Eleesha — from the popular Instagram account, The Quinn Girls — is an interior enthusiast and busy mum of three little girls in sunny QLD.
Eleesha contacted Online Flooring Store for help finding the perfect floor for her family’s beach house reno. At first, Eleesha thought she wanted vinyl planks, but when she explained her colour pallet and design vision, we knew the perfect match was our exclusive 7mm hybrid Summit Travertine and it turned out perfect! See the stunning transformation here (be sure to swipe for the before and after).
Here, we’ve taken excerpts from our interview with Eleesha to get a better idea of why Summit Travertine hybrid floors fit their space and vision so well, along with fun and interesting tidbits about Eleesha’s life and design style.
Shop the Look
1 Summit Hybrid Flooring Travertine 7mm 2 Alva Linen Armchair 3 Underline Timber Design Console by HEGI 4 Linen Glamswag in Pinstripe 5 Bamileke Juju White 6 Zealand Double Cotton Comfort Rug 7 Ivory Light Pendant 8 Large Clay Bead Jute Rope Tassel 9 Brass Clam Shell Hook 10 Season Stripe Natural Beige Round 11 Bayliss Rugs Coast Dunes 12 Moon Light Floor Vessel White
What Is Your Morning Ritual?
I wake up early before the kids so I can enjoy my coffee in peace. Then it’s a blur between 6 to 8 when we are getting out the door for school, getting three girls ready, doing their hair — it’s a busy time!
I drop the girls off and after that, I head to the reno house and organise what needs to be done for the day, start my work, take content for whatever brands I need to for that day, reply to emails, answer phone calls and very quickly it’s time for 2:30 pickup. Before you know it, it is dinner and bedtime. Then I work again until about 10:30 once the girls are in bed
Describe Your Home Aesthetic and Style
The reno home — right across from the beach — has a colonial beach style cottage feel but we are trying to modernise it a bit to include a more contemporary coastal feel. We are using neutral tones, including the flooring we chose.
Before the reno, it was very dark. The house has incredible ceilings in the main space, but the dark wood felt a bit gloomy and we wanted to lighten it up.
I think renovation and building insomnia is a real thing! I lay in bed and can’t stop looking over the plans. It is hard to switch off. It’s a sigh of relief to be done and see visions come to life and move on to the next adventure.
What’s Your Favourite — And Least Favourite — Part of Being a Mom?
I always wanted to be a mom. The best part is seeing little versions of you and your hubby and their beautiful, big hearts. My least favourite is the noise. Two kids weren’t too loud but three suddenly sounds like a million. Two to three kids is a big switch.
What Is Something That You Couldn’t Live Without In Your House?
Storage is an absolute must. I enjoy a clutter-free home, so I couldn’t live without enough storage to have everything put away properly.
I am not a fan of carpet or tiles, so timber flooring is another must. I do not like grout lines and the tile feels so cold and hard. I had polished concrete for a while and that felt so cold! Timber gives such a nice feel.
Need Help Choosing Flooring?
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What Is Your Favourite Space In Your House?
The kitchen is a big one cause it’s where I spend a lot of my time. And the laundry. These are probably the most beneficial spaces.
My favourite space to just look at or enjoy is the lounge room in our reno. It has incredible vaulted ceilings. It’s stunning to walk down the stairs and overlook the lounge space.
What Are Your Top 5 Tips for People Thinking Of Renovating Their Homes?
1. Talk To Someone Who Is Going To Keep You Grounded – For me, when I first started I was going to do this and do that. Then you realise the cost!
It’s hard when you want something so much and finds out that it’s going to cost a fortune. Having someone to keep you grounded in that aspect and help you decide on the absolute musts is important.
I always want seamless, continuous flooring throughout the house. That is a definite non-negotiable for me. So make sure you have those couple of things that are non-negotiables and be willing to pass on some of the others.
2. Prioritise Communication – Communication is essential. My husband and I have done a lot of the work ourselves but sometimes he has one thing in his mind and if we haven’t discussed it, it may be different than what I thought it would be.
With this next space, we’ve engaged a builder to help us since we needed engineers to open a specific space in the room. It requires a lot of communication back and forth to ensure everyone is on the same page.
3. Base Your Choices on Whether You Are Flipping the Home or Keeping It – Decisions will vary depending on if the home is to keep or flip. For a flip, stick to neutral colours and avoid feature walls that may be more suited to your style but not a buyer’s.
If it is your forever home you are renovating and you are going to take a risk, take a risk in things that are easy to replace or cheap to replace in the future.
4. Choose Your Flooring From The Start – Flooring sets the tone and feel of a room, which is why I like to choose my flooring first and build around it from there. I love the look of hybrid flooring throughout the house.
Some wonder why I don’t have carpet in bedrooms but I find hybrid flooring easier to clean and I can easily put a rug where I want that cosy feel, perhaps in the bedroom.
5. Create a Mood Board – Creating a mood board and playing around with different textures and ideas is always helpful.
What Is Your Favourite Family Activity And Why?
The beach! We are definitely beach people. I met my hubby there, we live there, and vitamin D always makes you feel better. If we are not at the beach, we love camping.
Is There Any Additional Information or Tips You Would Like To Add?
I would love for people to know how incredibly easy the process of laying the hybrid flooring was. And the price… people can look at the price of flooring and think that’s gonna be so expensive, but when you look at everything else you might be replacing in a renovation, it is not the most expensive thing to replace but it gives such a massive wow factor.
As soon as you walk into a home, flooring sets the underlying tone and is what you walk on and see. I never expected to like one with so much grain but it disguises dirt well. Normally I’d be mopping and vacuuming 24/7.
The lounge room is finished but the kitchen still has concrete flooring. The difference between the hybrid flooring in the lounge feels vastly warmer and cosier compared to concrete in the kitchen. The difference is incredible.
We are literally living through renovation around it and we have yet to scratch it. Everyone walks through, carries furniture in and out… I’ve even dragged some furniture! They are such hardy floors and I’m very impressed.
Interested To Learn More About Hybrid Flooring?
Our Summit 7mm range is currently on sale and selling fast. If you have questions about hybrid flooring and whether or not it would be an ideal fit for your home, please feel free to reach out to our team.
