Diamond rings. Little numbers on your bank statement. Whiney toddlers. The smallest things often make the biggest difference in our lives.
And home renovations are no different. Win small battles and you’ll win the war.
Here are the smallest hacks that have made the biggest difference in our blossoming reno life.
Control your flow
Nothing irks me more than brushing my teeth in soggy socks.
So, if you’re going for that seamless level floor look, I implore you to drop your shower space by a minimum of 15mm, so that your shower doesn’t flood the room.
That step up between the wet shower space and the rest of the room is enough to bang your toe every time you pass over it, but it’s also just enough to keep the water at bay without affecting that seamless aesthetic.
A length of aluminium trim will keep it neat. But you’ll want to match it to the tile tone, so that the small step doesn’t stand out more than necessary.
Small niche, GIANT props
Just after we finished The Block, we got a random call from a lady who was living in our (ahem WINNING) apartment. She called to say how wonderfully it was designed, and to thank us for thinking of her in the shower.
We were like, “um, yeah, sure, no problem”, not knowing what type of crazy fan she was (yep, we had some like that back then). After a few minutes’ frantic head-scratching, we worked out she was talking about the leg shaving niche we built into the main shower.
Before you start googling that and find that AutoCorrect diverts you to images of a ‘Leg Shaving Niece’, let me enlighten you. We added a recess no more than 300mm wide, just high enough for a woman – or a Lycra sporting man – to pop their leg up when shaving in the shower.
This seemed like a throwaway feature at the time – Simon and I, although hairy, aren’t the limb shaving type – but evidently it changed the life of some cashed-up, now smoothed legged lass. You’re Welcome!
Two-toned walls have a superpower
Usually dark lower down and lighter higher up, two-toned walls have a secret superpower. Apart from being totally Pinterest-worthy, they make a room seem much bigger than it is.
If you paint the ceiling and the top part of the wall the same colour, the division between the wall’s and ceiling’s beginning starts to blur. Eliminating the harsh divide between the two almost forces the ceiling to retreat upwards, which gives the impression of a larger room.
Have fun with different colour and tone combinations, until you find one that suits.
I have white all round, with a clear line at about 1200mm high. Anything above is painted in a matt finish; anything below, a semi-gloss. Same colour, just different sheens. What’s more, gloss is way easier to clean – perfect for grubby kids smearing God knows what all over my crisp white walls.
This article was originally published as 3 life changing renovation tips by www.realestate.com.au and is written by Shannon and Simon Vos.