Howlonghaveyoulivedhere?Whatdidyoulike
aboutthehousewhenyoumovedin?Wemoved
in 18 monthsago(withthepromisetothegirls
thatthebathroomwouldbethefirstthingwe
renovated).I fellinlovewiththebackgarden
andthebrickfence,Richfellinlovewiththe
twohugegleditsiatreesinthegarden,andthe
girlswiththepool.Thehousehadgoodspaces
andweknewit would be wonderful for us,
with a little work.Whatchangesorrenovationshaveyoucarried
outpriortorenovatingthisbathroom?The
girls’bedroomswerepurpleandpinkandthe
kitchenwasbutteryellow.Threedaysafterwe
movedin,a verykindfriendcameoverand
paintedallthreerooms white – then we felt
wecould breathe!Whatdidyoulikeaboutthisbathroom?Andwhat
didn’tyoulike?Theoldbathroomhad1970s
beigeplasticonthewalls,a beigebasin,beige
plasticshub,a showerthatdidn’tworkanda
beigetoilet.Therewasnotmuchtolikeabout
it,andalthoughI wassadtoripupthevintage
lino,I wasevensaddertofindit contained
asbestos. We received a big bill to remove it.Whatwasthegoalofthisrenovation?Wewanted
a simple-looking,workablebathroomthatthe
girlscouldshare.I wantedtocreateanelement
ofprivacyforthemif theywerebothusingit
atthesametime.I alsohavea petpeeveabout
bathroomswhereyoucanseethetoiletwhen
the door is left open – that’s a no-go for me.MEET+GREET
MirandaOsborne, 47(directorof
IcoTraders),RichardOsborne, 51
(headoftransport,Christchurch
CityCouncil),Henrietta, 15,and
Matilda, 12,plusHuxleythe dog
and Dougal the cat.
BEFOREyhg| 129M