Tips we learnt from renovating an old house (again)

We are excited to share our latest accomodation offering – an old home in the heart of Bega. We decided in November 2021 that we would embark on this journey, a few short weeks before Christmas, without any trades locked in and in the middle of a global timber shortage. Thankfully for us, we have the best friends in the world. They rallied behind us and our crazy ideas and now we find ourselves with a newly restored old home, which we are able to share with you all. Like all good and challenging things, we have learnt many lessons along the way, and now we can share them with you, so you can learn too.

Plan your renovation 

This really was a spur of the moment renovation. Our long term tenants departed and we had access to the property after not seeing it much since purchase. It was both exciting and nerve racking taking back the keys from the tenants, and it really opened up a whole new world for us. With a little help from our friends, we got here, but it definitely took many turns that we hadn’t predicted. Being an old house, you never really quite know what you’re going to find until you’ve opened it up. With this particular old home, the house looked like it was in need of a cosmetic renovation (check out the before photos below!). So that’s what we thought we were doing - a quick, sharp cosmetic renovation that with a bit of styling, could offer a short term solution. We had hoped to put the house on airbnb and offer it to guests, freeing up access for us to come and go and squeeze works in as we could. Like most things in life, this wasn’t the plan for long. After speaking with our builder, we learnt that our quick cosmetic job wouldn’t be so. Unfortunately, the house was hiding some structural secrets and we needed to do some significant work to make sure the house was sound. Sadly, the house had been subject to a few too many shortcuts, and we found some interesting things! Such as a leaky, rotting bathroom which wasn’t waterproofed, old structural beams propped up with bricks, external cladding covering asbestos sheeting, foundations rotted, floors and walls out of level, and interior walls painted with semi gloss oil based paint, (may not sound like a big drama, but believe you me, it is, just ask our painter!). Quite possibly anything bad that comes to mind when renovating, this house had. But we love her. And we are determined to make sure she stands proud in Bega for another 150 years.

So we found ourselves on the footsteps of a larger renovation than anticipated, and to make it that little bit larger, we really needed to fix the layout. The bathroom was a small, cramped, impractical space that was in the shape of an ‘L’. The previous owners decided to enclose the northern verandah that wrapped around the corner of the house and make it into a bathroom. It didn’t work for us. It needed to become bigger or it needed to become less cramped. It needed to lose something. And to achieve this, the whole house layout had to change and there we had a renovation domino effect!

We sat down with graph paper and a floor plan to work out how we could make the bathroom bigger without losing a bedroom. Planning and more importantly, the design process is a crucial part of renovating because mistakes can be costly. We toyed with the idea that the bathroom needed to be extended into the bedroom that it extends into become an ensuite for the bedroom beside it. However, after consulting with our builder, Dylan, he informed us that by extending the bathroom would mean that we would need to knock down a load bearing wall, which would be a labour intensive job that could tip us over our budget. With that knowledge, we concluded that the traditional dining room should become the new bathroom and the old bathroom should lose the bath and become an ensuite with a seperate laundry beside it to remain in the current footprint. We also decided to ideally open up the living area, kitchen and sitting room to create an open plan layout. At the heart of this renovation was transitioning the old house into the new, and opening it up gave it this contrast.

The leaky main bathroom, that had been built as extension from the northern verandah.

The realestate floor plan that we referenced during redesigning the house.

Once we decided on the layout, the demolition started and we found ourselves facing a huge renovation! With every swing of a hammer we found more issues - it was an extremely stressful and concerning process. And here we learnt (although many might think it is obvious) the true beauty of planning for a renovation, as you never know what you might find. Being in the right head space is so important before embarking on any renovation, whether it be ‘small’ or ‘large’, as you never know what you will find. We also strongly recommend not doing a renovation when working full time (both), studying full time (Miranda) and organising a wedding (both).

Utilise Marketplace, Gumtree and Ebay 

It’s no secret here, we love buying old over new. We strongly believe that the more we can reuse and upcycle second hand building materials when possible the better - both for the planet and our budget. We have been collecting since we were young, (collecting, an obsession passed down by our mothers), and we believe that a house feels more like a home when second hand furnishings and building materials are used. They add so much more to a space.

We have long been using resources like Facebook marketplace, gumtree and Ebay to source things, and lucky for us there are plenty of high end building supplies readily available. Given our last minute decision to renovate, we were often told there were lengthy wait times for the items we wanted. So, we often jumped on these sites to find our pieces. We picked up most of our things second hand, some of our favourites are: our butler’s sink, kitchen tap, a high end bath and shower taps, the ensuite vanity, as well as almost all of the furnishings you’ll find in the house. You’ll be surprised at the things you can find. It takes time and you have to be on your phone scrolling a lot, but the treasure hunt is so rewarding.

Appreciate your family, friends and Trades.

We try our best to do this all the time, but it is safe to say this renovation wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for our friends. Our main builder Dylan really went above and beyond for us, and we will always be grateful for his work. Adrian, who made our windows, built our kitchen and at the 11th hour rallied behind us to make sure this house was finished, did so much more than offer us his service. He is a magical craftsman and we are so lucky to have had his support. Robert, who always pours the most amazing concrete created our bench, which really lifts the kitchen. Armas, who lovingly painted our house (working many weekends) and really did so much more - he was our supporter, mentor and friend, and we are better for having him in our life. And most importantly, our family are everything. And they have done this with us.

This renovation has taught us to treasure those people, and we would encourage you to do the same. Find the best Trades that you can, (it’s sometimes worth paying more for them). Make sure that they are approachable and kind, (as plans do sometimes change and you want trades that you feel like you can ask ‘silly’ questions and annoy). Experienced trades are a must! - You will have an advantage and an overall better job if you hire a trade that has experience. Do your research on trades before you hire them and see what others have to say about them. Once you find good trades, treat them well, like family. TIP: If they like beers, please buy the boys a 6 pack - They will love you forever.

Experienced help is the best type of help when it comes to renovating, and they often bring ideas of their own to the table. It’s great to draw on these ideas and pull inspiration from them. 

Keep a track of the budget 

If we have learnt anything from Miranda’s mum, it is that google sheets are your friend. And boy did she do a spreadsheet for this renovation! Renovating is expensive and can easily go over budget if not tracked. We made a very basic google sheets doc that helped us track the amount we could dedicate to that room/space and the costs associated with those spaces. Budgeting doesn’t have to put an ugly word, (even though Miranda may think so at times when she has found a bargain at an Op Shop), in contrary it can help you be more selective when deciding on what may look nice and what will help enhance the experience of your guests.

Be selective on what you spend your money on 

This is a big one, and we learnt this through our first renovation of Lotte’s. You want to spend more money and splash out on the items that guests can experience the difference. I like to use bed linen as an example. You want your guests to experience the best night sleep during their stay. They will instantly know the quality of bed linen – if it is real flax linen made of a high quality, it will be placed in a higher regard than cheap cotton bed sheets. Your guests will feel the difference. We like to apply this to particular areas of our airbnb’s. When we renovated Lotte’s Hjem, we had the guest in mind. Every space that we designed was designed around what will enhance the experience of the guest and as we keep this principle in the forefront of our mind when designing. An examples of this are finishes which people will see and feel. An example of this would be tapware. We try our hardest to put the best quality tapware in the house, such as the English Tapware Company – because people will both touch and feel the quality. As quality items can cost you more, it is important to be selective with what you spend, (invest), your money on. For example, you can choose a cheaper floor tile to save money, so you can spend more in other areas.

Enhance the liveability of a home 

Before renovations this house was an average three bedroom, one bathroom home. It worked, but it wasn’t the ideal home. After much brainstorming, we came up with a complete new floor layout which saw the traditional dining room becoming a bathroom, the original bathroom being an ensuite, walls knocked down to make the space more open plan and big sliders put in to make the transition from indoor to outdoor seamless. These changes saw us invest more money, but significantly improved the liveability of the house, as well enhance the guest experience. We also are big fans of making every aspect of the house ‘liveable’. We love to utilise outdoor spaces and create unique nooks, so there is something for everyone.

Have fun 

Make sure you have fun! For us, half of the fun is finding stuff on marketplaces and old second hand stores, but that isn’t everyone’s kind of fun. Find the things that make you happy about renovating and focus on those. Learn a new skill, fall in love with using public toilets, surround yourself with good people and laugh about it all later. Enjoy the process!