In this episode, we sit down with Anna, our talented Interior Designer at Novalé, to chat all things kitchens. From layout and functionality to materials and finishes, Anna shares her design approach and insider tips for creating a kitchen that’s not only beautiful but also practical for everyday living. Whether you’re planning a kitchen renovation in Sydney, dreaming of a designer look, or just love hearing from experts in the renovation space, this episode is packed with inspiration and ideas.

👩‍🎨 What you’ll learn in this episode:

• The key elements Anna considers when designing a kitchen

• How to balance aesthetics with functionality

• Common mistakes homeowners make (and how to avoid them)

• Anna’s go-to tips for timeless kitchen design

🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe to the Novalé Podcast for more expert advice on bathroom, kitchen and laundry renovations.

📍 Based in Sydney & surrounds, Novalé specialises in bespoke renovations Built with purpose, Made for life.

Meet 3 of Novalé's Site Managers (Marc, Sam & Andrew) who deliver our customers' dream bathrooms, kitchens and laundries. Every Novalé renovation has a dedicated Site Manager assigned. They ensure that the job is running smoothly and on schedule whilst doing a lot of work behind the scenes to keep sites clean, trades organised and customers at ease during the process.

Simply put, a Novalé renovation would not be possible without Site Managers like Marc, Sam and Andrew. Tune in to learn more about their stories, why they joined Novalé and what set it apart from the rest.

⏱ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:41 Andrew's bio 02:01 Working for celebrities on super yachts 02:36 Making furniture 03:56 Andrew joining Novalé 05:31 Sam's background in Kitchens 06:32 Sam joining Novalé 06:45 Novalé's rigorous interview process 07:45 Marc joining Novalé from the start 08:08 Working for Suncorp Bank 08:31 Working with Steve as a tiler 09:53 Is 22 a good age to start a trade? 11:11 Still being on the tools as a site manager 12:06 What set Novalé apart from the rest 12:39 Why Sam joined Novalé 13:57 Why Andrew joined Novalé 15:11 Other renovator stories from our customers 16:09 Renovating with Novalé vs. neighbour's renovator 17:57 Ensuring quality through steady workload 19:56 Why Site Managers like using Buildertrend 21:28 How easy it is for customers to use Buildertrend 22:22 How Novalé does site protection 24:11 How proper site protection & cleaning keeps customers at ease 25:19 Why Site Managers like keeping sites clean 27:01 Marc's customer story 28:24 Tips for future customers 29:27 Practical Completion and handover 32:11 Andrew's funny story 33:18 Sam's Tim Tam story

Novalé is one of the only Bathroom & Kitchen renovators in Australia to attain ISO9001 accreditation. This is a global qualification generally sought after by high performing organisations with customer service excellence such as Hilton Hotels and Apple. Bryan Dunlop, Head of Operations at Novalé explains what ISO9001 is, why Novalé has it and how it affects the customer in how we consistently deliver our products and services.

Welcome to Design Hotline where we answer your questions about all things renovation and design with our first ever Interior Designer guest Jamie-Maree Love! Jamie has designed over 200 Bathrooms, Kitchens and Laundries and is excited to hop on and give us some insight on:

1. Her journey into Interior Design

2. Novalé's Preferred Suppliers and why we use them

3. Top 3 tips on designing a bathroom

4. Advice to people wanting to hire an Interior Designer

Kristian, Head of Project Delivery at Novalé joins Ben to explain how we make Renovations Stress Free for our customers. With over 20 years in the construction industry, as well as plenty of years in Novalé, Kristian is an expert on this topic and currently shapes the process we currently employ today. So if you're wondering why so many of our customers in our reviews mention how stress-free our process is, look no further!

Chapters:

1. Kristian's background and how he started working for Novalé

2. Why learning a trade is a future proof career

3. Tips on getting off the tools and becoming a Site/Project Manager

4. F1 Car in the Garage - Why we expanded into Kitchens

5. Why waterproofing properly is essential in bathrooms

6. What is PVC waterproofing and why Novalé uses it with paint-on waterproofing

7. Tips for people starting a renovation

8. When does a Project Manager gets involved in the renovation?

9. Risks and unforeseen issues and how Novalé mitigates for this

10. How long does a Bathroom renovation typically take?

11. Novalé handover process and post project care

12. Doing multiple renovations at once vs. one after another

13. Renovating a Kitchen vs. a Bathroom

14. Buildertrend and why our team and customers love it

15. How Novalé chooses new talent

16. Kristian won the first ever Drippy award for Leadership

17. Bathroom reno - what would Kristian splurge on and save on?

18. Funny construction story with Kristian

Founder and Director Steve Novkovic is back on the podcast! Ben and Steve pick up where they left off in 2021 with one of the most popular topics, "How much do renovations actually cost?". Join the duo as they explore and break down the costs for a typical renovation project, how to compare quotes and renovators as well as tips on how to save on your project.

Chapters:

1. Why Steve is so excited about Novalé's project search function on the website?

2. What is Buildertrend and how does it make the renovation process stress free?

3. Common myths about renovation costs e.g. focussing on arbitrary numbers.

4. Is Googling for average renovation costs helpful?

5. Run down of our Free Online Bathroom Estimate tool.

6. What are the typical costs of a renovation?

7. Hidden or overlooked costs of renovations

8. How much do you need as a contingency?

8. How to compare quotes (and our checklist in the Reno Guide)

9. What is HBCF Insurance and why is it so important?

10. Potential risks of going for the cheapest quote.

11. Fun questions for Steve at the end!

Welcome to Design Hotline, where we answer your burning design and renovation questions as well as talk about everything interior design! Hosts Ben and Krystal (Novalé lead stylist) introduce the new "podcast within a podcast" format and answer some questions whilst waiting for our Novalé Interior Designers to hop on later.

In this episode, Ben and Krystal explain:

1. What an Interior Designer does

2. Where to find design inspiration

3. When to hire an Interior Designer

4. Where to start when designing your space and

5. a bonus styling tip from Krystal at the end!

After a long pause since 2021, The Novalé Podcast is back on the air - refreshed, rebranded, and ready to inspire! In this relaunch episode, we pull back the curtain on why we hit pause, what’s been brewing behind the scenes, and what exciting things are lined up for 2025.

Tune in as we:

Introduce Marina, our Director and Head of Brand & Design

Announce Ben’s full-time move into Novalé Marketing

Reveal that Novalé now offers kitchen renovations for everyone — not just returning customers

Launch the brand-new Renovator’s Guide 2025

Walk you through our updated website with a sleek project search

Celebrate the live launch of our bathroom estimation tool

Share how our Design Studio is now partnering with other builders and renovators

Drop hints about big plans for 2025

It’s a warm, behind-the-scenes catch-up episode — perfect for loyal listeners and fresh faces alike. Hit play and join the next exciting chapter of Novalé!

Novalé Bathrooms has been around for 12 years. The business has actually been around for longer in different shapes and forms. And yet, Steve believes Novalé is just getting started. The team is growing, the office is expanding and the jobs keep flowing. But it's always been intriguing on how and why Steve started the business, as well as his story. How did Steve start Novalé? Was it a smooth transition from tiling? How did he gain success early and use that to grow? How much did his business rely on referrals? How did he build his team? Why did he take his time to grow? 

What we discuss in this episode:

1. Steve's early career as a tiler

2. Working with his father

3. Managing jobs at the age of 16

4. Learning how to do give a great customer experience from his uncle in war-torn Croatia

5. The slow transition to doing bathroom renovations

6. Bathroom renovator vs. bathroom renovations company

7. How did he learn how to start and run a business?

8. What was his team at this point?

9. Would he have done it any differently if he could do it again?

10. Final words

Novale Instagram - @novalebathrooms

Novale Facebook - /novalebathrooms

Growing your business can mean a lot of things. It can be growing in sales. It can be expanding the product and service offerings. It can even be building the team. But how often do you think about the fundamentals? The systems, policies and procedures that enable you to run the business without you needing to be there? Could you take a 7 week holiday to Europe (like Steve did with Novalé Bathrooms) whilst still being able to keep the business running? Our guest on this is episode is Nasser Abdu, a business advisor whom helps organisations grow and expand whilst keeping the operations and fundamentals effectively sound. This episode Nasser will explain why growing your business sustainably means perfecting the fundamentals and building a system, rather than just generating more sales.

Join Nasser, Ben and Steve on this episode to learn how to grow your business sustainably.

What we discuss:

- Nasser's early career and education

- Why there is no 'perfect' moment to start a business

- When did Nas meet Steve?

- What does a business advisor do?

- What does a business consultant do?

- What does a business coach do?

- What systems, policies and procedures need to be refined in order to grow

- Why you need to document processes

- Final words

Novalé Instagram - @novalebathrooms

Novalé Facebook - /novalebathrooms