we have to pay to get things to change.

In my mind, I have set myself an expectation that the re-build will take at LEAST 5 years. That includes road works, EQC claims, cracks to be repaired, the city centre to become functioning again. I am trying to tell myself that although it has been 2 years, look how far we have come, half that time the country was trying to figure out how the heck to get things underway, and rightly so. I see the workers, I speak to the workers at my cafe and I see how hard they are working, how tight their schedules are, how many hours overtime they work each day.

I feel positive about the future of this city. I would NOT like to be making any of the decisions around here, the opinions are so extreme that no matter what gets decided, it is wrong. But whatever happens, it will be a step forward.

Flowers in the ever-present road cones has become an anniversary tradition

This sign, however tagged and silly the answers may be, has significance. I can think of a few words I would add:

GROW

CHANGE

BE REFRESHED

HAVE HOPE

HAVE FAITH

BE STRONG

RISE UP.