Lua’s first meeting with Cici and why she chose to renovate with us

When asked about why she chose to renovate with us, Lua said she first contacted us because of the video testimonials she had seen but most importantly it was her first meeting with Cici who is our in-house designer and sales consultant.

“So we gave Superior a call and they were just quick off the bat. Everything was so quick. With Cici it was great! like there was an instant connection there with her and I. We just vibed and from then on she would say I would send you this on this day and time and it would be there. And if I had a question about something and if I had a question about something and if I called her and she couldn’t pick her phone then she would call me back within 10-15 minutes after the call. So I didn’t have to worry about anything, I could just leave it with her” explains Lua about her initial

While Cici often helps our clients in designing and choosing materials, Lua however, had a very clear idea about the design she wanted and conveyed it to Cici. “ To be fair it hasn’t really changed, we pretty much did a sketch saying this is what I want. We gave her a few ideas of what we wanted, she came to us with a picture/design and we were like okay get rid of this, get rid of that. This is what I want and that’s what the kitchen looks like now” said Lua about the design process with Cici.

Challenges faced due to Covid-19

While we did not face any challenges of supply or material shortage, we did face the challenge of renovating during Level 4 lockdown in Auckland  and had strict protocols in place for Lua’s home renovation. In Lua’s words “ Cici explained that there will be different contractors coming in at different times, she would always let us know who was going to be in, when they were coming in. The flooring guys, the plumbers, electrician or what not. They were never in our space, because of you know Covid, that’s a huge thing. She put all our fears to rest by making sure there were not all these people in our house at one time. She made sure that different trades came in at different times. They were very professional, they always had their masks on and it was good because they stayed in their area and we always were in another area”.

Kitchen renovation and Creating an open plan living

Lua and her family have a huge sense of community and entertain often which meant that the closed off kitchen did not fit into their lifestyle. They wanted create a cohesive flow between the kitchen, dining and living area. We extended the entry from the kitchen the to the living area and added steps which go on to the living area. The flooring of the kitchen and dining area was kept the same to promote continuity. The walls and ceilings of the dining area were also painted in the same colours for the walls as well as ceilings so it felt like the livbing area. Now when Lua has her friends over the whole whole party can easily mingle and interact over three spaces making entertaining easy. The kitchen was also renovated with materials that are easy to maintain and clean which is perfect for busy households.

Lua’s experience with our different trade teams

A renovation requires over 10 different specialist trades and we asked Lua what her typical day looked like during the renovation. ” They did what they had to do, we never had to come out and check on them. They all just worked so diligently and were just such professionals throughout the whole process. You know in some building sites where people would just take breaks. At 12:00pm they would be having lunch and then back into work and then just work through till they finish. I can’t praise the contractors enough. They would knock on our door before leaving and you know half the time I forgot they were here till you would hear a banging going on. They were just such professionals, down to the painting guys all the way through” shares Lua about her experience with our various trade teams.

What was Lua’s favourite thing about her renovation?

“I think for everyone that comes in here it is the black backsplash, it’s a real good contrast. Every single person who comes into the house and we have had so many and they have walked in and been like wow what made you guys think that because when we first came in to the office in North shore, we took our daughter in with us because we wanted them to pick a few things. We all had a hand in this you know even though we didn’t physically do anything we can tell that hey we had a hand in it and say we have designed this. And yes it would be the backsplash for sure and obviously the island. I also love my floating shelves” “I love the floating shelves as I want to display”