Homeowners dissatisfied with their home environment have only really had three options: sell up and move to a better home; renovate; and just live with it. Renovating or even refreshing a house can be expensive but Dulux says it has a new product that reduces the cost.
Dulux NZ launched their Renovation Range after research showed a large gap in the market for homeowners. The Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdown meant that the New Zealand property market has stayed mostly stable – partly caused by fewer people putting their homes up for sale.
“A lot of people are staying put,” says Dulux NZ brand manager Sarah Ambler-Byatt. “People are more money-conscious right now and moving house and renovating to sell – and even renovating to stay – carries a financial hit.
“That’s why, after we did the research late last year, we developed and launched the Renovation Range. The feedback we have had so far has supported that research – we have found a way people can beautifully refresh the parts of their home that are feeling tired or out of date, for a mere fraction of the cost of more involved renovations.”
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The key, she says, is the development of a water-based paint range which can give previously difficult elements like wall tiles, floor tiles, bench tops, cabinet doors and splashbacks a new life: “Our paint is a specifically designed formula which is hard-wearing and durable. It gives great protection for surfaces getting a lot of wear and tear, it is scratch- and scuff-resistant and has high adhesion.”
Dulux Renovation Range Cabinet Doors provides the smart way to rejuvenate your kitchen cabinet doors and can be applied to laminate, melamine and wooden doors. Photo / Supplied.
The result, she says, is that customers have found much-desired renovations can be done at minimal cost and disruption, two highly important factors in a Covid-affected world.
Dulux say research undertaken by Neilsen found that 1.6 million Kiwis intended to do home improvement projects in the next 12 months – but cost was one of the biggest barriers, with the average cost of a kitchen renovation $18,100 and $10,200 for a bathroom.
Those are average costs – they can balloon out to $30,000 or more, depending on what is being done – and Ambler-Byatt says the Renovation Range speaks volumes to homeowners who want an improvement or an upgrade but not the associated bill.
“When we did our qualitative research, we found people were mostly saying things like: ‘I feel embarrassed about my bathroom; I can’t afford $30,000 for a kitchen renovation; I don’t have time for a full demolition – I need my kitchen/bathroom’.”
Kitchens and bathrooms are traditionally the focal point of most Kiwi renovations. Data from Refresh Renovations research from last year showed the most common New Zealand renovations of 2018 were bathrooms (19.2 per cent), followed by kitchens (14.9 per cent) and bedrooms (13 per cent).
Dulux Renovation Range Tiles & Benchtops is a revolutionary, water based interior coating perfect for transforming your bathroom tiles. Photo / Supplied
But, while kitchen and bathroom renovations add the most value to a property, they also cost the most and Ambler-Byatt says the Renovation Range also helps homeowners balance that tricky proposition – how much money to spend and how much will be returned from a sale.
“There are times when a big structural alteration can have a good result when it comes to a sale price,” she says. “But often it’s more cosmetic changes that have the biggest impact – because you don’t have so much to recoup.
“Renovation helps achieve a premium sale price but there are no guarantees the costs of major improvements will be recovered – so renovation can make homes easier to sell but doesn’t always raise the price or make financial sense when the costs are factored in.”
Ambler-Byatt says the Renovation Range has three clear steps of application for best results. First, care has to be taken to make sure the surfaces to be painted are really clean and Renovation Range Primer applied. Next is a top coat of the customer’s choice from the Dulux Colours of New Zealand range and finally a satin or gloss clear coat.
Another oft-heard statement in Dulux’s research was: “Why throw something away that’s in perfectly good condition?” Ambler-Byatt agrees – and says the Renovation Range allows people to keep their investment but also give it a new life.
For more information: www.dulux.co.nz/products/renovation-range/overview
This content has been created in partnership with Dulux.
