The magic of the makeover

Name: Sally Warncke

Occupation: I run a creative agency called ShowWorks, specialising in bespoke corporate events

Mom to 15-month-old - Benjamin

Married to Jon Warncke

It will be a nightmare, Sally Warncke’s friends warned when they overhauled their kitchen, family bathroom and en suite, however, it went well... ‘Super-happy’ Sally gives us her tips

KITCHEN AFTER

PICTURES SARAH CHAI \ PEXELS • JACEK DYLAG, DANE DEANER \ UNSPLASH

KITCHEN BEFORE

EN SUITE AFTER

EN SUITE BEFORE

KITCHEN MOOD BOARD

KITCHEN AFTER

THIS WAS our first renovation experience. When we bought this house, it was always with the intention of completely renovating the kitchen and bathrooms. I hated the revolting old-fashioned tiles, the cupboards, the colours. The layout of the kitchen was all wrong and I couldn’t wait to change it.

After many hours of Pinteresting, researching, googling and scrolling posts on the Renovating Moms group on Facebook, I had a clear vision of what I wanted to do and a 10-page mood board. My hubby was already bored of me talking about it and we hadn’t even begun!

We brought in the expertise of a project manager for the entire renovation. We planned to move out for a month, until the major demolition and building work had been done, and move back while they did the finishing touches.

Everyone told us we were dreaming, and that it would take double as long as promised (at least), it would cost way more than we budgeted and it would be a nightmare every step of the way.

There were some unexpected challenges for sure – such as a geyser and entire piping structure that needed replacing (not budgeted for); I couldn’t find matching floor tiles because they were old stock (action Tile Plan B); delays on materials due to factory hold-ups, etc.

But, credit to the team, we were able to move back in after the promised month. They stuck to their timeline amazingly well and they made the process pretty smooth throughout.

I loved the process of seeing it all come to life. Once the fittings, sanware and tiles started arriving, it was so exciting. And I feel like I expanded my brain with knowledge about a whole lot of stuff I didn’t know about before.

FAMILY BATHROOM MOOD BOARD

It was fun but, yes, I am really glad now that it is over.

I am super-happy with our “bath palace”, our stylish new en suite and our beautiful, slick, openplan and way more functional kitchen layout.

FAMILY BATHROOM AFTER

FAMILY BATHROOM BEFORE

Sally’s tips

� Do research beforehand to get ideas and inspiration. Spend time googling, pinteresting, making mood boards – it really does help to fine-tune your ideas.

� Then visit showrooms. Get samples and take them home and lay them in the space. Things look different in different lights and different spaces.

� When choosing a bath (especially if it is your “hero piece”), don’t be shy to actually sit in the baths in the showrooms. You can’t judge the comfort and size of a bath by eye, you need to get in it, lie back and make sure it works for you.

� Trust your gut. Contractors, friends and family will all have differing tastes, and give you opinions, and would all “do it differently”. Find a balance between taking valuable advice from others and sticking to your guns. You have to love it at the end of the day, so stay convicted.

� Be prepared to go over budget. Have a contingency amount – you will end up using it because there will always be unexpected expenses.