A tiny house makeover in Hastings, Victoria on Selling Houses Australia
The Selling Houses Australia team updates a small home with a lacklustre connection to an enormous granny flat
Photography Melissa Heath/Selling Houses Australia
I’m back, blogging about all things Selling Houses Australia! On this first episode, Andrew Winter, Dennis Scott and I headed to Hastings, Victoria, a sleepy little fishing town on the Mornington Peninsula, where Pete was desperately trying to sell his family home so he and his girlfriend Bridget could buy their own. The issue on this one was a weird one – the ‘main’ home on the property was teeny tiny, and it was connected to a (surprise!) quite spacious granny flat. The two homes were disjointed and bland, but rather than delivering two small houses squeezed onto one block, we had to create one big family home.
The biggest issue lay in the front house, so that's where I decided to spend my budget. It simply felt small and dark and desperately lacked warmth or character. It’s time to renovate…
Expanding the kitchen in Selling Houses Hastings
The kitchen was just too small for the property, so I had to come up with a creative way to expand it. The unrenovated kitchen included a laundry alongside, so we opened it up to use it in its entirety for a really functional open-plan kitchen. This meant repurposing the existing cabinetry to extend the far wall, and adding new cabinetry along the other side to add a Euro-style laundry and more storage. The new sections comprise Kaboodle internals (available at Bunnings) and the entire kitchen was made cohesive with Laminex doors in Newport profile in the colour Sarsen Grey. The durable benchtops are also Laminex; we chose Calacatta Gold in Velour. A suite of new kitchen appliances from Bosch really helped this kitchen meet buyers’ expectations.
Adding an island in the central part of the kitchen was essential and created great flow around both sides, highlighted by a pair of July 1 Light Squat pendants from Beacon Lighting. The bench now connects the living space, outdoors and new dining room, making it a dream family home.
“The perception of a small house is all about creating cohesion between the spaces with nothing to distract the eye so they blend as one”~ Interior designer Wendy Moore, Selling Houses Australia
A dining room from a passageway at Hastings Selling Houses
I took the same classic feel from the kitchen and living spaces into the dining room, boxing it all in and using an extra piece of the kitchen bench top (not shown in this picture) to make it feel like a continuation of the kitchen. Bringing in a large mirror helped to make it feel bright and airy by bouncing light around the room, whilst also reflecting Dennis’s brand new garden and entertainment area. For continuity, I chose the same Amore pendant in Bronze from Beacon Lighting as in the living room (details below).
Drab to fab renovation: a personality filled living room
The perception of a small house is all about creating cohesion between the spaces with nothing to distract the eye so they blend as one. This was achieved in Hastings with a calm, soft colour scheme using warm sandy tones on the walls. I also used a mixture of flooring in a similar hue and similar finishes throughout. It’s hybrid Merseyside Vista Lexington White Oak from Flooring Xtra in the living, dining and kitchen. Overhead is a stunning Amore pendant in Bronze with a pleated natural linen shade from Beacon Lighting. The artwork carries through the vibe in this room; it’s by Gabriela Azar Schreiner, represented by Art Lovers Australia. I also chose light, smaller, scaled furniture to make it feel roomier, and brought in warm neutral tones and lots of texture.
Transforming basic bedroooms into beautiful
Each of the bedrooms got an injection of personality thanks to new Veri Shade window covering from Wynstan that let the light flow. I’m such a big fan of flowing sheer curtains, which feel fresh and romantic, and these are somewhere in between a blind and a curtain. Plush bedlinen makes a huge difference, as do bedside lamps picked up at Beacon Lighting. Underfoot, it’s Dahlia Touch of Sand loop pile carpet from Flooring Xtra, and on the walls is art by Gabriela Azar Schreiner, Art Lovers Australia. Walls were painted in White Beach Quarter, with a feature wall in Clay Pipe, both by Dulux.
Selling Houses Australia Hastings: did it sell?
Hastings, in Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, is a treasure of Victoria's coastline, 58 kilometers southeast of the Melbourne CBD. Peter bought his family home, where he lived with his mother and grandmother, in Hastings as an investment and to help his family. But when he put it up for sale for $800K, it languished on the market for four months. He dropped the price to $700,000 but still had no luck. “I had a maximum of three people through [during] the four month period,” he says.
Happily, Peter and Bridget did sell their home! They were thrilled to get $760,000 for their property at a time when the market was far from buoyant. He’s now able to get on with his life and find a property with Bridget to call their own.
Who pays for the renovations on Selling Houses Australia?
The owners contribute funds for the renovation: Peter and Bridget dug deep to find a combined $60,000. This money made it a tight renovation, with Dennis having to forgo his desired new roof and me forced to focus on the ‘main’ house and leave the granny flat as it was.
