I love DIY… While it sends shudders up the spine of many – it makes me happy! Show me a dilapidated, tumble down wreck of a house and I’d prefer that any day to walking in a unpacking my bags into a completely finished home. I guess I like the challenge, the feeling of accomplishment and the never ending opportunity to complete a small part of the project each weekend to keep my hands and mind busy. It’s also a great excuse to shop with legitimate purpose almost every weekend 🙂 – knowing that my purchases are all contributing to the master project. I renovate with a tight budget in mind and believe you don’t need endless money to achieve a great result. My last home was a villa in Grey Lyn, Auckland which – neglected and unwanted remained on the market for months before we took up the challenge. I realise now that other than the comments of friends and a few hazy instagram shots, I barely have any records of the time spent in that house and all the fun and satisfaction we had renovating it. So I have resolved to document my future projects a little better – by blogging occasionally about my projects as I go about transforming my new house. Ax