A family home reinvention
Bachelor stars Laura Byrne and Matty J call in the Space Invaders team to help Laura’s mum Kim, as her house is stuck in the past and clogged with clutter.
Bachelor stars Laura Byrne and Matty J call in the Space Invaders team to help Laura’s mum Kim, as her house is stuck in the past and clogged with clutter.
Laura and her sister Alisha are worried about their mum Kim. Kim has been renovating her home with husband Neil for the last few years. However, after Kim broke her hip, the renovation stalled.
To add to this the house has filled up with three generations of clutter right up to the front door. Not all of it belongs to Kim who is the keeper of the girl’s memories and feels obligated to store their stuff.
“It’s one thing to try to get rid of your clutter, but quite another when the stuff clogging up your house belongs to other people,” says Space Invaders’ decluttering expert Peter Walsh.“To add to that years of half finished renovations and it spells a clutter disaster.”
And now the home that is so special to Kim – built by her dad in the 1950s, is one that she is no longer comfortable sharing with her family and friends.
Alisha and Laura who normally love nothing more than visiting the family home also find the situation difficult. They both have “… all these memories from growing up in this house but now these memories have stopped because we can’t bring the kids here” Laura says.
With 138 boxes of clutter cleared and taken for sorting by Peter, Kim, Laura and Alisha, the reno began.
Cherie Barber and her team of hipages painters, sparkies and carpenters took on the master and guest bedrooms, craft and entrance rooms for the renovation.
Kim loves the 1950s style of her home and Cherie is on a mission to “work with what I’ve got, while still adding some modern touches.”
The house has a lot of existing timber finishes and Cherie is running the timber theme through the master bedroom and craft room. “Kim loves timber… so instead of working against it, I’m going to work with it by adding more in.”
Western red cedar timber was added in the rooms as a divider between the paint and the wallpaper.
The existing timber in the entrance room is highlighted by oiling it using a light colour on the walls just to lighten the space up. And the floorboards were sanded and polished throughout the house to bring them back to life.
Before the renovation the entrance room was dark, clogged and cluttered.
The space is now clear and welcoming with bright with natural light.
Not only did the reno team make the most of the existing timber features that Kim loves so much, they also refreshed the house by:
The entrance room now creates an incredible first impression as a welcoming space.
The small room with no purpose and crammed with things long forgotten, has been transformed into an impressive arts and crafts room. Complete with ample storage and workspace vertical cabinets, work desk, sewing materials in a chest of drawers.
The guest bedroom was a multipurpose space for clutter and bedroom is now a warm and inviting room for when the family comes to stay
And the construction zone that was the master bedroom for over 3 years is now a luxurious retreat for Kim and Neil that has maintained its heritage style.
This small space had become little more than a storage room.
Now transformed into an arts and craft space.
Timber is a popular material for interior design features as it provides a look of natural elegance and warmth.
Commonly used as flooring, cabinets and shelving timber can also be used to create unique feature walls or focal points in a room. Timber is a popular material for interior cladding which you can stain to bring out the colour, or you can paint it in the colour of your choice as a bold statement feature.
You can use timber cladding on the whole wall laid either horizontally or vertically, or you can use it on just part of the wall depending on the look that you are trying to create.
Whether it’s an odd job you’ve been putting off for forever, or a larger renovation that requires expert help, we’ve got the right, trusted tradies for every job you need done. Simply post a job and up to three tradies will contact you. The best thing? It’s free.
Not ready yet? Download the app to see how easy and fast it is to post a job when you’re ready.
Planning a big renovation project but not sure where to start? Well, like anything in life – your renovation process needs a plan. Because without one, home improvement projects can quickly experience blown budgets, increased timeframes, and drama a-plenty.
From setting your objectives, budgeting, organising your development application (DA), and finding the right team, here are our practical planning tips for your next reno.
Read more
The Space Invaders team tackle a rumpus room design makeover to transform a dark and cluttered former man-cave into a functional living space.
Read more
