The talented duo behind Hunting for George, Lucy Glade-Wright and Jonno Rodd are back with another series of Reno Goals – a renovation series they launched in 2020. This time they’ve taken on the transformation of a 1930s weatherboard beach shack in Victoria’s Lorne and they’ve produced an amazing result.
Located along the Great Ocean Road, the duo restored the ageing home while adding a new extension – it’s now a five-bedroom, five-bathroom beach house with expansive entertaining areas and today we’re focussing on the character-filled kitchen.
“We wanted to retain the nostalgic warm charm of the existing beach house, whilst applying a modern touch throughout the interiors. We combined both warm and cool tones throughout the house to create a neutral base to work from and then accentuated with pockets of eucalyptus green. The kitchen needed to feel nostalgic whilst at the same time being modern and functional,” explains Lucy.
While Lucy and Jonno are no strangers to renovating, this project was different to their last in that it involved a full rebuild and renovation of a large home designed to accommodate a busy and growing family. Creating different spaces to accommodate three generations certainly had its challenges!
“Building during COVID, it was difficult to get products, materials and deliveries on time and not to mention the labour shortage. As we weren’t building in a major city, we had limited access to skilled trades and had to do quite a lot of jobs ourselves,” says Lucy.
They also gave the laundry a complementary look when they renovated it.
Design tips: creating a kitchen that lasts
Given Hunting for George’s renovation experience, we reached out and asked them for their top tips on how to create a future-proof kitchen.
1. Think about the purpose
Anything you select for your home needs to be able to fit the needs of you and your family. We are housing three generations (and growing!), so kitchen cabinetry needed to be functional – for now and for the future. To maximise storage, we ensured the base cabinetry wrapped around the entire kitchen island and opted for an integrated Electrolux dishwasher to achieve a seamless finish.
2. Don’t forget about size, space and capacity
Make sure to choose appliances that will suit you and your space beyond the next five years. Are you only catering for only two people, or do you need to consider the potential for a bigger family down the track? Think about space, size and capacity that is appropriate beyond just now. The original oven in the kitchen was tiny, with no head height or room to function effectively. We decided to open this up into a cavity, extending both the width to fit a 90cm freestanding cooker, and the height of shelves in order to keep the original feature but make it more functional.
3. Invest in quality appliances that will stand the test of time
A saying we always think about when it comes to appliances is ‘buy cheap, buy twice’. Appliances are always an investment area for us, while we can save money in other areas of the renovation, like painting ourselves. Make sure to choose appliances early in the design process so when it comes to install, you have exact measurements to support seamless integration into cabinetry for a timeless look.
Photography: Jonno Rodd | Interior design & styling: Lucy Glade-Wright for Hunting for George
