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The original brick fireplace sits at the heart of the living room, surrounded by sophisticated neutrals, with walls in Resene Wan White.
The open plan kitchen and dining area is a new addition to the house with bold Resene Double Foundry cabinetry and walls painted in Resene Wan White. The ceiling is Resene Half Wan White. “It’s one of our favourite spaces to spend time in,” Sarah says. “It feels quite grand and opulent.”
In the children’s bedrooms, Sarah and Jared opted for bold but soothing colours. This one has Resene Flax walls with trims in Resene Black White. The walls in another child’s room are painted in muted blue Resene Bunting.
This original brick archway anchors one corner of the living area against the Resene Wan White walls and cabinetry in Resene Double Foundry.
“We wanted to create a home with colours that were classic and wouldn’t date,” Sarah says. “We didn’t necessarily look to what’s in style or on-trend now because we wanted that longevity.” This transitional hallway is a perfect expression of that classicism with walls in Resene Wan White.
The stunning outdoor room on the back of the home, with weatherboards in Resene Double Foundry and trim in Resene Black White, creates a stunning, functional link between the house, backyard and pool.
“We wanted to create a home with colours that were classic and wouldn’t date,” Sarah says of her Queensland home painted in Resene Double Foundry and Resene Black White.
From neglected to coastal chic: The stunning renovation of a Queensland worker's cottage
When Jared and Sarah bought their 1930s home in Burleigh Heads, its mood was anything but coastal chic. The living room featured pink walls and matted, purple carpet; its kitchen was crumbling, the deck partially rotted. It might have been enough to scare off the average buyer, but for builder Jared and interior designer Sarah, behind the home’s shortcomings was its potential. All it needed was a bit of love – and an injection of bold colours such as Resene Double Foundry and Resene Bunting.
“We bought the place over a decade ago and knew it needed work, but we felt drawn to the cottage’s history and story. As a builder and designer team, we could see how it would evolve as our forever family home,” says Sarah. Experienced renovators (the pair run their own company, Davey Constructions), Jared and Sarah first got stuck in with basic cosmetic work. “I was pregnant with twins at the time, so we just tidied up the place a bit.”
The worker’s cottage has been a busy household since, with twins Kade and Harry (11), Beau (9) and a beach-loving British Bulldog called Bruce now in the mix. But the pandemic, which forced the world to slow down a bit, offered the perfect opportunity for stage two of the renovations.
“Renovating has never been easy to fit in between running our business and family time; we’d always put it off,” Sarah says. “But during the lockdowns, we weren’t sure what would happen in the building industry, so we took the opportunity to work on our place,” Sarah says.
“We didn’t want to knock the original cottage down. It had a warmth to it, and we wanted to do things sustainably. While its layout wasn’t great for kids, its bones were great.”
They designed around original features in the cottage, such as a brick fireplace and archway. “We made most of our design decisions about six months out before the build, which made a huge difference to stress levels. Working as a husband-and-wife team was the highlight of the renovation. We were organised, and the build was on time, which is extremely rare in the industry.”
The difficulty came in moving into a two-bedroom unit with three boys under 10 for six months while they renovated. “It was certainly close quarters,” says Sarah.
The boys appreciated having their own bedrooms when they eventually moved back into the renovated home. Thanks to a redesign of the original floor plan, bedrooms for the kids were carved out with plenty of added storage space, plus a mud room. The cottage also grew by 170 square metres; an open-plan dining and kitchen space was built, connecting to an al fresco area.
The home’s exterior makes a statement with weatherboards in Resene Double Foundry, a blue-toned charcoal. “We get lots of comments about the colour of our home. We painted our garage in Resene Double Foundry a while back to separate it from the house and loved it. We debated being super safe and painting the rest of the home in white, but then we thought, ‘Why not go nautical and bold?
“Friends often comment on their rich colour palette, which continues inside. Deep Resene Foundry is chic on the kitchen cabinetry, popping against Resene Wan White on the walls in the living space. “The deep charcoal tone makes other colours sing. In our living room, we have peplum architraves, and Resene Wan White adds crispness.”
The family opted for different colours in the boys’ rooms in the older part of the home. “We’ve gone gangbusters on the colour in the kids’ rooms and went for Resene Flax in two of the boys’ rooms, with Resene Bunting in the other.”
Choosing colours for children’s rooms can be tricky, Sarah says. “We asked them all for their favourite colours. One of my sons was keen on orange, so I got very excited looking at rich terracotta tones – I knew it would work beautifully with Resene Flax. Then he did a complete flip on me – as kids do – and said he wanted blue.”
Sarah notes that choosing colours that complement each other and flow in a home is essential. “Their rooms are opposite each other in the hallway, so I wanted to find a green and blue that worked harmoniously together. Resene Flax and Resene Bunting were a great pairing, and they’re colours that will mature with the boys as their rooms evolve.”
In the boys’ bathroom, Sarah’s playful use of colour continues. Resene Fossil is deep yet soothing on the VJ (vertical joints) feature wall. “We put tiles in there that are a lovely creamy colour, and we wanted the feature wall to work with those. That cream tone can be challenging, but we found Resene Fossil and were super excited.”
The master bedroom is laidback yet luxurious, with neutral furnishings and Resene Wan White on another vertical feature wall behind the bed. “The beautiful thing is that textures on walls can considerably change how a colour looks. The VJ cladding brought Resene Wan White to life and changed its feel. It pops against a timber shelf we ran above the bed.”
The house won the Master Builders Queensland Award for Best Home Renovation/Remodelling Project from $650,000 up to $1 million on the Gold Coast and it’s not just the judges who enjoy the home’s design. Sarah says visiting friends and neighbours describe it as a “warm hug”.
“It’s rich in colours, warm in its textures and isn’t too pretentious. It’s a home people feel welcome in, and we can have a great family life here.” Sarah says she didn’t want to design the house in a Hamptons style, with the roaring surf of Burleigh Heads just down the street.
“It just isn’t that. It’s a near-100-year-old family home with a rich history. It took a decent amount of planning to ensure we kept the integrity of the original home while maintaining a more modern aesthetic that won’t date.” Sarah says her Resene colours radiate warmth and echo the cottage’s character. “Colour is there to be enjoyed in life. Why not get experimental?”
design Davey Constructions www.daveyconstructions.com
images Brock Beazley
As seen in habitat issue 38
Top tip: If you have an older character home and want a traditional colour scheme, check out the Resene Heritage colour palette at your local Resene ColorShop, or for a timeless colour scheme, check out the Resene Classics Collection.
The open plan kitchen and dining area is a new addition to the house with bold Resene Double Foundry cabinetry and walls painted in Resene Wan White. The ceiling is Resene Half Wan White. “It’s one of our favourite spaces to spend time in,” Sarah says. “It feels quite grand and opulent.”
In the children’s bedrooms, Sarah and Jared opted for bold but soothing colours. This bedroom has Resene Flax painted walls with trims in Resene Black White. The walls in another child’s room are painted in muted blue Resene Bunting.
This master bedroom makes brilliant use of natural fibres and finishes, with fresh walls in Resene Wan White to create a carefree beachy feel.
This original brick archway anchors one corner of the living area against the Resene Wan White painted walls and cabinetry in Resene Double Foundry.
The original brick fireplace sits at the heart of the living room, surrounded by sophisticated neutrals, with walls painted in Resene Wan White.
“We wanted to create a home with colours that were classic and wouldn’t date,” Sarah says. “We didn’t necessarily look to what’s in style or on-trend now because we wanted that longevity.” This transitional hallway is a perfect expression of that classicism with walls painted in Resene Wan White.
This stunning outdoor room on the back of the home, with weatherboards painted in Resene Double Foundry and trim in Resene Black White, creates a stunning, functional link between the house, backyard and pool.
“We wanted to create a home with colours that were classic and wouldn’t date,” Sarah says of her Queensland home painted in Resene Double Foundry and Resene Black White.
Published: 11 Jul 2023
Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing [email protected].
Resene Half Wan White
Resene Half Wan White
Resene Double Foundry
Resene Double Foundry
the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
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Resene Half Wan White
Resene Half Wan White
Resene Double Foundry
Resene Double Foundry
the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
