Renovating Kitchens on a Budget? YIP!

Hey Everyone! It is important that at every step of your property journey, to make good decisions to ensure long-term financial prosperity. Sometimes it may be important to not over capitalise on a property - Here are my favourite 5 tips on modernising a kitchen on a budget.

1. Replace the Benchtop – Nothing instantly brings a kitchen into the modern world like a new bench-top. You can look at getting an engineered stone top, some laminate benchtops come in some beautiful designs too!

2. Paint the Cupboards – Paint technology has come a long way and giving your old cupboards a paint is a great option. Not only will it modernise the colour, but it will give it a new protective coat of gloss, giving it a brand-new look! You can take them into a shop to be sprayed or do it yourself.

3. Hardware is Key – Designer hardware is emulated by the mass market, and we are seeing some trendy designs available in the low-tier market. Modernising the tapware, changing handles, and throwing in some funky lights and your kitchen will pop!

4. New Flooring – What I love most about the houses in this area is that most of them have timber floors. It is a quite simple and painless process to get the flooring lifted and have beautiful sanded & polished timber floors in your kitchen. If you don’t have timber floors, give vinyl a chance. Some of the new vinyl designs look very trendy. Both options present great value.

5. Finish the look – You’ve spent all that effort, don’t ruin it with that nasty fridge you’ve had for 25 years and doesn’t fit the space, or that cooker that only has one working element. Keep an eye on when product seasons end and nab up the last-season designs. All kitchen & appliance stores clear out their demo stock at the end of the line. Last years model looks perfectly fine and is a fraction of the price - also try the second hand market.

Did you know we help hundreds of people renovate each year? If you want to have a personalised renovation chat about your property or about the market - feel free to get in touch, love to hear from you!

With declining populations, Wellington Zoo began a breed for release programme in 2016, which provides an insurance population where they breed the geckos before releasing them into the wild.

All geckos that are released are monitored closely by the Zoo Conservation Team, who head out on yearly trips to check that they are adapting well to their new environments.

“Geckos have long fleshy tongues that they use to drink dew off plants and to get pollen and nectar out of flowers.

They are important to native plants as they also pollinate,” Ben says.

“A lot of New Zealand plants have adapted to be specifically pollinated by geckos and skinks. Not many people know about how important they are.

“We have amazing wildlife in New

“Our reptiles are special because they give birth to live young instead of laying eggs, likely due to the unpredictable weather. We need to protect them.”

To keep geckos safe, there are ways people can adapt their gardens to help them thrive.

One way is to plant native shrubbery which will give geckos a place to hide and make it harder for pests to get through to them, Ben says.

“You can provide a safe place by planting more native vegetation like uka, k uka and coprosma.

“We also advocate for Safe Cats, Safe Wildlife. We want to protect cats as well as our native wildlife. Cats can live an enriched life by staying indoors and being given plenty of toys. Or you can keep them inside at night to minimise hunting.

“Small steps can really help to protect our gecko population and help them thrive,” Ben adds.