the house apart with these ideas

Minor changes add up in reno

There’s no disputing that renovations can be expensive, but they don’t have to be.

Provided you don’t want to completely gut the house, your home can get a fresh new look for only a few hundred dollars. You don’t have to tear your entire house apart to create your dream home

PAINT, PAINT, PAINT Most house and building magazines will tell you “just repaint the interior walls’’ but there are many other applications for a fresh coat. For the bathroom, there is specialised paint available to give your bathtub, vanity, or toilet an update, as well as another type for revamping the driveway or garage floor.

In the kitchen, instead of ripping out the old wood fixtures and detailing, simply paint an ageless colour over the top.

REFLOORING Ripping up dead carpet often makes a world of difference to a home, but laying down new carpet can be pricey.

An alternative is to use vinyl flooring – there are many on the market now that imitate wood or tiles flawlessly – or with any luck, you’ll find hardwood floors under the carpet that just need a sand and polish.

Also, if you’re looking to retile, you can save time and money by laying the new tiles over the top of the old ones.

HANDLES, LIGHTS, AND OTHER FITTINGS Possibly the easiest and cheapest way to revamp your home is by updating fittings.

There are so many unique and funky door handles available now that you can add some of your own individual personality to your home.

Adding new light fittings to your home can be as expensive or inexpensive as you wish, and really add personality to a room.

There are also light switch casings in myriad shapes and colours. Finally, giving your windows a new look is almost essential, and can be done relatively easily with new blinds or curtains.

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COST CUTTING...

...or COST SAVING?

It’s never easy accurately predicting the future, but two things are sure. Demand for quality never wanes, and quality can always demand a premium. That’s because good quality is better than, and outlasts, poor quality. Those intent on having a new home built generally fall into two broad groups. First, there’s the ‘cost-cutters’ who understandably want as much house as they can get for their budget but therefore choose the cheapest of everything. Then there’s the ‘cost-savers’ who strategically plan their new home to be the best it can be within their budget. No-one has an unlimited pile of cash, so budget will always be a limiting factor. The cost-cutters, in my view, tend to be the short-sighted group, fearing their limited budget automatically means limited options, therefore limited house. I say short-sighted because cheapness has its own built-in, hidden add-on costs. The second group, the cost-savers, are more far-sighted. They also still have to work within their budget, but go for products and overall home designs they know will actually save them moneyin the future. The funny thing is, while the real initial cost difference can be very minor, the ongoing running cost can be huge. Generally, the more consideration put into energy-saving design at the beginning, the bigger the cost savings later. In simple terms, the cheapest initial build option may well turn out to be the most expensive in the long run. There is a two-fold trap for the unwary cost-cutters. First, a cheaply built home requires expensive add-ons to make it habitable. Not just expensive to buy, but costly to run. This is where you may find your home is actually fighting against you all the way. If your new home was cheap to build but poorly designed, your add-on aircon – regardless of how ‘efficient’ it is – is busting itself every day, working hard to overcome the natural elements. The second point is thatahome, strategically designed to work well with the landscape and environment, will not only be much more liveable naturally, but is more likely to command a price premium at sale time. Therefore, not only is it a cheaper home to run than a cheaply built house, it will pay you back handsomely later. Many home buyers today are much more savvy these days, and will simply spurn cheaply and poorly built homes. — Geoff Gibson Look for this column in next month’s Style... we will continue digging deeper into what ‘sustainability’ means for your home.

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Geoff Gibson 0407 965 261 facebook.com/geoffgibsonhomes IS THE KEY TO YOUR OWN SUSTAINABLE FUTURE HOME

Your key to Smarter Liv v i n g !

Artist Jenie Fawckner chats to Style Feature

Tell us a little about yourself Originally from Central Queensland, I am now based on a little farm close to Hampton, north ofToowoomba. We purpose built my current Art studio when we moved here three years ago. It is my dream workspace and creative sanctuary. I am a full-time artist andIwork on my art practice 9am to 5pm, five days per week. Describe your style? Probably close to a form of modern impressionism. It definitely “comes together” to form my subject matter the further away you view it from. I very much aim to capture the “feel and atmosphere” of the landscape with my personal interpretation rather than a definitive detailed representation.

Jenie Fawckner 2020 Feature Artist What inspires you? Everything around me, particularly nature. Rather than searching for outstandingly beautiful things and places to paint, I think I have taught myself to look deep into my subject matter and find the beauty in everything. Often the landscapes I find are pretty ordinary scenes to the eye, but I have learnt to see them in a different way and get super excited about exposing their hidden composition and perspective, or colours and shapes. When did you start painting? I had a very creative childhood, so I have drawn and painted for as long as I can remember. Art was my favourite subject at school, then I went on to train for three years after school. I have been a screen-printing and painting artist parttime ever since I left school, then became full-time about six years ago. I have slowly let my painting evolve into a larger part ofmy work output. I still screen print for diversity, and I haveaprintmaking studio. How has your art evolved? My painting style has evolved into a much looser, more confident mark making approach. Why do you enjoy painting? The emotional high of completing a successful painting and then spending time with it, dissecting and wondering how you actually painted it. I paint for the feeling of immense pleasure thatIget from seeing someone so joyous and excited to own the artwork.

GRAMMAR For yourcalendar.. Art Show

28-29 March 2020 JenieFawckner

JenieFawckner