Why are Maryanne and I doing our 17^th renovation?

 

Our life of constant building and renovating together was set the day we met at the World Trade Centre Gym on a Sunday morning in 1986. In the first couple of minutes of awkward conversation, Maryanne mentioned that she was renovating her little house in St Kilda; BAM, I knew this was the women for me.

 

The unlikely nine words that secured my first date with Maryanne were “would you like to borrow my professional paint roller?”

 

I was already contemplating leaving my job as a physical education teacher to try my hand at full time building, so meeting Maryanne at that specific time was just meant to be.

 

Fast forward to today and we have just started renovating our 17^th house together. Designing and building our family’s homes has become one of the defining characteristics of our relationship (other than snow skiing!). It is just what we do…

 

Lots of people ask us, why do you continue to subject yourselves and your family to all the disruption and stress? This article is an attempt at answering this very logical question and trying to justify all the hard work to myself.

 

“What we’re going to move again?”

 

This was the common reaction from one or more of our three children when we proposed renovating or building for the umpteenth time. Then there were often tears as we closed the front door of a much-loved home for the last time every 2 or 3 years. But the repetition of creating amazing new homes for the family has been incredibly positive for us all and we would not have it any other way.

 

“Living through a home renovation is like living in the wild, you do whatever it takes to survive.” Unknown

 

Creating all these wonderful homes together has given us a life full of creativity and self-belief. The family is always moving forward and embracing the next big adventure. All three of our, now adult, children are very resilient and resourceful, I believe as a direct result of being an important part of all these family building projects.

 

A huge amount of the time commitment and organisation has largely fallen on Maryanne, not to mention the creativity and never-ending decision making. Luckily, she has been the driving force behind each project. Collectively these home developments have given her plenty of self-confidence and a huge sense of accomplishment.

 

For both of us, the past sixteen family building projects have been the ultimate “side hustle.” Each reno/new build takes 2 to 3 years and an enormous amount of work and energy. But the personal and economic benefits of all this effort over the last 35 years have been incredible and have shaped our lives.

 

For me, being my own client every few years allows me to wear my building client’s shoes and experience exactly what they experience. This level of empathy and understanding of the client experience over many years has been instrumental in shaping the business culture of my building company DDB Design.

 

Our personal renovations/new builds have also allowed us to experiment with architecture and interior design by trying new ideas and innovative materials and finishes well before recommending them to our clients.

 

But ultimately the main reason Maryanne and I continue to do our own building projects is because we enjoy the process and the ultimate accomplishment make us happy.

 

Next week I will answer another frequently asked question regarding creating your own special home – “should we build a new house or renovate the existing one?”

 

Thanks for reading,

Stay safe and never stop improving.

David