To re-establish the house as a family home, they first gutted the interior, stripping carpets, curtains, and wallpapers, sanding and polishing floors and doors, and installing blinds. They had anachronistic DIY fixtures replaced with character skirting and architraves befitting the 1890s rather than the 1980s, and installed new fitted study spaces, shelving and wardrobes.

They then completely repainted the interior, in the living areas and bedrooms, finishing with matching chalkboard and magnetic walls in the boys' bedrooms (green and blue Resene Blackboard Paint with Resene Magnetic Magic paint basecoat) and in the kitchen (Resene Blackboard Paint as a black feature wall). Matching letter art for each wall was painted in complementary Resene colours. The general interior wall areas were finished in Resene Sour Dough, Resene Parchment, Resene Double Pearl Lusta and Resene Almond Frost.

They later acquired additional land alongside the house with a garage, workshop and garden, which they replanted with lawn and retained, adding a raised garden with magnolia, olive, lemon, apple, plum and blossom trees, jasmine and sweet pea. Jennifer and Stephen then resolved the clashing colour schemes across house and garage through a full exterior paint of both, in Resene Quarter Grey Friars, Resene Black White, Resene Ironsand and Resene Pohutukawa, to complete the total makeover.