This New Plymouth home will make you want to get an indoor swing

Article by Your Home and Garden

This New Plymouth home is full of fun. From the sunny yellow hue featured in every room to the indoor swing, there’s something everywhere that will make you smile

Meet + Greet

Anja Niechziol, 44 (interior designer), Andrew Wall, 46 (data engineer), Lukas, 13, Leni, 10, and Hetti, 8, plus cats Bambi and Cinder, and goldfish Indie, Goldie and Gills.

Honesty box

Do you buy high-end or look for bargains?

Anja: Both! We have a few pieces of designer furniture which we’ve had forever and will hopefully keep for years to come. Dieter Rams’ Vitsoe shelving has been around for decades for a reason. I also like a bargain – there is a great variety of charity shops in New Plymouth.

Yellow door

Lessons learned?

It’s fine to do a renovation stage by stage – don’t rush into it. You learn more about your home the longer you live in it. Consider the opinions of everyone in the house and listen to how they want to use and enjoy the space. Be open to compromises, communicate clearly with your tradespeople and tell yourself that all the cleaning-up you need to do during a renovation is a very effective workout and that you will come out stronger and fitter at the other end – physically and mentally!

Any advice?

If possible, design within the existing footprint – that way you might not need a building consent and you’re encouraged to think about using the existing space more efficiently, rather than adding more. It saves you money and is better for the environment. And always make insulation a priority!

Gallery | 10 Photos
Read more about this home here

Stages & budget

Stage 1: New upstairs windows, walls insulated.

Stage 2: New bathroom and kitchen; new downstairs windows and internal walls.

Stage 3: Downstairs bedroom created, wardrobes added to all bedrooms.

Stage 4: Bathroom installed downstairs.

Total reno cost – approx $140k.

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For the kitchen the couple used flat-pack carcasses but added bespoke fronts made by
their joiner.

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Have your home in order with everything in its place, choose things that bring you joy and get rid of the rest.

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The hanging face artwork in the entrance hall is called David. Made from a nikau palm, he was found on a trip to the couple’s favourite local town, Whanganui. The orange All Saints mirror by Kartell is from interiors store Bijou Eliot.

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The couple were pleasantly surprised to find solid wooden stairs beneath the old carpet.

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The downstairs level used to be one big open space, which included the garage and laundry. Anja and Andrew closed areas off to create more manageable and cosy rooms with a huge play space for the kids. The swing was an Ikea find.