Your mortgage
weekend ‘‘off’’ every four weeks for a year. In return, Murchison will pay their mortgage to the value of $25,000. ‘‘That is based on a 10 per cent deposit on the $479,000 house, some of which will probably be acquired through KiwiSaver and other first-home buyer grants available.’’
Murchison says he got the idea from opening his own home as a show home. ‘‘It works really well to be the owner showing people through.
‘‘When I was setting up my business, I visited lots of show homes and was always pounced on by pushy salespeople. I didn’t like that environment.
‘‘The young couple or person buying this house won’t have to sign anyone up. They just need to talk about their own experience.’’
The house will be in Ravenswood, north of Christchurch, and will be finished to a high standard of specification. whites are lovable, just opt for tones that aren’t too cream so they don’t look dated.
Let’s talk texture
Another great way to adopt yellow in wall coverings, is through wallpaper but be careful succeeded. ‘‘They all know our culture – everyone supports one another. It’s about the fundamentals. We all say good morning to each other and we keep things clean and tidy.
‘‘I encourage good communication and have regular meetings where people can talk about anything that is bothering them, including mental health issues. They know I am vulnerable myself, and that helps people open up.’’
And it’s not surprising to hear Murchison say he mentors two young boys who wandered up the driveway five years ago while he was building. They were aged 5 and 3 and they wanted to help.
‘‘I said ‘sure, but I’d better go and talk to your mum first’. And I did, and we spent the afternoon building things. The next day they were back.’’
Murchison has since helped out at a school camp and become a rugby coach for one of the boy’s teams, and he loves it.
And for this entrepreneur, there is a (brief) time to reflect. ‘‘I do feel like I’ve packed a hell of a lot in,’’ he says. ‘‘But I believe it is how you grow forward from those knocks in life that’s important.’’
where you put it. ‘‘Because it’s such an intense colour I would suggest smaller rooms such as an entrance area, a sunroom, a breakfast nook, or even a powder room,’’ said Bibby.
‘‘We have a gorgeous wallpaper with a lovely grasscloth texture. Wallpapering an area in the gold colourway would be a fantastic way to put a more modern twist on the old yellow wall,’’ said Bibby.
Or rather than a full-on yellow, send the colour to the back and choose a patterned, oriental design for an elegant aesthetic.
It’s something Aucklander King would use in her own home. ‘‘I live in a villa in Devonport and if I chose a room to revamp, I have always pictured a sophisticated chinoiserie wallpaper theme for the powder room, reminiscent of east meets west,’’ she said.
Off the wall
But aside all this, if sunflowers still speak to you, here’s how to make it work in less permanent ways.
‘‘If you are going to embrace the sunflower, do it subtly with accents of the design of the plant’s petals popping up in a framed sketch or painting,’’ said King.
‘‘Team it up with shades of lavender, leaning towards the indigo blue, as well as a skew towards sage and terracotta that are also making a comeback.’’
Gregory’s favourite way of bringing in a colour accent is to paint the legs of her sofa.
‘‘Just that little pop of colour can change the feel of a room,’’ she said.
Meanwhile, Bibby suggests adopting the optimistic colour ‘‘in small doses’’ via artwork, cushions or pottery.