Our Home
I’ve hovered over the keyboard, bitten my pencil and tidied the desk six times. You see I’m bashful at best over this blog, a tad scared at most. The real Nikki puts a spotlight on clients, blogging with reckless abandon about topics close to my heart while staying under the radar. But sound the drums, raise the soapbox… I’m stepping out of my comfy zone and swinging the doors wide open to our home (eek shy feels are peaking right now).
Truly, I’m not the least bit show-offish by nature, but I am proud of home #7 - its narrative speaks of a hardworking family who swamped themselves in property projects. We didn’t move once or twice in the past 18 years… we shifted seven times. From major renovations to minor cosmetic twists, we never drifted far from a local Mitre 10 and our weekends were filled with DIY.
Houses 1-6 saw an endless to-do list unfold. Sanding, prepping and painting timber window frames felt like my only occupation some days. But it was house #3 that wiped the smile from our enthusiastic DIY faces. Honestly, major renovations and a subdivision project at the same time is not for the faint-hearted. When I recall the bill for that fancy underground drilling equipment, or the coordination of 16 neighbouring signature consents - ouch. That’s putting it politely.
House #7 was worth waiting for. Calling for NO renovations meant I got to play Stylemaker right away. #7 is a shining example of what I promote daily as an interior designer. It’s my practice what I preach case study. Through the lens of talented Studio Weir, let me share a couple of these points.
What house #7 taught me (and can teach you too)
Mixing old treasures with new can have delightful results, it’s now my favourite thing to do.
The McNamaras are snob averse. We love a good Kmart find, happily mixing it with high-end ticket items. That swanky side table is actually a Kmart original with a piece of marble and a lick of paint applied.
We love a dollop of empty space. An over-filled or gussied-up room? Blah the energy wanes.
Consistency is a word a good designer says at least 10 times a day - think colour as a common theme.
Every room needs more than one light source and detailing is so important. Like our hand-carved box for the TV remotes, the little pieces really count. They turn bland items into something unique.
Make you home office beautiful, mine was a godsend and fuelled my motivation. Although mental note to self…locate it far from the fridge.
Are we done yet? Oh hell no! We kissed #7 goodbye after just three years of DIY-free bliss. After a 20 year wait my beloved will realise a dream to build a house, and we are currently knee deep in this exciting project. The kids are far from dependent on us and isn’t #8 a lucky number?
Photograhy by Studio Weir