Raumati Beach Home Makeover

By Patricia Moore

With its 40 km stretch of unspoiled beaches and relaxed village vibe, Kapiti Coast, north of Wellington, has long been a popular holiday spot. Now, with improved road and rail access to the capital’s CBD, that’s changing and a growing number of families and permanent residents are moving into the area; what were holiday cottages are being transformed into up-market dwellings with all the mod-cons found in new builds.

A complete house renovation

Refresh Renovations Specialist Lia Boersma completed a project that involved the full interior renovation of a typical, one level, 1950’s Kapiti bach. “This project touched every aspect of the cottage, totally redesigning the layout to enable modern open-plan living and putting an emphasis on high-end finishes.”

Carrying out the house renovation

To create the desired layout, existing walls, that formed small, less functional spaces, were removed and all rooms were repositioned including the kitchen and bathroom; the fireplace was re-sited and replaced with a wood-burning stove and new window and door joinery was installed in the living area.

A wet room bathroom renovation

This whole-house renovation also involved updating the bathroom to ‘wet-room’ standards with full tiling and a new shower; paintwork throughout was refreshed, and the comfort level in the house was enhanced with the installation of insulation in the ceilings and walls.

Forgoing the house renovation design

Lia’s clients had a vision in mind of what they wanted to achieve and therefore wanted to skip the concept design stage – Step 2 of the Refresh process. As Lia explains, the concept design stage is an important part of the process as it enables them to evaluate various options and understand the implications in terms of cost and time.

We’re still often finding ourselves just staring at the finished article and marvelling at what our home looks like now

Home renovation costs

“Because we hadn’t gone through that stage of the process we were not able to test the feasibility against the client’s budget and provide the budget range Refresh expected the renovation to cost.” The client had a budget expectation of $160,000 but as the detailed design of the project was coming together Lia says they signalled to the client that they expected the cost to come in above their expectations due to the extensive scope and the client’s choice of high-end fittings. “The project came in at around $250,000 with a three-month timeline which was over-run by only two weeks, due to one unexpected issue and additional work requested by the client.

A new kitchen design

The redesigned kitchen is just one of many project high-points for the Refresh team. As well as the use of colour, which, as Lia says, makes it “very different to the standard white kitchen,” it features custom-built cabinetry with an interesting movable island. This trend towards ‘furniture on wheels’ is an option she says is becoming increasingly popular. The portable nature of an island makes it simple to relocate according to what’s going on; as well it helps create more flow and space in the kitchen area.

Colour palette inspiration

Given that many of her clients opt for ‘safe’ colour schemes when renovating, the use of an exciting colour palette which enhances the house and creates a ‘beachy’ environment, was a real plus for Lia. “This was just so different; it suited the house and came together really well. All compliments to the client for that!” Resene paints were used throughout with Mexican Red, a soft terracotta red featuring in the dining area; Norway, a cool ‘calming’ green creating a feature wall in the living area and Dusted Blue, actually a pale grey, in one of the bedrooms.

Installing Rimu flooring

The floors also came in for a makeover. Dark stained polished Rimu timber replaced the original flooring in the lounge and dining areas, with Robert Malcolm Moduleo Transform Vinyl Tui Tile in the entrance, hallway and kitchen.

Final thoughts

Beach bach to up-market seaside dwelling; the renovation has resulted in a complete transformation of this Kapiti Coast property. And Lia’s clients couldn’t be happier. As they emailed when the finishing touches were complete, ‘We’re still often finding ourselves just staring at the finished article and marvelling at what our home looks like now. A big thank you to all involved.’

You may also be interested in Open Kitchen Renovation in Lower Hutt

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