Legend has it Sarah and Laura’s place in Adelaide’s northwest was once so dire the property manager wouldn’t even open the front door to inspect it.
At least not alone.
Not even its tenants wanted to live there, abandoning this four bedrooms house by the beach, taking their pack of rescue dogs with them.
“Don’t get us started on the smell,” Sarah laughs from her now very much inhabited place.
We won’t.
The fact the commercial cleaners charged with tidying up the place for sale used the four allocated hard rubbish bookings for the year tells us enough.
“When we first bought the house, our neighbour told us about the property manager who’d been sent to check the house after it was abandoned,” Sarah explains.
“It was in such a state, she asked our neighbour to go inside with her as she was too afraid to go in alone.
“It had major water damage in the bathrooms, termite damage and bare concrete floors.”
Fortunately, it was out of their price range and they didn’t have to put themselves through all that work involved in a renovation of this 1970s architecturally designed house.
Until Mum messaged and insisted this was the one.
Thanks, Mum.
The only other bidder at the auction the following weekend left half way through.
So, in the end, they couldn’t not buy it.
But the good thing is no one was walking through that front door alone.
Just like in business – go and find yourself something for dinner here after you finish reading this – the pair formed a successful renovator partnership, managing and designing the entire project themselves.
They painted, too. And they did the demo.
Laura even painted all the rendered walls with a tiny foam roller, while, together, they pulled up all the tiles – glued to vinyl – by hand, using bolsters.
The abandoned house doesn’t sound too bad after all.
But, again, the couple weren’t alone.
“Working with family, across multiple projects was a high of the renovation process,” Sarah says.
“In particular, getting to spend so much time with Laura’s Dad, who always wanted to check in on the progress.
“He sadly passed away unexpectedly during our renovations, and the time spent and memories created with him is something we treasure.”
The treasured journey finished with a treasured outcome.
“It feels like we’ve built our dream house,” Laura says.
“It’s our sanctuary.
“Our previous house did not give us the peace and quiet we were craving, and our new home ticks all the boxes.
“It’s also become a symbol of everything we learnt along the way.”
And they learnt a lot.
Initially we greatly disliked the rendered walls,” the pair admits.
“Then one particular summer afternoon, we saw how the sun bounced off the different textures and fell in love with them.
“Once they were cleaned and painted, it made all the difference.”
They will also never let a leaking roof go again.
“Laying in bed listening to multiple drips around the bedroom overnight was not a calming experience,” Laura says of the year-long battle with the old roof.
“We ended up with 20+ leaks, and Sarah up on the roof fixing tiles every time we spotted a new one, even with a thunderstorm rolling through overhead.
“We wanted to make sure we’d lived in the house first to know we really liked it, and tried everything we could first before spending the money… but we gave up after that and bit the bullet to replace the roof with Colorbond.”
The problems with said roof were complex, but internally, the design is a simple one.
“Minimalist, Japandi and modern coastal” is how Sarah and Laura describe their style.
“We like intentional pieces around the house that make us feel good, but still homey without the clutter… we also love clean lines” Sarah says.
Over 15 months, they made their mark on this place, bringing a vision they held from the very beginning to life.
In fact, it was even before that, with the former graphic designers using Photoshop to create mockups of the interior based on the real estate agent’s photos.
“We’d made it before we’d even won the house,” Laura laughs.
No one was winning anything back then, but it’s hard to argue this home is anything but a winner now.
Those clerestory windows force you to get lost in the five-metre raked ceilings, while the rounded edges of the benchtops and vanity soften the impact of wooden ceiling and beams.
There’s light everywhere now, too, especially the main bedroom which has been transformed the “darkest room of the house to the brightest”.
The bare concrete floors that were an eyesore to begin with are still there, but they are polished now, revealing a striking blue aggregate.
“An unanticipated win for us”, Sarah remarks.
It seems there were plenty of those at this place.
RENOVATING YOUR HOUSE? GET 10% OFF ARTWORK AND DESIGNER HOMEWARES
Words: Jordan Pinto
Photography: @sarahlauradesign
SARAH AND LAURA'S PLACE
Built: 1977
Land: 770m2
Bed: 4
Bath: 2
WHAT THEIR PLACE TAUGHT THEM
Track it.
Keep a budget and project tracker. Tt really helped us know where we were up to with each part of the project, as well as what trades needed to come in next or what needed to be ordered and when etc.
Ask the question.
Don’t be afraid to ask 'stupid' questions, because they might lead to 'ingenious' solutions.
YouTube is your friend.
Your best friend. So is Photoshop. Also make use of free generators, like Reece's bathroom planner and Ikea’s kitchen planner. We sketched our designs, then made them in the planners and gave this to our trades, which was invaluable.
Find your DIY balance.
Demo and paint yourself. This saved us a lot of money - but it does take time and effort. Find the balance that works for you.
Swipe to see what their place looked like before
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