I thought I was pretty good at making design decisions.
After renovating multiple properties, creating holiday homes and spending more time than I'd like to admit looking at interiors, I felt like I had a fairly good handle on what works and what doesn't.
Then came Hyams Beach.
And apparently, I still have a lot to learn.
Why is choosing paint so bloody hard?
You'd think choosing a paint colour would be one of the easier parts of a renovation.
Pick a colour you love, put it on the walls, and move on to the next thing.
Ha. If only.
I've come to realise that paint colours can send you down a rabbit hole that is almost impossible to climb out of. There are undertones to consider, natural light, artificial light, flooring, tiles, timber, and about seventeen different shades of white that all look identical until you put them next to each other.
Then suddenly, one looks yellow, another looks grey, and the one you were absolutely convinced was perfect yesterday is now looking completely wrong.
And don't even get me started on green.
The great green paint saga
One of the biggest colour challenges at Hyams was finding the right green.
I had bathroom tiles, stripes and laundry cupboards that all needed to work together. I wanted everything to feel cohesive, but I also didn't want to play it too safe. I wanted a bit of personality. Something fresh, a little unexpected, and with enough colour to give the house some character.
Sounds simple enough, right?
Wrong.
Finding a green that worked with all those different materials was much harder than I expected. A green can look beautiful on its own, but put it next to a tile or another colour and suddenly it feels completely different.
You start questioning everything.
Is it too dark? Too grey? Too yellow? Does it work with the tiles, or am I just trying to convince myself it does because I've already spent three days looking at it?
At some point, you have to laugh.
And then came the stripes
I also wanted to bring some personality upstairs with striped wallpaper.
I'd pictured something fresh, a little bit playful, with enough punch to make the space feel special without taking over the whole room.
But looking back, I think the colours ended up a little browner than I'd intended.
They work in some lights, but I was hoping for something with a bit more spunk. Something fresher and brighter.
It's funny how you can have such a clear picture in your head, then end up with something that's close, but not quite what you imagined.
And that's the frustrating thing about colour. Sometimes it's not that the colour is bad. It's just not your colour.
I still love the idea of stripes and bringing personality into a space through colour. I just think I could have pushed it a little further and been braver with the shades.
Another lesson learnt.
Pinterest is both your best friend and your worst enemy
I love Pinterest. I could lose an entire afternoon down a rabbit hole of beautiful homes, incredible materials and interiors that make me want to renovate something all over again.
But I've also learnt that you can't simply take a look you love and expect it to work exactly the same way in your own home.
The proportions are different. The light is different. The ceiling heights are different. Even the direction a room faces can change how a colour feels.
Something that looks incredible in a huge Los Angeles home might not have the same effect in a smaller coastal bedroom.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't be inspired by it. Quite the opposite.
But you need to understand why something works before deciding how to bring it into your own space.
Sometimes it's the colour itself. Sometimes it's the light, the scale, the texture or the way everything has been layered together.
And sometimes you need to take the idea and make it work for your own house.
Which brings me to the million-dollar question.
So, did I get the paint right in the end?
If I'm going to be completely honest, I'm still not sure.
It doesn't sit completely right with me yet. You know that feeling when you just know something is right? When everything clicks and you don't need to question it anymore?
Yeah. I don't think I've got that feeling yet.
Eeek.
But we launched, because if we'd waited for me to repaint the place another 50 times, I'd be retired in a nursing home before the first guest walked through the door.
Sometimes you just have to hang your hat up and walk away.
And here's the thing. Did it stop us getting press coverage or stop Sirena Del Sol from being a great Airbnb?
Absolutely not.
The property launched, guests started walking through the door, and the place started doing what we created it to do.
So, for all the perfectionists out there (hello, it's me), sometimes you just have to stop chasing perfection and let your business start working for you.
You can spend another six months agonising over paint colours, changing your mind and chasing that feeling of everything being just right. Or you can accept that what you've created is pretty bloody good, open the doors and get the place turning over some dollars.
Because a holiday home sitting there waiting for you to make one last decision isn't making you any money.
And the funny thing is, your guests might never notice the thing you've spent weeks obsessing over.
What I've learnt along the way
If there's one thing renovating Hyams has reminded me of, it's that you can have a strong vision and still need to change direction along the way.
A few things I'd tell myself before starting another renovation:
Test colours in the actual space. Look at them in different light and alongside your real finishes, not just on a sample card.
Think about everything together. A beautiful tile, paint colour or wallpaper doesn't automatically work with everything else you love.
Don't be afraid to change your mind. Sometimes you need to see something in the space before you understand what it needs.
Know when to stop. There's a difference between caring about the details and letting the details hold you hostage.
Remember the bigger picture. If you're creating a holiday rental, the goal is to create a wonderful guest experience and a business that works. Not to spend the rest of your life choosing paint.
And perhaps most importantly, accept that you won't always get every decision exactly right.
You can still create something beautiful. You can still have a successful property. And you can always make changes down the track.
Would I do it all again?
Of course I would.
That's the funny thing about renovating. You can spend days agonising over a colour, question your entire design direction and swear you're never doing it again.
Then you see everything coming together, and suddenly you're saving inspiration for the next project.
There's something incredibly satisfying about taking a space and turning it into something that feels completely different. Not just prettier, but more considered, more welcoming and more connected to the experience you want people to have.
And as for the paint?
Maybe the right colours will reveal themselves to me down the track. Maybe I'll walk into a room one day, see a shade I love, and wonder why on earth I didn't think of it sooner.
At least paint is one of the easier things to change.
Until then, I'm calling it done.
For now, anyway.
And if the perfect green eventually reveals itself to me? Well, I'll get the paintbrushes out again.
Just don't tell me about another shade of white in the meantime.
