Renovation Dynamite comes in small packages
This small home packs a big punch, thanks to pops of bright colour and the creative use of secondhand pieces.
IIn 2013, Kate and Rudy Gibbons offered to house-sit for friends, not knowing that this favour would soon lead to their first home purchase and renovation. At the time, Kate, head of sales at TravelGround and LekkeSlaap, and Rudy, a restaurant manager at The Shortmarket Club, were renting a tiny loft apartment and had no intention of buying a house. “But when we found out that the house next door was for sale, we jumped at the chance and, as luck would have it, the previous offer had just fallen through!” Kate says.
“We loved the quaint charm of the house and the neighbourhood. The house is bigger than the loft we were living in and the price was right,” says Kate. “This was three months before our wedding, so it was definitely stressful. But what’s life without a little crazy?”
The couple spent the next four years slowly making creative, cost-effective changes so that their home would reflect their personalities. “We knew that we could turn what was a dated, characterless space into a unique home,” says Kate.
“We are both a little ‘out there’ and we believe our home is an extension of our personalities. It really feels like we have created an inspiring place in which to live.”
The couple often take inspiration from Home, their favourite décor magazine. “We then create moodboards and go windowshopping to see what’s achievable,” Kate says. “Generally, the outcome is very different to what we first envisioned, but it always seems to turn out better – it becomes something beautiful but with our own stamp on it!” >>