HOW BONNIE HANDLED HER FIRST AND LAST OPEN HOME

BY LANA

If you’re anything like me, browsing houses online is a favourite pastime, but there’s just something special about seeing a home in the flesh #realdeal #loveanopenhome

So, when I suggested to Bon that we invite our Reno School students over to her #moderncoastalbarn for a look-see, she hesitated …. And then jumped at the idea.

We had an overwhelming response and could hardly believe our eyes when we scanned the guest list to find we had students flying in from New Zealand, Perth, Melbourne, Far North Queensland, and …. even Singapore! Yep, just a 6,500km journey to view our latest project #commitment #humbled #loveourrenoschoolers

The pressure mounted to have the house looking its best and Sydney’s weather certainly got the memo. It put on a great show for our guests with cloudless skies, brilliant sunshine and a mid-winter temperature of a balmy 23 degrees. We really couldn’t have paid for a better day. 

And Bon’s beautiful home lapped it up and basked in all its glory.

We roped in some helpers to direct traffic (to prevent any Reno School road rage #ohdear), welcome guests, snap photos of us with the lovely Reno School students. Oh, and light all the candles and open the windows and doors – that’s half a day’s work in itself! #sorrywemadeyouwearblack #sweltering

Come Open Home O’clock, hundreds of excitedly chatting women (with the occasional hubby in tow), some armed with house-warming flowers, bubbly and gifts for Bon #OMGtookind arrived at “Bonnie’s Dream Home”. And what a gorgeous bunch they were!. There were cars as far as the eye could see, thank goodness for the semi-rural setting with plenty of grass verges for parking.

After a quick welcome, Bon invited the masses to descend on her home. It was so cute, loads of the ladies started taking their shoes off at the door #respect, until I reminded them that this wasn’t my home and Bon’s more than happy with shoes (and whatever’s on the bottom of them) to come inside #gulp. She let them loose with free reign of the house and garden and within minutes the place was abuzz with ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, iPhones clicking and Instagram stories rolling.

Guests relaxed on hanging chairs, made notes on paper, one even brought her measuring tape (love it) and another her own floorplans to compare. We loved that our Reno Schoolers took the opportunity to gather more inspo for their own projects and came wielding some fabulous questions for us.

The guests had Bon blushing with compliments. Can you believe she was worried they wouldn’t love the house!? “Snap out of it sister!” I said and within a few seconds she realised she had nothing to worry about.  The overwhelming feedback was that the house looks even bigger and better in real life #isthatevenpossible I guess it’s one thing to read about the seven-metre high pitched roof and the over-sized laundry with tiled dog bath but seeing everything in real life really brings home the scale of the property. 

And the favourite room? We didn’t reach a consensus on this one, most not being able to choose, but Bon’s master suite was definitely up there with the top picks. The way she’s created a haven in an otherwise chaotic household really appealed to our Reno Schoolers. And the view from the front entrance through to the main living area, kitchen and onto the pool was also a fave. We bang on in Reno School about how ‘first impressions count’ so we were glad that people noticed this principle in action at Bon’s house! Peaches and Ziggy (the miniature cows) also proved popular.

Come 4pm, our faces hurt from smiling, our jaws ached from chatting, our feet throbbed from standing, but we had the best day. We can’t thank our gorgeous Reno Schoolers enough for coming from far and wide, armed with questions, gifts and smiling faces to make the day an utter success.

We’re still buzzing from meeting this fabulous bunch – shall we skip the open home and go straight to cocktails poolside next time? #jokingnotjoking #winetime

Interested in The Reno School? Perfect timing! Our October intake is now open for enrolments. It’s a six-week online course, with new modules weekly that you can download and complete at your own pace. There are no assessments or exams, just a whole lot of invaluable information to teach you how to renovate like we do. 

As well as the weekly modules, we share bonus information like videos, exclusive supplier offers and special events, like Bonnie’s Open Home. What to know more? You’ll find all the details here: www.therenoschool.com