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Real reno: all-beige home transformed into entertainer’s dream

By Olivia Shead •

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While veteran decorators, this seven-year-old federation style home in Pakenham, Victoria, marked the first renovation project for Yvonne Wilkins and her husband Ian. Doing much of the work themselves, they transformed a dated interior, which was all beige (and I mean all beige: ceilings, walls, floors, doors, fixtures and fittings!) into a beautiful entertainer’s home.

Before
Before
After
After

“We had the front facade rendered which completely altered the look of our home and we completely revamped the front garden,” explains Yvonne. “Internally, we repainted the entire home with Dulux Antique White; laid Spotted Gum laminate flooring over the old existing terracotta floor tiles; updated the kitchen and installed a 40-metre indoor/outdoor alfresco room.”

Before
Before
After
After

Having originally bought the home in 2012 for $330,000 and selling it in 2014 for $370,000, the whole renovation process cost $20,000, leaving them with a tidy profit of $20,000. “The market was a bit slow at the time,” says Yvonne. “So we would definitely have received a lot more if we had waited for the market to improve. But we just wanted to move again and tackle another project.”

Before: alfresco
Before: alfresco
After: alfresco
After: alfresco

With the alfresco room marking the home’s most significant change, it became a hub of activity all year round. Featuring a raked ceiling and aluminum plantation shutters, the room also housed a barbecue area, a hot spot for family get-togethers. At the time believing this would be their forever home, Yvonne and Ian were adamant about not cutting corners.

“We put all our time and effort into bringing this home to the standard that we were happy with as we were deciding to live in it permanently,” explains Yvonne. “But of course once it was all completed, we got itchy feet and we were looking to tackle another project and decided to sell. We are now in the throes of building a new home and looking forward to landscaping, painting, wallpapering and decorating.”

Before
Before
After
After

Also a standout in the home is the kitchen, with the revamp costing only $2,500. “We used a Rust-oleum product in Diamond White to resurface the benchtops; spray painted the Tassie Oak kitchen cupboard doors in an Antique White satin; painted the tiled splashback in a White Knight tile paint and replaced the handles with antique wrought-iron look ones. We also installed two overhead pendant lights above the island bench from Bunnings and matched these lights with the five-tier wrought iron light in the alfresco room.”

Now with one renovation, many decoration projects and even a few new builds under their belt, Yvonne has an abundance of advice for would-be renovators. “Go for it! You not only learn more on the way, but it’s so satisfying to know that you have achieved most of the work yourself. Also make sure that you not only keep to a strict budget, but have a contingency to work to in case you come across any unforeseen surprises, especially in older homes. We were one of the fortunate ones.”

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April 1, 2015

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About Olivia Shead

When she's not writing for Interiors Addict, Olivia is now a TV and radio news producer. She's a journalism graduate of UTS Sydney.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen says

    April 13, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    Fantastic transformation on a very tight budget. Well done! How much did the alfresco area cost may I ask? And is it completely enclosed?

    • Yvonne Wilkins says

      April 14, 2015 at 10:51 am

      Hi Karen,

      Tks. for your comment and interest.

      The cost for the alfresco reno was $17,000.00 – it is enclosed with external aluminium plantation shutters on tracks at top and bottom. These can be slid to either one side, or moved to either end which opens up the room on warm days to a beautiful garden and warm breezes. The shutters can be fully closed on a wet day, but the louvres can be opened up at varying angles to let the light in. The shutters added that extra ‘class’ to the alfresco room and this room was our ‘selling point’.

  2. Robyn says

    October 11, 2015 at 6:57 pm

    Hi,
    The Reno came up a treat,a great job.Could you please tell me the color of the interior paint.

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