Kate Yates is an inaugural Three Birds Reno Schooler, mum of four and the clever creator of a fabulous family home in the South of France.

Prior to joining our very first intake of Reno School, back in January 2018, Kate and her family had moved countries and houses several times, from a brand-new family home on a hill in the South Island of New Zealand, to a matchbox-sized apartment in Japan and then to several partially renovated homes in France.

When Kate’s family relocated to Narbonne, a small town in Occitanie region, they knew they’d be staying for a few years, so Kate took the opportunity to put down some roots and create their own family home.

In December 2017, she came across the perfect property, a short walk from the town centre (a must for Friday night wine tasting and dancing along the canal) and with a Southern aspect for sunshine all day long. The well-kept 60-year-old home was positioned at the front of the 520m2 block, which is rare for homes in this area that are usually smack-bang in the middle without much space for a garden or swimming pool.

However, when it came to renovating, the language barrier wasn't the only challenge Kate faced in turning the humble cottage into a retreat for her family of six. She gave us the lowdown on her French fling…

L’HISTOIRE

Moving from country to country, I’d always dreamed of the design improvements I could make to the homes we lived in but as we were renting I’d never had the opportunity to bring any of those dreams to life. When we settled in Narbonne, I knew we’d be there for a few years for my partner’s work, so it seemed like the perfect time to fulfil my design cravings. We decided to buy and renovate a house for us to live our dream life for a while before passing it on to another family to enjoy.

During our property search, Three Birds announced the launch of Reno School and I quickly signed up because it sounded like a no-brainer investment for an amateur renovator – talk about perfect timing!

L’INSPIRATION

The inspiration for our renovation came from our favourite family weekend getaway destination, Cadaqués in the Costa Brava, Spain. It’s a beautiful hidden Mediterranean fishing village just across the border from France. I wanted to create that relaxed Spanish seaside holiday vibe all day, everyday, all year round, at home.

So that was my vision - modern coastal, Catalan villa vibes in the city centre of Narbonne. And you guessed it, lots of WHITE!

LE PROCESSUS

Our plans took six months to be approved, which seemed like an eternity to us but apparently that’s normal for the area. Narbonne is an old Roman town so the plans have to pass through multiple offices, including an archaeological sector, for approval.

In that time, I started planning, binged on the Reno School course and went to one-on-one French lessons at night to specifically learn all of the renovation and building lingo.

We had plenty of challenges along the way, like the builder clearing the entire garden despite my instructions to keep the mature trees along the boundary - “Voila, it’s better like this, nice, clean and tidy” he said. And the tiler who grouted the edges of our fish scale tiles with black cement. The rendering happened during Ramadan and so the workmen took turns sleeping in the garden during the day, rather than powering ahead with their work.

Then, the cost of a glass pool fence was going to blow our budget so I found one second-hand (on the French equivalent of Gumtree) and my partner and his friend drove a truck to the other side of France to pick it up. It meant we had to change the layout plan of the fence but was well worth it! We were so happy with how it came together. Lots of friends came to help install it which I’m still so grateful for.

I had a goal to work on my resilience and my French that year, and boy did I!

LA TRANSFORMATION

We converted the cute but dated home with one (carpeted - eek!) bathroom, into a bright and airy four bedroom, two bathroom family home. It had no dining room or laundry so we extended into the oversized garage to create a spacious new parents’ retreat and a good-sized laundry. My main focus however, and the most important part of the renovation for our family, was our outdoor living spaces.

The swimming pool was built level with the interior so you can see it from the moment you walk into the house and from all the indoor and outdoor seating areas. We extended the alfresco area to fit multiple zones for lounging and dining and connected it to the kitchen with the famous Three Birds staple, a gas strut window. This was unheard of locally and it took a long time and a lot of effort to persuade someone to make one for me.

I convinced the builder to replace the trees he removed with a 2-metre-high wall to give us some privacy back and we ended up with a beautiful rendered white wall that fits perfectly into our Mediterranean coastal aesthetic and looks gorgeous as a backdrop to the new Washingtonia and Butia Capitata palms.

Using fake grass in the back garden was one of the best decisions I made. The kids absolutely loved it. We all did. It meant no maintenance, no dirt playing patches, and they could picnic on it all year round. It was also a more economical option as Narbonne is in a dry region where it never rains so real grass takes a lot of watering. It’s our kids’ only request for our next home!

My favourite part of the entire renovation would have to be the built-in white rendered planter box featuring a hand-picked Olive tree. I learnt during the selection process that there are so many significant symbols and beliefs that surround Olive trees so I had to make sure I picked the absolute perfect one (and think I did!) I hope it stays with the house forever.

HOW DID RENO SCHOOL HELP YOU?

Reno School gave me the confidence I needed to see this renovation through from start to finish and I always felt supported. I had every piece of information I needed at my fingertips. And if I couldn’t find it, I could ask the Reno School Facebook group and there’d always be someone willing to help. It really is a great community to be a part of.

If I had to choose the best thing I learnt, it would be the importance of creating a vision and sticking to it. What amazes me is how much of an impact your vision board can have. It was my greatest asset. I always meant to go back and refine mine more but never got around to it - so make sure you get it right because literally everything on mine came to life!

I didn’t use any of the Reno School Supplier Discounts as we were in France but I felt like I got my money’s worth after the first week from the information alone. I read ALL of the bonus content. Every word was gold to me.

I’ve recommended Reno School to everyone who has ever asked questions about renovating or joining - even ones who didn’t ask (lol)! A lot of them have gone on and signed up and I can’t wait to see what they do with their renovations. I’m looking forward to doing the course all over again myself as a refresher.

So, WHAT’S NEXT?

We’ve just sold this home in Narbonne and purchased our forever home in a dream location, Mooloolaba in Queensland, Australia. It needs a full renovation and I can’t wait to do this the Australian way! As Lana would say about renovating, “It’s like having a baby, you forget the pain.”

Our French renovation also lead me to a new passion project, The Modern Hut. I’ve designed a collection of rugs that are handmade in Spain and inspired so much by Three Birds and my French reno experience.