HONESTY BOX

+ What compromises did you make in building this home? Paula: We decided to leave the bathrooms as standard. We had already upgraded a lot of other fixtures and fittings and something had to give, so we thought the bathroom could be an upgrade project down the track.

+ High-end homeware or bargain buys? A real mix. Our couch is high-end from Dawson & Co, but a lot of the other furniture is from Trade Me or the op-shop and I’ve been known to buy the odd mat, cushion or decor item from Kmart.

+ Best advice for spending money on a home? Mix it up. Hunt on Trade Me for secondhand furniture and splash out on high-end fixtures and furnishings you’ve had your eye on.

+ What’s one thing you would change if you could? We were limited on space with our height-toboundary ratio, so we couldn’t really make the house much bigger, but a wider garage would have been nice. It’s also not ideal having our bedroom under the living area – when one of us wants to sleep in, the kids sound like baby elephants!

+ What part of the layout really works for your family? Having the kids’ rooms downstairs and away from the living area. It means they’re not disturbed when we’re entertaining.

+ Most memorable experience you’ve had in your home? Not long after moving in we had a good old house party for my 30th birthday – let’s just say we added some character to the new wooden floors!