Renovating, a step at a time

After years of watching home-renovation shows overhaul hot messes in an hour or less, viewers can’t be faulted for wanting their renos done quickly. But, says Australian interior designer Natalie Walton, slow and steady ultimately wins the race.

In her new book Still: The Slow Home, Walton spotlights owners who have crafted their dream houses with intention, resulting in sustainable materials, layouts that support each family’s needs, and objects that spark joy.

Kasia Bilinski and Matthew Murphy, for example, left their New York City apartment when they had their first child and moved to Callicoon, N.Y., where they found a three-bedroom house that was hand-built from two Pennsylvania barns.

“The couple lived in the place for a month before starting any remodelling. That adjustment time gave them the idea to relocate the master bedroom from the top floor, which they turned into a loftlike office and guest room, to the ground level,” Walton writes in Still.

Jessica and Mike Kraus of San Clemente, Calif., found a house on Craigslist in 2017 that was riddled with problems but was near the beach and a steal of a deal.

“Mike, a sprinkler-fitter foreman, did all the remodelling himself after work and on weekends, with Jessica close behind, giving suggestions and sourcing second-hand and, occasionally, new American-made furniture,” writes Walton.

“The transformation was neither quick nor painless — ‘some months it felt like we were camping,’ says Jessica — but that made the end result even sweeter.”

Finally, a decade ago, Tanya Jonsson and her husband Kris Isacsson swapped their Brooklyn apartment for a 1974 ranch-style house in Pound Ridge, N.Y.

Jonsson, an interior design director, takes joy in seeing the art and furniture she’s been collecting for 20 years find just the right spot in her own home.

“When I look around this place, I see my life,” she tells Walton in Still.