With tears in her eyes, Tere Bissell struggles for words as she and husband Steve looks at the walls of their home and marvel.

'It has so many hands, so many fingerprints on it.”

She can't see them, but she can feel them; they are in the paint, on the new appliances and furniture, inside the rewiring, behind the insulation, beneath the carpet, and in the flower beds.

There are few corners of the three-bedroom house in Takaro, Palmerston North, that haven't been touched by a spectacular home makeover that snowballed from their children's simple wish for mum and dad to have a proper bedroom again.

Tere, 50, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last June, and Steve were sleeping in their living room last winter because their bedroom was too cold.

Looking at the before and after pictures of what became a total house renovation, it's difficult to decide which was the more impressive feat.

There was the contagious level of community buy-in, that had family, friends, acquaintances, friends of friends and strangers, numbering over a hundred, chipping in to help.

But just as remarkable, the project was completed in only a week, and without Tere or Steve's knowledge.

Daughter Natalya, 22, went all in after friend Natalie Little, 37, an interior designer, suggested a surprise makeover for the Bissells' master bedroom, lounge and kitchen, in the wake of Tere's diagnosis.

Natalya roped in brother Hamish, 22, and Natalie her builder husband Jamie, and they started with '$3000 savings and prayer”.

'Over time the group chat got bigger,” says Natalya, 'so we explained to the small group what we were doing, why we were doing it, and if they wanted to be a part of it.

'We made sure they knew they didn't have to give financially, but because of Mum and Dad, and how much they give to others over the years, all these people started giving money, and it was insane.”

Three months of meticulous planning, which included sneaking tradies in and out of the house for appraisals, was put to work the minute Tere and Steve were on the road, dispatched to Taupo for a week away.

But by the second day of the project, Natalya and Natalie had more helpers than tasks to check off, and people wanting to donate to the project.

Eventually, the toilet, bathroom and laundry were also renovated, the house was re-carpeted, rewired, repainted, insulated, gardens replanted and even cracked windows replaced.

The 'two Nats” estimated at least $40,000 was donated to the cause, as well as discounts from shops and suppliers when they heard of the project or who it was supporting.

At one point there were four builders, four plumbers and four electricians all beavering away, giving their time for free, while others painted or made meals to fuel the growing workforce, with people travelling from Auckland, Christchurch, Tauranga and Wellington to chip in.

When the sparkies decided to replace the 1950s wiring, which meant a day and a half without power, extension cords were run from the neighbours.

Natalie Little said the flood of support was a credit to Steve and Tere and what they had given their community though church, sport groups and schools.

'[Tere's] news about the cancer wasn't widely known, so we were still quite closed as to who we told, but people heard and they were like ‘what can we do'.”

Tere, formerly a teacher at Newbury School, has been heavily involved with Takaro Netball Club and Netball Manawatū as a player and coach, as well as coaching school teams, and refereeing touch.

She delayed a chemotherapy session to attend a netball tournament in Whanganui, and a day after an operation in December was volunteering at a Christmas gift box scheme with Vision Church.

Now, Tere is cancer-free and has a home she cherishes, as much for the aroha it represents as for the new fittings and furnishings.

Some of the 'fingerprints” are bitter-sweet.

The chief painter for the project, Kiata O'Sullivan, an old schoolmate of Hamish's and often 'part of the furniture” in the Bissell house, was killed in a car crash at Rongotea on Christmas Eve. He was 24.

It made the makeover experience in late September feel even more special, Natalya said.

'When Kiata passed, people were messaging us, saying thank-you for doing the reno, we got to see him one last time.

'It was really one of the highlights. Just everyone coming together.”

When Tere and Steve returned from their week in Taupo they were subjected to a blindfold and a short drive before the big reveal.

When she got out of the car Tere didn't even realise she was looking at their house. The fence was no longer green, or crooked.

Steve, who only knew the kids were going to give the living room some TLC, said as soon as he saw the freshly painted outside of the house, he knew it was going to be 'bigger than Texas”.

Bewilderment was swiftly followed by tears and the embrace of their children.

It would take time for the scope of the project to sink in, and what it really meant.

'Tere and I weren't here [for the renovations],” says Steve. 'But what these guys are saying about community, on the back of two or three years of lockdowns and isolation, all of that, to just be able to bring everyone together. It's been pretty cool.

'So many people have said, I've just so loved being a part of it. Man, I wish we could have been a part of it too.”

-Matthew Dallas/Stuff.