When interior designer and TV personality James Treble decided to renovate his own holiday home and share the process with his audience, our interest was piqued. Jen’s already seen the finished transformation and was, quite frankly, wowed! And while we’d love to show you everything he’s done, we don’t want to spoil the surprise! Available for streaming online, James Bought a House tells the renovation story, taking an ugly red brick home in Umina Beach (one hour north of Sydney on the Central Coast) and rendering it unrecognisable as a Palm Springs inspired haven.
“The project is all about working with what’s there and using creativity to transform the home in realistic ways. The series is designed to inspire people across Australia to overhaul these 1970s era red brick homes that are all around the country,” says James, who admits that when he purchased the home, everyone in his life tried to convince him to demolish it.
“The real estate agent and even some of my friends thought I should have just knocked it down. People saw an ugly house, but I saw the overlay of a mid-century modern house,” says James.
While more is yet to be revealed, one of the most striking parts of the renovation is the overhaul of the facade. Painting the red brickwork white (Taubman’s Ghosting) instantly modernised it, as did the addition of new vertical cladding and feature stone. “For me, it’s that mid-century, Palm Springs inspired look where most of the homes feature painted brick. Also, an all-white scheme can be overwhelming, but the stone anchors the design. It’s also helped me transform the facade by adding a strong vertical line,” says James.
James has explored a terrazzo style look in the home’s new bathrooms – it’s a look that he likes for the subtle texture and colour. “Polished concrete and tiled surfaces are common in Palm Springs homes,” says James.
The online show, documenting the transformation, has received hugely positive feedback with viewership soaring and James’ Instagram account gaining 3.5k new followers. “It’s gone so well!”
