Making an Old Lady Grand Again
When our clients came to us wanting to restore their 1934 English Cottage we knew our DPC process would be perfect for them. When we did our first site visit we could see the previous owners attempts at restoring the home, we could also see the beauty that she had been.
During this visit we walked room by room discussing what the client wanted to achieve in each room. From here we involved both our architect and interior designer that we all worked together to achieve the desired result. This meant we all had fewer headaches going into the planning and construction phases.
Some rooms just needed to be re-decorated, other rooms needed not only structural changes but remedial work. The most significant change was to be the removal of the conservatory off the lounge that was quite dangerous and replace with new timber French doors.
During construction the biggest challenge was moving the two stairwells that would be used to access the new laundry/mudroom created and the new guest wing. To create the guest wing we turned the original rumpus room into a new bedroom, walk in wardrobe and ensuite. This also had a guest toilet. The repositioned stairwell was worth the effort as it now a wider and more navigable space.
The Kitchen was removed and a new Kitchen Inspirations designed kitchen and scullery went in, along with a one of a kind wallpaper Mural. We then worked with the client on creating a herringbone pattern with Cork tiles of different colours that worked around the cabinetry. We then moved into the Dining room where the first step was to reinstate the fireplace and convert into a gas fireplace. We then had to refurbish the original steel joinery and the beautiful timber floors where previous owners had only sanded floors around mats that were in the room.
The Lounge had also suffered the same treatment from previous owners of sanding around mats. So once we had removed the conservatory and installed three new sets of French doors in here we sanded back the floors then reinstated the fireplace in here and installed a custom mantel and fire surround. We created a feature on the ceiling to hide the timber beams that were running through.
The client had this grand entrance way that was never used so we brought that back to its former glory with sanding the timber flooring back, refurbishing the entry door and redecorating. The stairway leading to the bedroom level added to the grandness of the area.
All the bathrooms had to be gutted and started from scratch, in one the flooring had sagged, once that was repaired, we gave the client opulent heritage themed bathrooms. The vanities we installed in each bathroom were custom designed and built by Kitchen Inspirations. All the bedrooms were redecorated with their own unique style, in a way that all rooms complimented each other. The Library had its shelving removed, redecorated and then shelves reinstated. The office for the client to work from was decorated in a green that reflected the native bush below the home.
Much of the work we did in this home was bespoke, we are so proud of the Carpentry skill our team showed on this project and the home has now been made functional while beautifully restored to its former glory.