Giving the new norsuHOME concept store some kitchen love...

Call us seriously crazy (which you all know we are) that we weren't overwhelmed when we first laid eyes on the old beauty you see below! One of the best parts about our new norsuHOME concept store was how run down and unloved it was. For Kristy and I this meant the opportunity to do our favourite thing again...to renovate! 

One thing we learnt in a big way when renovating my home last year was that our cherished norsu community love seeing ideas that are attainable and relatable. We don't know about you but we're far from millionaires (and believe us some days cash flow is beyond tight) so we're passionate about showing that you can create an amazing look without spending a fortune and that bigger does not mean better!!! For us, it's all about the feeling you get when you walk into one of our spaces. We want you to feel warm and fuzzy and think to yourself, hey I can do this...this is achievable. 

So with all of this in mind - given your overwhelmingly encouraging response to our Insta post yesterday - I thought I'd share some little tips on what we did at the hope to inspire you to believe it is possible...

Before I go, please send us some thoughts and questions below. We now have a dedicated styling team (my goodness we sound grown up!) and we'd be honoured to answer them.

Nat and the norsu clan xxx

Tip 1. In the planning stage, to keep costs down we decided to stick with the location of our existing plumbing. This saves a truckload of money, especially when working in an old building full of solid brick. Do the same if you can!!

Tip 2. Let's face it, the space is pretty small so we decided to keep the existing structure to keep the unnecessary stress out of our busy lives. The one great change we made was adding in overhead cabinets for extra storage. We also had our plasterers add in a bulk head above this to ensure the kitchen looked "built-in". Massive kudos to the LocBuild team for their building expertise! 

Tip 3. You've heard us say it before and you'll hear us say it again, don't be afraid of flat pack kitchens!! We opted for Kaboodle again, not only because we adore their Alpine profiled doors, but because of the flexibility of their raw paint-your-own door. We are obsessed with colour and by selecting our favourite tone we feel like the kitchen is truly ours. We promise to do something more daring next time because we also used Dulux's Milton Moon, just like my home...it's just too hard to beat! A big thanks to Sammy and the Top Notch Coating guys for all the help they gave us. 

Tip 4. Think hard about your door hardware - it can make or break the space in our opinion. We love to mix it up and used push-to-open mechanisms from Kaboodle for the overheads and added in more detail for the base cabinetry. We wanted something simple in matte black to compliment our tapware and sink choices. These were bought at The Door Store in Moorabbin - head down and have a look! 

Tip 5. Using an affordable flat pack kitchen allowed us to splurge on our tiles. There's something about a gorgeous splash back that instantly transforms the kitchen into something quite magical. Given the kitchen is in our new concept store we knew our choice had to be blush!!! Loz and I nearly had heart palpitations when we stumbled across these tiny Moda blush painted glass tiles at Perini in Richmond. I think Kate and the Perini team thought we were completely crazy! These come in sheets so they're super easy for tilers to install. You must come in to see these beauties up close. 

Tip 6. If your budget allows for it go stone and we promise you, you'll never look back! It's luxury on steroids and Caesarstone keep designing ranges that get better and better. How divine is the Airy Concrete we used - it's a brand spanker and the tone of grey is utterly perfect for Scandi enthusiasts. It's not too warm and creates a cool slick look while at the same time being extremely practical for families and little grubby fingers. One word...HOT.

Tip 7. Don't forget personality. A simple and extremely cheap way to make sure your kitchen does not look like something off the shelf is to add some custom floating oak shelves. You'll find when planning your flat pack kitchen that you may find an area that doesn't quite fit a cupboard. Most people would panic and throw the towel in but not us and now not you! Simply head to Bunnings like we did and ask them to cut some timber to slot in. Voila, you now have an area to style on...yeah baby.

Tip 8. Boy do we love taps and after using brushed gold in my home, it was time to test out something new so we went black. Loz in our styling team is a little edgier than me (and half my age and double my height!) so she challenged us that our kitchen could still feel warm using black. She was completely right - teaming it with our infamous soft pastels has been a match made in heaven. We snapped up the tap from our buddies at Meir (check these new comers out because they're going to do huge things) and we bought the Franke sink from Reece. Make sure the sink matches your tapware please. 

Tip 9. Our final tip but the one closest to our hearts...style! This is the part that adds the life, the difference between "looks lovely" and "looks bloody sensational!". It turns a house into a home. Add pieces that you love, that reflect your personality...pieces that truly evoke the feeling you want your friends and family to have when they walk into your home. Can you tell I'm passionate about this!?! In our store it's been all about the favourite products we sell and have a genuine affinity for...menu grinders, Ena hand wash, Behr and Co vessels, our favourite Nordic cook books, and the list goes on. 

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Alrighty, now it's time to hit us with questions...what have we forgotten, how can we help?? What do you think?

xx