We recently saw the finished bathroom of our clients in Hamilton, NZ and wanted to know all about their huge undertaking - renovating a century-old villa with a young family.

I asked home builder/renovators Joel & Samila some questions on the process of their big project, in particular, the stunning bathroom and doing it with a family in tow.

What influenced your colour pallet?
We renovated this house to live in for a long time if not forever. So we wanted the bathroom to age well. We went with a simple palate. A subtle grey marble tile, black tapware and our stone bath.

What jobs do you recommend leaving to the professionals in a bathroom reno?
In terms of renovating, bathrooms are usually one of the most expensive to do (the other being kitchens) mainly due to the fact there is a lot of high ticket items involved and several different trades. We would 100% recommend using a builder/plumber/electrician and professional tiler/waterproofer. If you’re putting a lot of money into your bathroom anyway you want to the result to look professional so your money is well spent.

What advice do you give a family undertaking a bathroom renovation?
Try and have all your ducks in a row before you start. Have your finishes (tapware, bath, toilet, tiles) ready and on-site before the job starts. Talk to your builder and make sure the waterproofers, tilers, plumbers are all ready to go so there are no delays with the project.

You’ve shared progress shots. How many weeks did your bathroom take?
Tricky to say as we did a full house renovation at the same time. We were fortunate to not have any delays as such. But the renovation was long.

Why did you go with the Vivienne bath?
I knew I wanted a stone bath. I visited your showroom in Auckland with our 3 children and we tried them out. The Vivienne is huge, more than big enough for all of our kids. I love the timeless, sleek, shape and design. The matte finish is beautiful.

What made you choose a freestanding bath?
We choose freestanding for the look and feel. We knew we had a decent amount of bathroom space to work with so we went for it. The bath was our first bathroom-related purchase and everything else in the bathroom was designed to fit around it.

Renovating an old villa must have unearthed a few difficulties. We’re there any?
Due to the age of the house, the floor and walls were uneven and out of square, there was also a lot of rot. We were expecting to find a few hidden gems beneath the walls but we were not expecting to need to rebuild all the framing which was a major hidden cost. By reframing the walls and floor the tilers had an easier job laying all the tiles. We also replaced all the plumbing to future proof the house which we would recommend you do with really old houses if the opportunity to do so is there.