Season 2 of NZRealReveals – the breakout social-first renovation series – has wrapped, with an extraordinary 10M+ views across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. It follows a successful first season (when it was previously known as NZRenoTok) where viewers didn’t just tune in each week for the renovation updates, they very enthusiastically engaged, liked, commented and voted for their favourite teams.  

Often challenging but always intensely rewarding, the journey entailed many ups, downs and sleepless nights as the teams worked tirelessly to refresh five different spaces over five weeks. Adding to the task at hand, they were also responsible for filming and editing their progress and sharing it on their social channels.  

Resene helped the teams out, not only with paint and painting products, but often saving the day with invaluable advice from the team at Resene ColorShops. 

Carla and TJ took out the title for the second season, and they share insights from their journey with MasterStroke, as well as the Resene product they’ll never be able to live without again!

Huge congratulations on your win! How did it feel to take out the title?

Thank you! We’re very competitive so we love it. We pushed ourselves to exhaustion each week on the show as we wanted to make sure we did as much as we could in the short timeframes (so we could never look back and think we could have done more).

Can you tell us a little about yourselves and what you do?

We met when we were teenagers and have two children in their 20s. For work, we teach dance fitness classes and run an Airbnb. We’ve recently taken up surfing which we’re terrible at, but we love being out on the water and in the sunshine. We’re homebodies and home has always been our haven, so DIY and renovations were pretty much a given while we were bringing up kids and on a tight budget. We wanted to create unique and personalised spaces but couldn’t afford to pay anyone to do it, so we had to figure it out and give it a go ourselves.

How would you describe your home before?

It was a very basic 1980s house in original condition, which we bought from an elderly man who had lived there for 30-plus years. It was tired and worn, but we knew it would make for a great before/after!

How would you describe your home now?

Improving! There is still a lot to do but it’s now far more colourful and modern.

How would you describe your renovating style?

We like to try new things with each space we renovate, but we’re always on a pretty tight budget. Our aim is to try and make things look high end as affordably as possible.

What did you enjoy most about the NZRealReveals experience?

Renovating five spaces in five weeks would probably have taken us three times as long, so it’s really sped up the process. We’re very grateful to have been chosen to be a part of it.

What was the biggest lesson you learnt along the way?

Name: I learnt so much about content creation. I was creating videos prior to the show to document our renovations, but they were slapped together quickly with not a lot of thought. I knew I’d have to step it up for the show, so I was extra mindful of the storyline making sense and making it as entertaining as possible (as renovating could be pretty boring to watch!)

What was the biggest challenge of the journey?

The speed was intense. We had four to five days to source, order and collect products, do the reno and brainstorm, film and create several pieces of content. We also had other work and life commitments throughout, so we had very little sleep for the duration of the show.

What was the most hilarious part of the process?

We did a few funny skits for our reveal videos, which we filmed after the last day of each renovated room. It was usually around midnight that we’d finish the work (and staging) before filming the skits. We’d be in costume, a bit delirious from the lack of sleep, and trying to act out these silly skits we’d only spoken about while we were renovating. We’d usually end up rolling on the ground belly laughing thinking, “What have we got ourselves into?!”

What are your favourite Resene colours and why?

We tend to change things up and try new things, ideas and colours all the time, so we don’t have favourites. But we used Resene Marshland in the garage-to-games room conversion – it’s a very dark green – and we’re definitely going to use that again for something in the near future.

Which Resene product did you enjoy working with the most and why?

Definitely the wallpapers! We love the instant impact and personality they add to a space, and also that they cover horrible walls with bad plaster jobs and imperfections. 

We also used Resene Broadwall Surface Prep & Seal before paint and wallpaper – it’s a cross between paint and plaster and helped ensure we achieved a smooth, even finish on the walls. What a bloody awesome product! In almost 20 years of renos, we can’t believe we didn’t know about this stuff. It smoothed down the ‘fluff’ from the GIB after we removed wallpaper, it filled in little nicks and made a lovely smooth surface to paint over. The paint went on really evenly and meant we only had to do two coats instead of the usual three or four – a STAR product that we’ll use forever more!

What did you enjoy most about working with Resene ColorShop staff?

They really know their stuff! And there’s so much to know. There are so many more products we didn’t know Resene stocked, from plaster for walls, to specialised primers for cabinetry, to sealers for concrete floors. Also, the colour consultants! How awesome to have interior designers on hand to help match colours to wallpapers and help with choice, as the range for both wallpaper and paint is incredibly extensive.

Did they share any valuable painting advice and if so, what was it?

Using plastic bags in paint trays so the trays can be used over and over again – genius! Also having the right tools for the job (there are heaps of awesome tools in-store). As an example, we usually buy cheap paintbrushes because we’re tight-arses, but we got some good-quality brushes from Resene that made a HUGE difference and made the finish a lot more professional. I felt like a pro cutting in, which is a great feeling as I’m a bit of a perfectionist and love a crisp finish.

What space were you most proud of and why?

So far, I’d have to say our lounge. We pulled up some 40-year-old carpet and polished the concrete, which has made it feel so clean and modern. The Resene mural wallpaper we chose is an awesome backdrop for the room and the space would be so boring if it was just a painted wall.

What are your three best tips/hacks for any budding DIYers out there?

1. Spend the time on the prep, before painting. It’s time-consuming and boring, but the finished product is going to look rushed and amateur if you don’t have a nice smooth paint finish (and the paint will just highlight the imperfections).
2. Don’t play it too safe – don’t be scared to have fun with colours and styling, as they can always be changed. Renovating is a great way to get creative and crafty. We don’t get to get our art on much as adults, so it’s a nice way to be expressive.
3. Before starting a room renovation, make a plan for what you’re hoping to do to the whole house, even if you don’t have the time or money to do it all at once. Think about how each of the spaces is going to work with each other and flow from room to room so that it makes sense and is cohesive. Planning the bigger picture could save you time and money having to re-do a room again down the track.

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