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Real home: Downsizer family cottage on NSW coast

June 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

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The team from Lover Dreamers is back but unlike their last renovation, this one is on Australian soil (Davistown on the NSW Central Coast) and is an intentionally much smaller home. “We wanted to simplify and minimalise our home life to have more time for each other and the other things in life that we love,” says Rachael Gowling, who lives in the home with her husband and two children.

Kitchen
Kitchen

โ€œWe had built large houses in the past with all the extras we thought we needed at that time, such as walk-in wardrobes, ensuites, kidsโ€™ play rooms, additional lounge rooms, butlersโ€™ pantries, reading nooks, additional kitchenettes and bar areas. But the truth is that we really disliked having such a large house.”

Never ending upkeep aside, the family found they didn’t use all the rooms in their last, much larger, home either. “We also didnโ€™t like that our young kids were out of sight or downstairs where we couldnโ€™t see them,โ€ says Rachael who set about designing this new build with these things in mind.

Open plan living area
Open plan living area

In many ways, building a larger home is easier โ€“ itโ€™s only when youโ€™ve got space constraints that you are really forced to consider exactly what you need. โ€œWith this build, we thought carefully about the spaces we actually need to live comfortably but not feel cramped. This house design was about creating as much functional space and maximising on storage solutions as possible on a small scale,โ€ says Rachael who is so enamoured with her new smaller home that she canโ€™t imagine ever living in a large house again.

Lounge
Lounge area
Kitchen
Kitchen

The L-shaped living area is the centre of the home โ€“ pitched ceilings and corner stacking sliding doors disappear into the walls when the family want to open it up to the undercover alfresco area. โ€œAgain, itโ€™s not a large space but with all of the design features combined, it feels very spacious. The indoor and outdoor area flow seamlessly. Itโ€™s the hub of our home,โ€ says Rachael.

Child's bedroom
Child’s bedroom

The family came up with the initial house design themselves before enlisting a draftsman and its cottage feel belies that it’s a new build. โ€œWe wanted to create a small home that was practical for our family to live in but we also wanted to create a home that had character and fit in with the older cottages in the area,โ€ says Rachael.

Bedroom
Bedroom

Flooring Xtra was a major part of this project (their products feature throughout), along with their ambassador, interior designer James Treble, who came along to view the finished result.

โ€œItโ€™s been a great pleasure visiting Rachael and Andrew during the construction of their beautiful coastal home and following their selection journey, and the final results speak for themselves! Itโ€™s a beautiful beach home that is so welcoming, and the well-considered finishes from the flooring, right through to their colour choices, cabinetry selections and accessories has resulted in a fully realisedย vision of their original concepts for their new Australian coastal home,” says James.

Interior designer James Treble with Rachael and Andrew Gowling during the construction process
Interior designer James Treble with Rachael and Andrew Gowling during the construction process

For more | The latest coastal home styling trends

 

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When interior designer @sarah_yarrow was renovatin When interior designer @sarah_yarrow was renovating her 50s home to sell she was determined to move away from the cookie cutter flip to sell look and went for something warmer, paying homage to its roots.

"People are much more likely to connect with something that feels warm and friendly and that doesnโ€™t feel like the home up the street, or the one that their friend has just bought. And once they connect, they usually pay more,โ€ she said. Sarah believes people usually crave a homely feel but donโ€™t know how to create it themselves

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This family home is next level. Literally! A stee This family home is next level. Literally!

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Take the tour on the homepage now. Via link in bio.

#roofterrace #roofgardens #slopingblock #architectshome #perthhome #wahomes 

Project: @klopper_davis_architects
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Before & after goodness alert โš ๏ธ Head on ove Before & after goodness alert โš ๏ธ 

Head on over to the blog this morning to meet serial flippers @renowayoflife Back in Australia after more than a decade renovating for profit and living debt and mortgage free in the UK and USA, they're onto their 15th house, a Queenslander, and this one they plan to actually keep and live in with their 3 kids!

It's an inspiring tale and we're sharing before and afters of 3 of their previous projects. Looking forward to sharing the progress of their current house in the coming weeks and months too ๐Ÿค—

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#queenslanderrenovation #houseflippers #serialrenovator #renowayoflife #queenslanderhome
How's that for a pool?! This Noosa riverfront ab How's that for a pool?! 

This Noosa riverfront abode just won Home of the Year in the 2022 HIA-CSR Australian Housing Awards. 

Take the tour and find out why. On the homepage now via linknin bio.

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(WIN!) It's not the weather to have damp washing e (WIN!) It's not the weather to have damp washing everywhere!

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For your chance of winning follow us and @hillshomeliving and tag a friend below by midnight Sydney time next Friday 27 May. One entry per person.

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Open to Australian residents only. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Instagram.

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We've entered an exciting phase in our home: non-s We've entered an exciting phase in our home: non-synthetic rug land!

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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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