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Before & after: Interior architect owner overhauls home

August 10, 2018 2 Comments

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When Perth interior architect Sarah Coghlan moved into this North Perth home six years ago, the intention was always to make it over before her and her husband Alex became parents. โ€œWe bought this home when we were newly engaged and have lovingly renovated it to become the family home it is now. We lived in it for two years in all its old school green glory. It had green carpets, green tiles, a green kitchen and green bathroom before we dove into the renovations!โ€ says Sarah who runs Within Interior Design, a full service interior design firm that’s former incarnation wasย My Little Beginnings.

BEFORE bedroom
BEFORE bedroom
AFTER bedroom
AFTER bedroom
BEFORE hallway
BEFORE hallway
AFTER hallway
AFTER hallway

A deceased estate, the original home was ripe for an overhaul when Sarah and her civil engineer husband Alex set about transforming the home into something that was functional, beautiful and could grow with familyย  life. โ€œWhen we purchased the property it had been adapted to suit its elderly resident. The backyard had been completely paved to reduce garden requirements, hand rails were retrofitted everywhere and the first floor was neglected and unused,โ€ says Sarah.

BEFORE lounge
BEFORE lounge
AFTER lounge
AFTER lounge
AFTER dining
AFTER dining

โ€œThe overall design brief was to create a successful combination of classic and unique, which is reflective of my personal style. Being an interior architect married to a civil engineer/project manager, the creative process saw individuality and practicality unite. We made a really great team,โ€ says Sarah.

BEFORE nursery
BEFORE nursery
AFTER nursery
AFTER nursery

A favourite feature of the renovation is the blackbutt timber joinery throughout the home โ€“ ย a material that adds warmth to each space and complements the exterior of the home. โ€œEach space takes on a slightly different design theme, and the use of the warm timber not only pulls these spaces together visually, but it marries beautifully to the external red brick,โ€ says Sarah.

BEFORE kitchen
BEFORE kitchen
AFTER kitchen
AFTER kitchen – the island bench was made by Sarah’s husband from blackbutt timber

Sourced from discarded light poles, the couple chose to highlight the timberโ€™s imperfections with black resin. โ€œWe used it to clad the island bench, for the large open shelves in the kitchen and for the 3.5 metre benchtop in the laundry. My husband took on the job of constructing the island bench from the timber planks, so the result was all the more special,โ€ says Sarah.

BEFORE bathroom
BEFORE bathroom
AFTER bathroom
AFTER bathroom

Perhaps one of the renovationโ€™s biggest triumphs was the laundry. โ€œIt was the room that underwent the biggest transformation. It was originally two pokey little rooms โ€“ one had a rusty free standing trough and the other had an old toilet and shower that you could barely fit into. By removing the wall between the two rooms and incorporating ample built-in cabinetry, a large glass shower and a ceramic laundry trough (that looked like a large bathroom sink and doubled as a baby bath) it became such a highly functional room,โ€ says Sarah. Not only does the room now receive more natural light but the space also contains a 3.5 metre recycled blackbutt benchtop too.

BEFORE laundry
BEFORE laundry
AFTER laundry
AFTER laundry – the recycled timber blackbutt bench is a feature

Photography: Douglas Mark Black

For more | More before & afters

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Amy Collins Walker

About Amy Collins Walker

Amy is our regular feature writer, an experienced journalist and interior stylist living in Perth, Western Australia. Find out more about her styling work at http://www.amycollinswalker.com/

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarMarg Brown says

    August 16, 2018 at 12:16 pm

    Hi I love these before and after pics of Sarah’s home. Would it be possible to find out what white paint colour was used throughout?
    Thanks
    Marg

    Reply
    • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

      August 16, 2018 at 12:44 pm

      I think the best way would be to contact her via her website, linked at the end of the article. Glad you enjoyed this one! Jen

      Reply

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