Let's talk norsuHOME 2 finishes!
I'm sitting here at Bounce — 30-plus degrees in Melbourne and the chaos of jumping kids is certainly testing my ability to get in the zone to write this. I thought bringing the kids here was ingenious; they'd be distracted, off technology, and I'd have two uninterrupted hours. Life never pans out that easily, does it. I guess you could say renovating is the same.
When I sat back to think about what I could share, I asked myself: what would you find most helpful if you were embarking on your own reno? I can share pretty pictures — and I will — but the important stuff is the experience and the lessons. If one person reading this learns something that makes their renovation smoother and better informed, I'll be a very happy lady.
So here goes. With the frame almost complete I've been working in the background on finalising the fittings and fixtures: cabinetry, tiles, bench tops, lighting. This is the fun part, and one that gets my adrenaline pumping — but even for a seasoned renovation junkie it can feel overwhelming. I have real appreciation for the decision fatigue our design clients feel with the sheer abundance of choice out there.
- Tiles — and the labour cost nobody quotes you
- Bench tops — where the stonemason's bill comes from
- Cabinetry — two pack vs laminate vs vinyl wrap
When shopping for tiles (always Perini in my case) please, please consider your labour costs. It's easy to walk into a tile shop and focus only on the square-metre price of the tile itself. What most people don't know is that labour fluctuates depending on the size of tile you select.
You might find affordable kit kat tiles, but you'll pay almost double for your tiler to lay them compared to a larger standard tile like a 600x600. They come on sheets and need far greater precision to lay straight. I'm not saying avoid mosaics or small sheeted tiles — trust me, I'm not — but renovations get very stressful when you're hit with unexpected building costs.
Be clever: save the small tiles for feature areas — the most visible spots, the ones that deliver the wow factor — then pair them with a larger tile on the remaining walls where labour costs less. A trick we love in the design team is wrapping the larger floor tile halfway up the wall and adding mosaic above it. And you don't have to tile every wall: if it isn't a wet area (shower, bath, vanity) keep it as plaster — it's a great opportunity to hang a piece of art.
Exactly like tiles, your stonemason costs — cutting, honing and installing the stone — add up at lightning pace. In the past I've had a false sense of security when the cost of the stone hit my inbox; it was the installation bill that nearly finished me off.
Costs to expect: changing the shape of your bench top to anything other than a square or rectangle. We're all obsessed with curves (yes, you'll see them in my home) but perfecting that shape takes time, and time costs money. Thickness too — a thicker top means adding a piece of stone to the front, and an accurate mitred edge takes real skill.
If you're choosing multiple colours, make the most of every slab. Have your designer consider slab size (usually around three metres) when specifying an island bench so you don't end up with ugly joins — then use every inch. In my case I've selected an emerald green from CDK Stone, and rather than buying a whole slab just for the powder room I'm also using it in Harv's bathroom, with the tiny offcuts going into the insets of our stairs.
This one is a minefield, and there are so many differing opinions. Two pack, laminate, timber veneer, vinyl wrap — before the pros and cons, know this from the outset: these days they all look very similar.
Two pack combines a special paint with a hardener, sprayed onto the cabinetry. The benefit is that it's fully customisable — basically any colour you like. I have my heart set on a moody tone for our living room that simply doesn't exist in vinyl wrap or laminate ranges. It was once considered the most durable, but I'd caution that it chips, and chips need respraying rather than a quick fix. It's also the most expensive, because the process is labour intensive.
Laminate (not to be confused with Laminex, which is a company that manufactures it) is MDF covered with compressed plasticised sheeting, with a matching edge applied to the joins. It's relatively affordable and getting better and better thanks to companies like Laminex investing in colours and door profiles. Be careful around heat — and personally I'm not a fan of the ABS edging; I prefer the smoother wrapped finish of two pack and vinyl.
Vinyl wrap (or thermolaminated) wraps heated vinyl around MDF. The big benefit is durability — according to our builders it can even withstand my roughness — and it's easy to clean, with an abundance of colours and profiles from Polytec. Again, be careful around extreme heat; I've had it peel back before when it wasn't installed correctly.
So what have I chosen? Three quarters of the home is vinyl wrap. The remainder was specified as two pack, but even writing this blog is swaying me to vinyl for the lot. I'm not a millionaire, and with Polytec's colour range it's hard to justify the difference — especially when I'm no ballerina. Grab a Dulux book and compare it against Polytec and Laminex swatches: they're actually very close.
If you find these sorts of blogs useful, drop me an email at styling@norsu.com.au or pop a comment below. If there's another topic you'd like us or the design team to cover along the way, just say the word — and watch Instagram closely this week, where I'll share all the detail of the finishes we've selected.
