An award-winning interior designer has revealed her secrets to OneRoof, explaining how she transformed two dated 1980s plaster townhouses into luxury Airbnbs in just eight weeks.
Isis Winter says her renovation tips will help money-conscious homeowners achieve a luxury look without blowing the budget.
Winter had more than 20 house renovations already under her belt when she moved to Queenstown last year and spied an opportunity to put her skills to the test. “I felt there was a gap in the market for the ease and convenience of a hotel with a comfort of a high-end home, but at a price point that is accessible for people,” she told OneRoof.
She started looking for properties with potential, solid bones, and close to the town’s popular tourist attractions.
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To her delight, she found two adjoining townhouses on Kent Street, in Queenstown Hill, Queenstown, which had been known as the “Pink Palace” party houses. They had been longstanding rental flats but had been converted into Airbnbs by the owner.
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Winter snapped up the two properties for $2.07 million in October 2023. She said they were a good buy because they were plaster homes and had limited appeal to buyers because they were being sold together.
Several months were then spent meticulously planning the renovation and interviewing tradespeople before the eight weeks of hard work started in mid-March.
With a budget of $300,000 to renovate and furnish the front three-bedroom townhouse and the rear four-bedroom property, Winter had to think extremely carefully about how to get the best return for her dollar.
She installed cabinets from bulk manufacturers and paired them with different benches, used wall panels as a low-cost way to attract interest, opted for a more hardwearing solution, dyed nylon loop carpet over wool, measured the curtains herself, and ordered the S-fold ones from Bargain Blinds.
The original 1980s kitchen in the larger rare townhouse before the renovation. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen was replaced with dark cabinetry from a large-scale supplier and an end-of-line stone bench to help save money. Photo / Supplied
“If you’ve got a limited budget and you’ve got to think about where to spend your money to get the greatest return, take a step back and think about that,” she advised.
She also extensively researched Queenstown’s tradespeople, and insisted on three quotes per job. She assessed their current work and the inside of their vans. “Often the inside of a trade van is often the inside of their mind,” she explained.
But saving money, didn’t mean doing everything herself and she had learnt early on that it was better to get trades in, but still be onsite every day to project manage and make any quick decisions. She was also the general dog’s body and was on hand to get anything the tradespeople needed.
Winter said these things might seem insignificant but they really were important. “When trades leave site, they are gone a long time and it stops the flow of work, it breaks down communication and there’s a real cost to that,” she said.
“We had up to nine different trades or services on-site at any one time because of that tight timeframe you can imagine how many things get forgotten so it’s worth me being there.”
The townhouses before the renovation. Photo / Supplied
The houses were painted black to create a modern feel and make them stand out. Photo / Supplied
Choosing the right colour scheme was also important, she said, and she recommended creating a detailed mood board for each property to help create a cohesive vision well before starting the work.
A simple option was to pick two to three neutral colours with the same undertones and then one to two accent colours that were opposite the colour wheel. For example, she chose the Resene half black white, black white and triple black white. Half black white was used for the trims and ceilings, black white on walls in rooms which didn’t receive much light and the triple in rooms where there was a lot of light and wanted to create a cosier feel. In the rear larger house, called the Top Shelf, she then chose two darker blues to create interest.
Using the different shades added depth to a property and made it look more luxurious, she said.
Winter says getting the right window furnishing is important and favours the S-fold or eyelet curtains over readymade curtains with the three pull strings. Photo / Supplied
While both houses had some new wall panelling, kitchens, flooring, window furnishings and lights, the bathrooms remained the same and underwent a partial renovation to keep costs down.
The total cost of upgrading the interior including furnishings such as the beds and sofas was about $125,000.
The remaining money went on painting the exterior black which “hid a lot of sins” and putting in new driveways, retaining walls, landscaping and even adding a spa to the Top Shelf, the larger more expensive property.
And while some things she was able to save money on, mechanical items such as door handles, taps and window furnishings that are used a lot shouldn’t be skimped on, she said.
However, Winter said she was most proud of the feedback she received from guests. The properties relaunched on Airbnb in mid-May and have attracted glowing reviews.
Winter used a lot of wall panelling in both houses because it is a cheap and effective way to create interest. Photo / Supplied
“I believe we’ve found perfect balance between the convenience and ease of a hotel and the amenities and comfort of a home. Guests come and feel that they get understanding value and that it’s not a place to stay but it’s an experience all in itself. Reading the guest reviews is the best.”
And because she hadn’t gone overboard on doing the property up, the front property named The Gentleman had a nightly rate of about $550 and the rear property called Top Shelf fetched $650 to $700, were still viewed as being good value for money.
“Because I didn’t over extend myself on the outlay I can afford to bring a property at a price point that’s really affordable and provides good value which means we are operating at around 90% occupancy.”
Winter recently won the Resene Renovator of the Year Award at the New Zealand Property Investors Federation Awards for her work transforming what they described as “two unappealing Queenstown Airbnbs into a winning investment”.
The judges said the townhouses were a fantastic example of how property investors can improve housing stock and benefit the community while increasing the value and cash flow of their investment.
Isis Winter’s top renovation tips
1. Have a comprehensive and clear vision. “Be able to articulate what style you are looking to achieve and make sure it reflects the architectural style of the house too.”
2. Make sure to do due diligence around the selection of tradespeople.
3. Do what will give you the best return on investment.
You can follow more of Isis and her projects on Instagram, @isis.winter
Valuable lessons this money-conscious reporter learnt:
1. Never use readymade curtains with the three pull strings as they never sit properly and look “crinkly”. If the budget doesn’t extend to S-fold curtains then opt for eyelet curtains instead.
2. Paint the rooms in colours with the same undertone such as black white or triple black white and the ceilings and scotia’s half black white.
3. A far more cost-effective option for the kitchen could be buying the cabinets from a bulk manufacturer and then sourcing the benchtops from elsewhere.
4. Wall panelling is cheap and looks awesome once painted.
5. Try to get a trade discount through the tradespeople or ask the supplier directly.
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