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Real reno: dated and termite damaged property to bright and airy home

April 22, 2015 Leave a Comment

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Iโ€™ll be the first to admit I romanticise the idea of renovating. Conceptually it sounds so fun and creative but in practice it is a lot of blood, sweat and tears; which Carlie Spiteri quickly found out!

Before
Before
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After

โ€œI have to say that I had a romantic notionย of what renovating would be like, but about halfway though painting we almost had a nervous breakdown and found the money to get it finished professionally! There are so many things to consider every day and on top of that, we were working full-time and I was pregnant, so it was extremely exhausting!โ€

Before
Before
After
After

Renovating theirย Thornleigh property in Sydneyโ€™s north-west, Carlie and her fiancรฉ Matt took on an extremely challenging project, what with the house being infested with termites! โ€œWe specifically wanted high ceilings, north facing living areas and a garden, and this place ticked all those boxes. The only thing was, it had significant termite damage. It was also dated inside and had lots of different work done over the years so needed a consistent look to be applied. We almost didnโ€™t buy it but got convinced by Mattโ€™s dad who had renovated a lot and felt convinced we could easily repair the damage and add value to it.โ€

Before
Before
After
After

Buying the home for $745,000 in 2013, they spent approximately $85,000 renovating the property in a three-month period. And with a bit of a design flair between them — Carlieย having recently undertaken a ISCDย course and Matt beingย the co-director of Exquisiteย Solutionsย (a curtains, blinds, shutter and soft furnishing company) โ€“ they were able to do much of the work themselves. To add to this, Matt’sย brother-in-law is a carpenter and kindly used his long service leave to repair all the main termite damage (after all, what are family for?).

Before
Before
After
After

The main changes to the home saw them replace the floor, add insulation, repair all the termite damaged beams (and there were a lot of them!), paint the whole interior, add a new kitchen and do significant work to the garden. But for Carlie, the biggest change has actually been one of the simplest. โ€œThe new floor and simply painting everything white has just lifted the home so much. We had whitewashed Oak engineered floors laid throughout the living/kitchen area and we just love these!โ€

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Before
After
After

With the property now valued in the early $900,000s, Carlie is happy to stay for some time, though the question is: has the first-time renovator caught the renovating bug? โ€œAt the time, when renovating we said: โ€˜No way would we do it again!โ€™ But since weโ€™ve finished we have said we would consider it!โ€

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After

But if (or maybe more likely when) she begins her next project, sheโ€™ll have some key learnings remembered. โ€œDocument every expense and constantly reassess your budget; find the money for a painter — it’s really time-consuming and difficult when you have cathedral ceilings — and finally, the reality is that half of Sydneyโ€™s homes probably have termite damage. We now pay an annual fee for termite checks and I would say to people: ‘Monitor your home because you never want it to get to a stage where there is no turning back.’โ€

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Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial family category and they're a special gift. So ends three weeks with @danisteve81 who left her husband and son in the UK (I'm forever grateful they lent her to me!) to come and cheer me up and help me in the most practical ways after I spent Christmas and New Year in hospital. There were tears and I miss her so much already but how amazing to have had all that time together as adults. Such a rare treat and would never have happened without having been through something so challenging. Silver linings and all that. So many other friends have also been incredibly thoughtful and kind. There aren't many times I'd say this without cringing but I am 100% blessed!

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Me and my boys ๐Ÿ’— Me and my boys ๐Ÿ’—
Just a couple of dorks who've been friends for thr Just a couple of dorks who've been friends for three decades going out for a child-free dinner ๐Ÿ’“๐Ÿ˜
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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. AvatarCarlie Spiteri says

    April 22, 2015 at 8:27 am

    Thanks for the post guys. Great to see the finished house like that. Was all worth it in the end!

    Reply
  2. AvatarCharlotte says

    April 23, 2015 at 9:24 am

    Great work!

    Reply
  3. AvatarPaul says

    April 24, 2015 at 10:21 am

    Your place looks fabulous and what a difference you have made. The space looks so light and airy!

    Great that you were able to achieve what you did with your budget.

    Reply
  4. AvatarMatthew White - Ergoflex says

    May 1, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    I like the new look for the kitchen especially replacing the out dated stone/ tile flooring
    Like the stools too – we have them also!
    Good job.

    Reply
  5. AvatarWAM Home Decor says

    August 7, 2015 at 4:03 pm

    Beautiful job. Love the light and airy kitchen. Living room is gorgeous too!

    Reply
  6. AvatarCranberry Design says

    October 5, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    Awesome interior design! We love it a lot. great job!

    Reply
  7. AvatarDonatella Bellini says

    March 25, 2017 at 11:57 pm

    I actually find it disappointing how the timber window and door frames were painted white. One of the special and beautiful features of mid century houses is the timber. The current obsession with painting everything white, with rendering everything, basically with hiding the actual material whether it be timber or brick, is creating bland, repetitive and boring environments.

    Reply

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