Lisa and Jeremy - Real Life Reno

Lisa and Jeremy embarked on the reno of their home in Brisbane documenting the whole process on their Instagram account. Their home is filled with earthy tones, textures and natural materials for a cosy, coastal, bohemian feel. 

The Paddington Terracotta Terrazzo look tile

What spaces did you renovate?
We bought our house 2 years ago to renovate the whole thing. 3 bathrooms, a laundry inside and outside as well. We have renovated our whole home. Inside and out working through room by room. Including outdoor spaces.

What motivated you to renovate?
The home had great bones but was extremely outdated and run down. And there was a whole lot of green vomit green, not a good green. This is our forever home (at the moment) and we wanted to make it a place that felt warm and cosy and inviting. A place to entertain and with spending more time at home than ever a place that you wanted to be.

Were you living here at the time of your renovations?
We have lived in the house with our 3 children. We did 2 bathrooms at the same time and then the last one after the first 2 were complete.

How would you describe your style?
Relaxed, with a mix of boho with mediterranean influences. Love all things neutral tones!

Thirroul Terracotta look matt subway tile

Talk us through the process you took in the planning stages of the renovation!
The starting point for me was tiles. I was obsessed with the Thirroul Terracotta tiles. They were my starting point and everything flowed from there. I wanted that real terracotta earthy vibe for my bathrooms, a space that was calming and relaxing. I wanted to create 3 spaces that felt like their own unique room with a day spa feel. A place to relax and hide from the world.

Were there any delays? How long did the renovation take?
With Covid there have been several delays. More around getting tradies in, they were all heavily booked and as we were doing this on our weekends it was difficult to line up times to get them in at the same time we needed them. We were very lucky that our tiles were in stock when we ordered as well as most other things.

What was the most challenging part of the renovation? Did anything go wrong? How did you adapt?
We were lucky there were no major hiccups. The most challenging part for me was having confidence in my selections, being brave with my choices and then sticking to them. Many people had plenty to say when I said I was going with 3 types of terracotta tiles and it made me doubt what I was trying to create. You have to trust your vision and back yourself.

Boat Harbour Beach Encaustic look square tile

Were you juggling a career as well as overlooking the renovations?
Oh yes, we were! My husband and I both work full time jobs and we have managed everything between working. At times it was very stressful.

Did you and your partner or family butt heads over the design at all?
HAHA this is our process. Jeremy and I argue everything. It's who we are as a couple :) Sometimes the challenge is getting him to understand what is in my head so he can make it a reality. There was loads of hand drawn diagrams on scrap bits of paper to explain.

Did you come into the TileCloud showroom to look around at tiles? Did you order samples?
Because we are in QLD, getting to the showroom wasn't possible. But I did have samples sent to us and they helped immensely.

Why did you choose TileCloud / What did you enjoy best about the TileCloud experience?
I chose TileCloud because they were ahead of the curve. They had exactly the tiles in the colour I wanted and we built our whole design around their tiles. They were the start of it all.

Boat Harbour Beach Encaustic look square tile

Any advice for first time renovators?
Focus on the small wins. Remember what you have done. What your home looked like before. Make sure you take before photos to see what you have achieved. And most importantly trust your gut. Go with what makes you happy. Trust your style!

How can we find you?
We have an instagram page @elleandjay321