Lucky Pony’s Angie Batis Durrant
Blogger, Photographer and Content Creator Angie Batis Durrant is best known for posting some of the most delicious recipes on her blog (Lucky Pony) and Instagramming incredible pictures of her food, family and home on her account @miss_luckpony. Recently, snaps of her home renovation caught our eye and we were excited to find out that Angie and her husband Shane (frontman of “Desmond and the Tutus”) have avid home renovators on their long list of skills and hobbies. We chatted to Angie to find out more about how they go about renovating houses for investment and some of the lessons they have learnt on the way.
What was your first home renovation project?
Our first home renovation was an old 2-bedroom flat that we bought in our building, it still had all it’s original ‘flare’ and we totally revamped it. Removed everything and anything beige and carpeted and gave it new life 🙂
What is your process when starting a renovation?
We think about what will make us happy in the space if we had to be the ones living in it. Then we talk about what we will keep and what we will lose in a space and then we set to work making our vision come to life. It always starts with the layout though and the rest follows.
Which room do you renovate first?
I’d say the kitchen and bathrooms, make those rooms awesome and the rest is a piece of cake.
How do you make design choices when renovating for investment?
We try not to overspend on things, but we don’t take shortcuts either. We kind of sit in the middle making sure that whatever improvements we make are pleasing to the eye. Plus, there are ways to work around things, like sourcing cheaper tiles for example and then laying them out in an unusual/unexpected way to create something interesting and more expensive-looking, if that makes sense? Also, things like adding a modern and inexpensive light fixture to a bedroom and a new coat of paint is an easy way to give a room new life without going overboard.
What has been the biggest lesson you have learnt from home renovations?
Stay within your budget! Man, this is hard to do, especially when you are renovating your own personal space. We have become better at it, but it’s a lesson that has often burnt us along the way.
You’ve recently redone your kitchen and are busy with converting a storeroom into a living area / rooftop garden, how is it going?
It’s going well thanks 🙂 The kitchen is finally done and upstairs is nearly, nearly there, it’s been quite a long journey, but one that will be worth it in the end. Our outside rooftop garden will be a work in progress for a while I think, it’s going to take quite a bit of time and cash to get it to exactly where we want it, which is ‘New York loft apartment-style rooftop of our dreams’ haha!
You’re also an avid baker and foodie, how did you cope during your kitchen renovation?
We were smart with this move because we didn’t rip out our old kitchen until the new one was complete! And we could do this because we landed up completely relocating our kitchen and once that was done, we turned the old one into a fourth bedroom! So, I coped just fine 🙂
What is your favourite thing about renovations?
When it’s all finally done and you get to sit back and say look at this place, this is all ours!!
What are your tips for keeping your home family-friendly and including your kids during renovations?
Ooooh, also a hard one, I guess you just have to roll with the dusty punches. In the thick of it, we would take the kids out to the garden quite a lot or to their grandparents for a visit etc. There is no easy way to live in the middle of a renovation, but it can be done. Trust me 🙂
Where do you find inspiration for your home renovations?
Pinterest is always a good source of inspiration.
What do you consider the best way to renovate / update a home without breaking the bank?
As I mentioned above, never underestimate a fresh coat of paint or a new light fixture. For example, now, I’m starting to fix our bathroom up a bit and for me, that process is going to involve fresh paint, a new light fixture, some new plants and replacing all the old silicone around our shower frame, which I hate because it’s been painted over and is all uneven and yucky. I just think those few things will make it awesome again!
What was one of the most exciting renovations you have done?
I definitely think it’s the one we’re in the middle of right now! Shane and I have been dreaming about doing this particular reno (the rooftop) for years now, nine of them to be exact! So to see it come to life has been really awesome!
QuickFire Questions:
Style: Vintage or modern? A mix of both!
Colour palette: Moody or Bright? A mix of both haha!
Call an expert or DIY? A mix of both – I see a pattern emerging here.
Renovating one room at a time or the whole house at once? – Depends on budget, but I’d do it all at once if I were you 🙂