THE SMART MONEY
After renting for 25 years, this homeowner can at last put down some roots and make her mark
After decades of renting, at last a chance to make a mark
Megan burrell’s house is easy to find in her leafy Waikanae street: it’s the one with the polka dot letterbox, a hint of the creative delights to come. Like her mailbox, her house has been transformed with dash rather than cash. Not to mention plenty of elbow grease and decades of collecting second-hand treasures in the hope they would one day have a permanent home.
“We had rented forever and moved every year,” says the single mother of two, looking around her sunny living room. “I never thought this would happen. I still can’t believe it’s mine.” When her daughters (Millie, 24, and Hannah, 21) left home two years ago, she used her KiwiSaver funds plus the KiwiSaver HomeStart grant to purchase her first house after 25 years of renting.
It was her parents who found the place, a 1940s onebedroom cottage with a 1980s addition. “They saw the garden and the verandah and said they could imagine me here.”
The dated interior wasn’t quite such a perfect match. It was “f loral on f loral” with ruched drapes, brown lino and tired pink and green carpets, but that didn’t deter Megan. “I’ve always loved interior design and I had a vision for the house. I had a ball redecorating.”
The floral wallpaper was the first to go. With family help, the interior was painted white in just two weeks. >
Megan and her father also removed all the internal doors, including the wardrobe doors, and spray-painted them jet black. “It was exciting; it was such a quick result.”
Under the carpet in the lounge (once the original cottage) were wide rimu boards. They were restored, and new cream carpet replaced the green in the bedrooms. Black and white chequer-board lino transformed the bathroom and kitchen.
But Megan’s redecorating budget was tight. The best advice she received was from her father, a retired engineer. “I wanted to rush out and buy things to decorate the house, but he said I should prioritise proper insulation and heating.”
She spent $14,000 – half of her total budget of $28,000 – on replacing all the mismatched windows and frames with doubleglazed aluminium. She also insulated the ceiling and underfloor and installed a heat pump. “It made such a difference. The new windows changed the look of the entire house and it is so much warmer and quieter.”
Then the fun really began. She transformed the entrance and hallway with blackboard paint, introducing a changing selection of chalk art. The old front door glows like a beacon in Resene ‘Yellow Sea’. Her new entrance won the Creative Space category in NZ House & Garden’s 2014 Interior of the Year awards. >
She prefers a rustic, industrial look and is a canny online shopper. Her dining table is an old art school find that still has students’ names carved into the base, and her bespoke light fittings feature worn metal shades found on Trade Me.
Megan relished the opportunity to hang her treasures on the walls at last, and has found clever ways to decorate without blowing her budget, such as vinyl decals on walls and framed tea towels.
Her top tips to save money: use a spreadsheet, get several quotes for everything and keep all your receipts. She resold the house’s existing ornate light fittings and even the old carpet on Trade Me. Despite the desk job (as an associate for two High Court judges) Megan is adept at reusing and repurposing wherever she can: she whipped up a quaint fence from a disintegrating wine barrel and made a coat rack from a piece of wood she found under the house.
“You can do anything yourself, really; it doesn’t need to involve lots of money and it is very satisfying. I love getting stuck in. A coat of paint changes the feel of any room. You do need a few tools – a hammer and nails, a saw, and I love my drill.”
She has lots more ideas and plans, including building a glasshouse from recycled windows and opening up the compact kitchen, but they will have to wait until she’s built up the funds.
“Joan [the previous owner] adored her house and I treasure it as much as she did. The house has a nice feel, people love it and it is a very sociable space. I feel as if I have been gifted it.”