When you’ve already conquered the rowing world, where do you look for your next challenge? For two-time Olympic gold medallist Eric Murray, the answer was in the area of home renovation. It’s not quite in the same league as elite sport, but as any DIY renovator will tell you, it can be just as all-consuming.
Prompted by a “change in circumstances”, as he puts it, Eric, 40, started looking for a project that would secure the future for himself and his son Zac, as well as giving him something to focus his considerable energy on.
The three-bedroom 1950s red brick Cambridge home he settled on was solid, if not much to look at.
Rattan furniture gives the space a relaxed vibe.
“I never used to understand what people were talking about when they said a place had good bones,” tells Eric. “But it’s got native matai and rimu timber flooring through the house, which I discovered as I was pulling up carpet, and all the framing inside is native timber, so it’s solid as.”
Sitting on an 850m2 section on the edge of Cambridge’s green belt, it offers plenty of room for Zac, 11, to run around on and has a view across to an athletics track – the perfect situation for a sportsman!
While there was space for a big extension, Eric made the smart decision to concentrate on the smallest change that would make the biggest impact, adding an ensuite.
“It’s now a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house, so for the expense of chucking in an alcove shower, wall-hung toilet and a vanity, the house jumps into another bracket of pricing,” he says.
Though resale value was his initial motivation, it’s also made the house far more comfortable to live in – plus it gives Eric’s girlfriend Thea a clean, serene bathing space, leaving the main bathroom to be a boys-only zone.
While he’d made small changes in previous properties, this was Eric’s first hands-on renovation. “This is my little baby,” he says.
Doing the lion’s share of work himself was a cost-cutting exercise, but more than that, it was about rolling up his sleeves, taking on a new challenge and ultimately basking in the satisfaction of a job well done.
Eric’s top tips for learning on the job? Watch loads of instructional videos and don’t be afraid to pump the pros for advice. “I’m lucky – I play golf with my builder, so I’d just ask him, ‘How do you do this?'” laughs Eric.
Instead of viewing the home through a lens of what would appeal to a future buyer, Eric also started to question whether he’d be moving on after all, asking himself, if he had to stay, what did he want it to look like?
Eric made over the main bathroom in calming Resene Waiouru.
So the kitchen ended up being constructed with high-end finishes, better appliances and a wine fridge. And instead of leaving everything white, Eric splashed around cheery colour – Resene Cello blue in the kitchen and a bold Resene Waiouru green in the bathroom. Then he asked himself, what else did he really want from his house? The answer: A pool!
To turn the house into his dream home, Eric made over the backyard to be the ultimate play space. He brims with boyish enthusiasm as he describes its highlights – an in-ground pool heated by a solar-powered heat pump, a spa pool for colder nights and, best of all, a putting green.
The back deck is built for entertaining, with a simple servery off the kitchen.
Now it’s all done, the house is a delightful family home and a place Eric would be happy to live long-term – though it remains to be seen how long he’ll actually stay now he’s caught the renovation bug!
The Olympian grins, “I’ve never really been a creative person, but this became my hobby and turning the house from what it was to what it is now has been so much fun!”
Resene colours used: Resene Cello, Resene Waiouru
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