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A 70s house reno that’s still very much 70s!

April 27, 2020 5 Comments

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Not everyone who buys an older home wants to modernise it. In fact, some people, like interior designer Tania Bell, have every intention of keeping their Melbourne home’s retro vibe while replacing the ageing and impractical parts in a very sympathetic way.

A new kitchen that absolutely suits its 70s house home

It has taken almost a decade for Tania and builder husband Andrew to finish their reno, so they certainly spent enough time living in it as it was, to know what they really wanted from the end result!

“When we were searching for our first home together 10 years ago, we wanted somewhere that hadn’t had too many dodgy renos done to it that we had to undo! We wanted something that we only really had to superficially renovate; something that had good bones and didn’t need an extension,” Tania said.

A big block, a big garage and a spare room for her home office were also top of the wishlist. “As soon as we walked in the front door at the open for inspection, we both looked at each other and knew this was our house!” Its flat roof, Besser block walls and exposed beams made it a bit quirky and probably put a lot of people off. “I think most people thought, ‘no, too hard and too expensive  to work on’. Fortunately, we both had a similar vision for the place and Andrew being a builder doesn’t scoff at hard work, so we went about renovating.”

The couple have done a lot of the work themselves and with the help of industry friends. And they definitely suffered from doing their clients’ homes first, ahead of theirs. “I quite often tell my clients to live in their home and experience it before they make any changes, but I fear I may have followed my advice to the nth degree!” Being exposed to so many products and so much inspiration through her design work, meant Tania also changed her mind. A lot! “In the end I just had to make a decision and get on with it!”

The couple clearly love the 1970s style and Tania says it can actually fit in with a contemporary scheme very easily. “The bright, acid-like and clashing colours attract me to the era, as well as the textures and patterns in the soft furnishings. I also think that the dark timber and moody brick features in my home add some character to the space. The overall feel of the 70s is warmth and comfort, which makes a house more homely and cocooning.”

While she initially loved the original dark terracotta floor tiles, after a few years, she was sick of them showing every bit of dirt, and discovered were also cold and noisy. They were replaced with solid, rustic blackbutt timber. “It has made such a difference to the home and really lightens up the space and is warmer underfoot too.”

The kitchen however, was hated from the outset! “It was a daggy old 70s kitchen that the builder built himself out of plywood and didn’t have a kicker, so I would always bang my feet on the bottom of the cupboards. When we finally demolished the old kitchen over 18 months ago, that was a day for celebration!”

She was always keen to keep the brick feature wall along the fireplace, which provides much warmth and texture and sets the tone for the overall colour scheme. “I chose the colour for the timber beams from the bricks as well as the wall paint. We also continued that timber beam colour (Dulux Bronze Fig) outside to the new render cladding.

They’ve taken a lot of the cues from the existing original features of the home in order to keep its original feel. “Instead of going with a standard white kitchen, we used a rustic timber laminate benchtop and graphite coloured joinery with a vibrant orange handmade Portugese tile on the splashback.” They continued the orange tile into the bathroom, teamed up with charcoal tiles on the wall and floor.

Tania thinks the 70s look has come back into favour and she’s certainly not its only devotee. “I believe that the push back to warmer and more earthy tones in interiors, especially with paint colours, timber furniture and textiles, is why we are seeing it being reinvented for a contemporary setting. I also I think that a lot of the homes in our suburbs that are being renovated and not knocked down were built in the 1970s, so people are wanting to embrace a bit of the nostalgia of a time gone by.”

For more on Tania’s business, Green Room Interiors

Another 70s house reno that didn’t keep its retro feel

Images: Kate Hansen Photography

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Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressi Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressive!

The new @studio.xox ONLY sells Australian brands. Like @nood_co coloured basins, lead-free eco brass from @faucetstrommen and @lindseywherrett's  ceramic basins made by hand in Tassie.

And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

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Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! 💧 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!🤗

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap 🥴) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon 😆

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!💪🏻) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too 😉

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

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Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
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Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

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None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

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Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
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About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. Interiors Addict has been her full-time job for more than 8 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

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Comments

  1. AvatarLexi says

    April 28, 2020 at 12:09 pm

    This is such a joy to look at. Those lobster orange tiles are a sight to behold. I love this home, and the departure from cookie cutter aesthetics to embrace a unique space that celebrates the best of 70s style interiors.

    Reply
    • AvatarJen Bishop says

      April 28, 2020 at 3:28 pm

      Isn’t it just? We’re glad you love it too!

      Reply
    • AvatarJoseph Hallock says

      April 11, 2022 at 11:07 pm

      I am a hardwood flooring contractor in North Carolina, USA. My client wants a floor like the one pictured in the kitchen here. Can you tell me what type of wood that is?

      Reply
  2. AvatarAlison says

    April 29, 2020 at 10:48 am

    LOVE this home! The flat roof rectangular houses of the 70s were so practical and just plain fabulous. I would happily own one of Pettit and Sevitt’s houses. This house reminds me of them.

    Reply
    • AvatarJen Bishop says

      April 29, 2020 at 10:54 am

      Glad you love it too, Alison!

      Reply

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