DIY PROJECT x GEM VISA

Recently we have just bought a house, an absolute pearler of a place. Big open plan living. Amazing entertaining area. The only problem, the outdoor living space was small & I mean small. No room for a BBQ, no space to have a beer out in the beautiful sunset as it sets over the Waitakere Ranges in the distance. 

Obviously I am a MASSIVE outdoors man, I love being outside. Entertaining friends, having buddies over for dinner & catching up over a bottle of red wine. I got deep in a Pinterest vortex & instantly fell in love with some backyard inspiration. 

The thought of doing works straight after purchasing a house was rather scary, but with summer’s end creeping up rather quickly the time frame to see out my vision was wearing thin. I took it upon myself to take the lead, jump back on the tools, call in a couple of buddies in the know & push GO! 

The vision was to extend the deck, and really push the boundaries by creating a sunken FIRE PIT. Yes, that’s right. Sunken. In the ground. Think the size of a big spa pool. Down. In the ground. At first i was optimistic thinking. Then once works were under way, my long time school friend Aaron excavated a WHOLE truck load of dirt I thought… “Damn, I’ve bitten off more than i can chew here “ but you know what. No risk, no reward. After receiving a rough quote from my buddy JN Builders. There was no way I wasn’t going to chuck the bill on my Gem Visa. Building products aren’t cheap. Being on the other side of the construction bill, I leant that pretty quick smart. Having the unreal features of my Gem Visa, the 6 months interest free on purchases of $250 and over really helped the account. We purchased all the materials from Bunnings, the place that has everything. 

To say I am happy with the results would be an understatement. We estimated the Fire Pit would comfortably sit 6-8 people. Last week we had our House warming and counted 18 people with an extra 2 spots. & I thought WOW what a moment. The fire crackling away, red wine & plenty of laughter filled my soul with a sense of pride & achievement. An absolute effort from everyone who pitched in. 

The thing I most love about having the security of my Gem Visa in my pocket, it gives me the freedom & flexibility to be able to do things off the cuff. Turning a crazy vision out of my head into a real-life memories forever, doing the home renovation that’s been hanging over your head. Booking the dream trip to countries you’ve always wanted to go to with partners like House of Travel. If you’re using Gem Visa’s features in the right way, it’s a no brainier. 

A start to finish look of “Project Insta Goals” below. You beauty.