Renovate with Gilly's - An interview with the Pennells

We've been watching the Pennells for a while and if we've learnt anything in our time as Gilly's - it's dedicated and passion when we see it. This young couple has the eye and the drive - in the past six months they've jumped head first into renovating a 1950's Australian home in Perth and we were lucky enough to have a chat to them.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves.

We’re married 20-somethings who love food, coffee and our greyhounds. We love going on adventures and never can sit still!

How did you two meet and how long have you been together?

We met while in high school and have been together for 8 years, 4 of which we’ve been married for :)

Was this something you ever imagined doing together?

 Absolutely not! We’ve been so surprised by this whole experience of renovating but have enjoyed learning and doing something new together.

Ok we have to ask - your 1950's home is just gorgeous. How did you discover such a gem? 

We were house hunting for around 6 months and had 10 offers rejected before we bought this one. We originally were looking in very different neighbourhoods and not finding any homes with character when we decided to expand our search to Perth’s eastern suburbs we found our gorgeous 1950s home! 

Were there parts of the house that you wanted to keep when deciding how to renovate it? 

We absolutely loved the slate flooring in the living room and were so excited when we found jarrah floorboards throughout the rest of the house which we’ve since restored.  

Where have you drawn inspiration from for this home? 

Lots of different places really but mainly Pinterest and seeing other renovators on Instagram and TikTok. 

What's been the best part of it so far? 

Doing it together has been so much fun and great for our relationship as we’ve learnt lots about each other. 

What do you recommend for people wanting to get into renovating as a couple? 

Prioritise what tasks you want a professional to do and what you’re happy to give a go yourself. For example for us we got our floors sanded and polished by a professional but saved so much money by removing the old flooring ourselves.  

5 best tips and tricks for renovating a home? 

1. Do your research! Check out DIY renovators on social media to see how they do things and ask them questions (we’re always happy to give answering a go!) 
2. Facebook marketplace is your friend! We’ve saved heaps by sourcing materials off Facebook marketplace. For example we found someone who ordered too many boxes of the same tile we needed! 
3. The right tool for the job may be unusual. We’ve created some really great things from odd parts and saved heaps! For example when we replaced  our skylight we used a manhole kit and got a bigger piece of polycarbonate and cut it ourselves which worked out so much cheaper and meant a bigger skylight!
4. Use any online design tools you can find to help you visualise and estimate what tools you’ll need and the price.
5. Know when to call it a day. We’ve been so frustrated on some tasks that we’ve been tempted to take shortcuts and it’s not worth it! Stop, have a rest and come back another day. 

What's been your greatest lesson on this journey so far?

Sometimes things not going to plan can turn out so much better! 

How did you find using Gilly's Products?

We loved using Gilly’s I was so surprised how easy the product was to use and it smelt so good!

What was your favourite product?

The Carnuaba Polish is great! Loved using it to finish off a DIY woodworking  project we’re currently working on, 

Why do you love Gilly's?

They’re just great products! And being local to WA is a huge positive as we really value supporting local businesses. 

And lastly, what songs are you blasting while renovating?

We love some Cardi B 😂