1/61 Kinghorne Street Nowra, NSW, 2541
Property prices in the beachside suburb of Terrigal, on the NSW Central Coast, have been increasing for some time—especially since remote working has enabled more people to re-locate outside of the major cities.
Retired policeman, Grant, has grown up and lived in this area all his life. Originally from Gosford, he settled in Terrigal when he purchased his property in 2000. Keen to take advantage of this upward trend in the market, he tried selling his home in 2015, though sadly, didn’t have any luck.
Grant’s motivation to sell increased around a year ago, when his mother was diagnosed with dementia, and he became her full-time carer. He decided to sell his house so he could buy something smaller where they could both live.
Grant’s house was quite dated, so he decided to do some renovations on it to get it ready for sale. He started ripping out walls, ceilings, and flooring to get a head start for the tradies—but then found himself stuck when he couldn’t get the labour in to do the work. Ever since, Grant has been living in a house of half-done jobs, while also trying to market it for sale. Buyers have been turned away by the daunting list of things to do.
Fortunately, the team at Selling Houses Australia were able to come to Grant’s rescue—completing the renovations in record time, and giving this well-positioned home the best chance of selling.
One of the home’s biggest selling features was its elevated aspect and large terraced rear garden, with a pool and deck. However, the space was previously run-down and in need of repair— with peeling paint, exposed concrete, towering scaffolding, and rotting timber.
The main priority for the team was to finish painting the exterior, soften the front entrance to make it more appealing to buyers, as well as to repair the pool deck.
At the front and back of the house, the exposed render desperately needed to be painted. The team selected a grey façade and darker colour for the trim and garage door, ensuring a modern but timeless look.
Dennis removed the old plants in the garden, and replaced them with some grasses and natives. The front path was ripped up and replaced with a concrete and coarse aggregate mix, while the front stairs and veranda were covered with a patterned tile to reflect the fresh, modern new colour pallet.
The sloping section of the tiered backyard was also levelled with soil and returfed, creating a level and practical back yard that was more likely to appeal to families. The existing pool decking was also replaced with hard-wearing composite boards, and a glass pool fence was installed to match the existing fence on the top deck.
The house was largely empty when the team arrived—with walls and ceilings missing, half-finished paint jobs, mismatched floors, and no main bathroom. Wendy’s main goal was to remove any potential fear for future buyers by finishing any half-started jobs, and inserting a bit of personality into Grant’s home.
Wendy was inspired by Terrigal’s relaxed coastal style and focused on replicating this look in Grant’s home—using timber and wicker furnishings, soft blues, whites, and greens throughout.
The kitchen already had a good size and layout, and so Wendy made the decision to retain as much as possible. By giving the kitchen a cosmetic refresh, and keeping the existing cabinetry, she was able to make the renovation budget go even further. Simply by updating the benchtops, flooring and finishes, Wendy was able to create a modern kitchen without breaking the bank. The benchtops, splashback and kickboards were resurfaced using a marble effect, making them look brand new. The new white pallet was echoed in the basin, taps and pendant lights, giving the kitchen a consistent feel throughout. A pale timber was also chosen for the flooring, to reflect the bright and breezy colour pallet.
In this kitchen area, a new Luxaflex® Roller Blind was also installed to ensure a maximum amount of light could enter the space during the day, while providing complete privacy at night.
A Luxaflex® LumiShade® window covering was also added to the living and kitchen area. This smart vertical blind has all the elegance of a soft window furnishing, meaning it fit perfectly with Wendy’s ‘coastal boho’ theme. The LumiShade® window covering is also durable and child-friendly, making it ideal for a busy living space.
Grant’s home boasted four bedrooms—but not all were in a usable state. Each of these rooms was given a style lift with the addition of Luxaflex® Duette® Shades using Ultraglide® operation, for ease of use.
Luxaflex® Duette® Shades are the original cellular or honeycomb shades, engineered to provide beauty as well as offering levels of energy efficiency in both cold and warm climates. Their honeycomb construction traps air in distinct pockets, which creates insulation that can help lower your energy consumption and energy bills. This layer of insulation also helps with soundproofing, which makes them ideal for bedrooms.
When the team embarked on this renovation, they were confronted with an empty room in place of a bathroom. They therefore created a stylish and fully functioning bathroom, from scratch, and added sophisticated Luxaflex® PolySatin® Shutters. Made in Australia, these shutters are a popular choice for bathrooms as they are impervious to moisture, and won’t blister, corrode, peel or fade. They are also backed by a 20-year warranty, and will stay looking at their best for many years to come.
With the renovation complete, Grant was able to put his home on the market with confidence—ready for a buyer to snap it up so we could move on to the next chapter of his life.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the window coverings used in this renovation, please get in touch with the team at Luxaflex today.
