Living room revival
From drab 1980s to modern contemporary style, see how the Space Invaders team revived this dated and overcrowded living space as one family sorts through years of clutter.
From drab 1980s to modern contemporary style, see how the Space Invaders team revived this dated and overcrowded living space as one family sorts through years of clutter.
Silvana gives everything for her family and friends. She works full time, looks after her elderly mother, manages her husband Jose’s declining health as well as looking after her granddaughter, Giselle, and running the house.
After growing up with next to nothing and relying on charitable donations as a child, Silvana sees the value in everything and holds onto it all. With the best intentions to hand things on to others, things got too much, the clutter built and built to the point that Silvana now admits that it controls her.
Her adult children Christina and Christian are so far past the point of trying to help as it ends in arguments every time.
“People that started out with nothing struggle to let things go, add to that a mum in the house that wants everything done my way or the highway and you’ve got a major collision of conflict and clutter,” says Space Invaders’ Peter Walsh.
All this large European family wants is to gather everyone together again, but their entertaining room is serving so many purposes that it’s now little more than a dumping ground.
Enter the Space Invaders team to help Silvana learn to let go in order to reunite this fractured family.
Central to the revamp of Silvana and Jose’s home is the dining and entertaining area. This large European family wants nothing more than to have a space for big family gatherings. However, their entertaining room is serving so many purposes that it’s now little more than an overcrowded dumping ground.
Plus, it’s ‘very 1980s’, notes Cherie Barber, with a lacquered balustrade and exposed dark bricks.
Cherie’s plan is to not only bring back functionality to the room, but to update it so that it’s warm and inviting and ready to welcome back their extended family and friends.
Working with her team of hipages tradies Cherie added warmth to the room by updating the walls with timber cladding painted in a taupe colour, and laying timber floorboards over the existing cold and grey tiles.
“The new timber floors going over the tiles is stunning, and together with the new wall cladding it’s bye bye to the dated 80s vibe,” says Cherie
A new built in entertainment unit featuring granite benchtops and shelves was installed, giving a nod to Silvana’s Italian heritage.
Spanish style feature tiles were added behind the TV to bring Jose’s heritage into the room too.
New lighting was installed to create a brighter, more contemporary feel. The existing dark block out curtains were replaced with vertical blinds that still offer privacy while letting in natural light into the space.
Completing the look were new white painted doors to match the cabinetry, and serving a great function in blocking out noise through the house when family parties get loud.
The living room is once again a place for family to share a meal and relax with plenty of storage to keep everything party related tucked away in between.
With two thumbs up from Jose, SIlvana says they can now have “Lots of meals and lots of happy times here.”
The guest bedroom was no longer fit for purpose and was covered in so much stuff it was impossible for Silvana’s mum or granddaughter to stay over.
The team got stuck in to give the room some personality and create a space that guests will actually want to sleep in.
The old walls were flat and monotone giving the room a dull and lacklustre feel. Timber wall cladding only added a touch of personality and texture to the room, it also made it feel a lot calmer – perfect for when people come to stay.
At the end of what was, at times, a difficult week, not only was Silvana and her family able to reduce the clutter in their home by an impressive 70%, it also resulted in $7,900 of goods being donated to charity. Plus, the renovation of just two rooms increased the value of the home by a massive $190,000.
Whether you’re planning a small home improvement project, or a larger renovation, 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 with a quote.
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