When Stacy Heyman says her latest kitchen renovation is a box of fluffies she means it quite literally. While her time as a contestant on The Block NZ in 2019 with partner Adam was marred with DIY drama and short deadlines, doing up the kitchen of her own home in Wellington was a doddle. The only hiccup was the dog fluff from her two Samoyeds Boki and Toddy flying into the drying Resene paint. “It’s crazy how much my dogs moult,” says Stacy.

“I can’t tell you how many times I would see a piece of fluff had made its way into the paint finish and I would have to sand it back and touch it up. I had to paint the cabinets on a drop cloth on the floor mid-reno as we’re so limited with space, and I don’t trust the Wellington wind not to blow dirt into the finish. In the next house a garage is a must with no dogs allowed inside,” she laughs.

True to their DIY roots, Stacy and Adam saved money by hand-painting kitset cabinetry using Resene Enamacryl tinted to Resene Triple Thorndon Cream, a warm biscuity beige that seems fitting for Stacy who’s a keen baker. To achieve a smooth finish on the cabinetry, they first primed the doors with Resene Quick Dry before painting the edges with a cutting-in brush and using both a big foam roller and a mini roller to apply the paint.

“It was actually really easy. So many friends come over and ask us if it’s custom cabinetry and they’re blown away when we tell them we did it ourselves. Best of all we could paint over it later if we changed our minds.”

Since appearing on The Block NZ, Stacy has launched her own interior design company, Studio Reno. She says she has learnt to be braver with her design choices and in her own kitchen mixed warm and cool tones with brass tapware, a white Attica stone benchtop and Resene Quarter Black White for the surrounding walls. Resene Quarter Black White is a bright white with a slight black edge to lighten up the space as much as possible.

If you’re renovating your kitchen on a budget, Stacy advises spending money on a designer to work out the layout to see if you can gain more storage or bench space but saving money by painting and adding new handles.

“It’s amazing what a coat of paint and some new handles will do to a kitchen.”

For more colour ideas and inspiration, visit your local Resene ColorShop, resene.co.nz/colorshops, or view the Resene decorating inspiration gallery online, resene.co.nz/inspirationgallery.