Renovation ideas: 1980’s Gold Coast home transformed

Located on Runaway Bay, at the northern end of the Gold Coast, this typical 1980’s home was renovated recently with a fresh Scandi aesthetic. While many people would have knocked down the original home, the owner Sally Taylor and her builder husband saw nothing but potential.

“We knew the home had a great foundation and good ‘bones’, so we had a fantastic base to work with, rather than sending everything off to landfill,” says Sally Taylor. From an environmental perspective, we love how the couple chose to give the original home an extensive makeover, rather than undertaking a new build.

“Couples and families tend to renovate to keep costs down, whereas investors will do a new build to have more control on turnaround times, end finish, and to maximise the land space and financial return. You’d typically see a small brick home on a large block like this knocked down for a new duplex,” says Sally.

With a penchant for the light and clean lines of Scandinavian design, Sally and her husband replaced all the original beige brick, paint and tiles with a cool neutral palette. The core of the home, the large open plan living area now overlooks a gorgeous alfresco entertaining area and pool.

“It’s a beautiful area that opens onto a private deck and pool area where there are no adjoining neighbouring dwellings. You can really unwind and relax,” says Sally who insisted on finer details like soundproofing concrete Hebel fencing, acoustic windows and seals, and fully insulated walls and roof.

The new master bedroom also looks onto the pool area via large sliding doors; the room also has a ceiling mounted drop-down television too. “It’s such a tranquil space – an absolute haven,” says Sally.

And it seems that Sally has been bitten with the reno bug, having put the home on the market with a view to tackling the next project. “I’ve seen another property and I want to get stuck into another project down the road. Crazy, I know!”

Check out the home’s real estate listing | Check out more before & afters