Interview: Isabelle Bayly
Isabelle Bayly runs the reno-goals Insta account 108_Kenmore and is currently renovating a mid-century house in Bisbane with her little Melbourne-born fam bam. We love watching her progress on the house and had a virtual chat about how it's all going down. Read on for some seriously good renovation inspiration.
Tell us a bit about your painting experience... Would you say you’re a paint newbie or a Michaelangelo in the making?
Before painting our house (!!) I was a complete paint newbie, Tom (husband) had more experience than me but we were far from professionals!
Talk us through the project you undertook with us and how you reckon it went.
We're currently renovating a 1960's Mid Century style house for our small family to live in. So far we have painted the interior from top to bottom and we're about to start rendering and painting the exterior and the fence.
What was the paint process like for you? Take us through the motions of how you got the job done.
Tom was definitely the more prepared and committed to prepping the surfaces, he went hard on the tape and the plastic sheeting. I took a more laissez faire approach which could be why there are some *small* paint splatters on our floors.
We painted our living room and kitchen using the paint rollers because there are quite a few windows and doors but everywhere else we used a paint sprayer which was back saving when painting ceilings! The paint seems to be really forgiving for novices, everyone who has visited has commented that they can't see our (numerous) mistakes so either we have some very kind friends or this paint is really as good as advertised.
We used 'So Fresh and So Clean' for the interiors but I made a last minute decision to paint our daughter's nursery in Fika, which I'll be starting soon!
We painted our living room and kitchen using the paint rollers because there are quite a few windows and doors but everywhere else we used a paint sprayer which was back saving when painting ceilings! The paint seems to be really forgiving for novices, everyone who has visited has commented that they can't see our (numerous) mistakes so either we have some very kind friends or this paint is really as good as advertised.
We used 'So Fresh and So Clean' for the interiors but I made a last minute decision to paint our daughter's nursery in Fika, which I'll be starting soon!
Any advice for novice painters who love what you’ve done and want to try their hand at it?
Use the tape and use it everywhere! But also remove it before the paint is completely dry! That way it comes off cleanly and leaves a nice straight finish.
Favourite thing about your fresh Tint?
We had no worries about moving our girls in straight away because it contains so few VOCs - that's a really important consideration for us when purchasing paint so it was a no-brainer to go with Tint in this respect. It was also really easy having the paint and tools delivered straight to our front door - nothing worse than toddlers running loose in Bunnings on an important paint buying trip!
A big thanks to Isabelle for choosing to roll with Tint for her epic reno! You can follow her progress at @108_kenmore.
Hope you enjoyed that and are feeling fab and inspired to get rolling!