Home Tour

I have been working on this 50+ year old cottage style house to turn it into a beautiful and cosy home for my son and I. Below are a collection of before and after photos to show you the changes so far. I will keep this post updated as new changes are made. Enjoy!

The Living & Dining Area

Image by Real Estate agent

The old living space had no eating area and there was no separate dining room. I gave myself the challenge of turning this small space into a combined living and dining area.

First step: The wall-to-wall cabinet was knocked down. This gave the room a bit more space and it now looks less 'heavy'.

Second step: The old curtains and air-conditioning unit was removed. The entire home was repainted in half strength Dulux China White and roman blinds were fitted.

Aboriginal Painting by Jeannie Mills Pwerle

The room was furnished with existing furniture and it all fit.. just.

Aboriginal Painting by Louise Numina

See more living/dining related posts including ideas for further improving this space.

The Kitchen

The kitchen underwent two renovations. Read more about the first renovation and second renovation.

The Nursery

Aside from taking down the curtains and old light fitting, removing the built-in study desk (not shown) and painting the walls and built-in wardrobe, no further work was done to this room until I found out I was expecting a baby and set about turning it into a nursery.

And now a toddler room...

See more nursery related projects.

The Master Bedroom

As with the other rooms, the old curtains were taken down, the built-in study desk (not shown) was removed and the walls and built-in wardrobe given a fresh coat of white paint.

A new chandelier was hung and I framed some of my favourite wallpaper to display above the bed.

See more master bedroom projects.

The Study

Sorry, no before shot taken of this room besides the old light fitting. The room looks similar to the others.

See more study room related posts.

The Bathroom

The original bathroom had a double vanity and no toilet (the toilet was in the laundry room). The space was better utilised by fitting a single vanity and toilet here.

See more bathroom related posts.

The Laundry



With next to no budget for this room, the aim was to organise the laundry and brighten up the spare bathroom with some fun stripes on the walls.

See more laundry room posts.

The studio


The studio is located in an unused section of the garage. This is where I work on my designs for my store ish and chi.

See more photos and details about this project here and read more studio related posts.

See also my Flickr photostream for more before and after photos of my home.