INSIDE STORY

DI’S HOME

Who lives here?

Di, a homemaker; her husband, who works in finance; their 12-year-old daughter Jordy; and labradoodle Bella.

Top traits needed to manage a big renovation? Di: “Patience, persistence and the willingness to make changes and adapt – in bucket loads! And a sense of humour and a strong sense of perspective.”

How did you stick to your budget?

“My husband held the budget and held it tightly. If I overspent on furnishing the dining area or on tiles, he’d ask me to take the excess off another area. It was all about compromise, but it kept me on my toes.” How do you know where to start when buying all-new furniture? “Everything I selected had been in my ‘dream file’ for years. If I loved it for years and still did, and it made budget, then it made the cut!”

1. Polished concrete forms a feature wall in the living room.2. Di and labradoodle Bella enjoy the landscaped front garden beside a fire pit from Robert Plumb.3. A living vignette takes centre stage on the kitchen island.4. Statement-making ‘Spiral’ pendants from Hermon Hermon Lighting.5. A Zuster American oak bedhead and a Ross Gardam ‘Silhouette’ pendant in the main bedroom.6. At one with nature – the home nestles neatly into a hill above Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.