Windemere Renovation Profile - Revive and Rejuvenate

Relaxing on the lounge in the midst of her spacious family home, Sandy looks around and remarks on the recently completed renovations, “Perfect! Everything now has a space and function and it looks and feels fresh and modern. I just love everything about it”.

Located on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast, this is home for Sandy and her husband Phil and their five children.

With a busy printing business and growing family, Sandy and Phil decided to renovate, rather than move, when the home started looking tired and needed repairs. “We really love the neighbourhood and wanted to stay here, but we have a large home and to find a replacement in the same area would have been near impossible. The house needed some sprucing up and repairs, but it was still more viable to renovate than move,” said Sandy.

The couple sought the help of Lindy Evans from Windemere Interior Design to manage and design the renovation project. With firm ideas about the outcome she wanted from the project, Sandy left it to Lindy to interpret these and make them a reality.

“Overall, I wanted a very clean, light feel that was contemporary and modern. We needed to accommodate the storage and study needs of our five children, who range in age from five through to 20, and redesign my home office, which lacked organisation and storage. I had a strict budget which was to include design, building and decoration,” said Sandy.

Interior Designer Lindy Evans said that while the layout and size of the home was a great canvas to work with, the cabinetry needed redesigning to maximise storage and work space, with a colour scheme to flow throughout home.

Kitchen Before	Lounge Room Before

Lindy said, “There is an abundance of space and natural light, but there was a multiple colour scheme of lime green, blue, lavender and salmon which was outdated and made the home feel dark and pokey. The lack of built in storage created clutter on bench tops and work surfaces.”

Working with a neutral palette of white, cream and taupe, Lindy designed a colour scheme that was light and fresh, and flowed throughout the entire home.

“The new colours dramatically lightened the space and created a seamless flow between the rooms,” said Lindy, “and the neutral colours gave us the opportunity to add texture and interest through furnishings and decoration without looking over the top.”

Kitchen After

To address the storage and workspace issues, the kitchen, bathroom and home office were completely gutted and redesigned with inbuilt storage. After shifting the desk and computer from the kitchen, the cabinetry could now span the entire length of one wall, with overhead cupboards, drawers and cabinets providing ample storage and bench space.

The Study Nook

A study nook housed the computer while an extra inwall cupboard gave extra storage. The new space was clean, practical and functional.

The bathroom was given a complete makeover with new tiles, tapware, semi frameless shower recess and full height mirror. Using the home’s new colour scheme, the new space appeared much larger, while new cabinetry provided storage for the family’s towels and bathroom supplies.

Sandy’s work space in the home office, where she runs much of the family business, previously existed of just two bookshelves and a desk. The dark salmon colour of the office made the space seem dark and pokey, while the lack of storage and work space left the area looking cluttered and untidy.

The new design featured cabinetry and bench space that spanned the full length of both walls, creating a galley style space with ample storage and workspace that was functional, uncluttered, light and fresh. The inbuilt storage provides much more space and the entire area is now functional and stylish.

Home Office After

The renovations were carried out by DesignBuild Homes, who specialise in the full project management of renovations. Both Windemere Interior Design and DesignBuild Homes are part of the Home Expert Group, and work extensively together on renovation projects.

Sandy said having the entire process managed made the experience much more enjoyable. “Windemere really listened to our requests and took on board our requirements. They adhered to the budget and presented their proposal professionally as a whole package. I am amazed at their insight and ability to perceive the end result. They were reassuring and approachable throughout the whole project. Every small detail was taken care of during the renovating stage. While we moved out, they even took care of the cat!”

Lounge Room After	Master Bedroom After
Children's Bedroom After	Main Bathroom After

With such a dramatic makeover, the family are enjoying living in what feels like a completely new home and Sandy says the renovations have changed their everyday lives. “I’m loving all of it,” she said, “Each area has a specific purpose and function which I use on a daily basis. I love the natural colours as they are versatile and fresh yet stylish and clean. It is exactly what I asked for and I’m delighted with the end result.”

Kitchen Glow, Seamless Flow

A dark and pokey kitchen with an impractical layout has been given the Windemere magic touch, transformed into a light and breezy space with a seamless flow.

The space for this kitchen area was limited by a large, load bearing pole and high benchtop running through the centre of the area. A meals area next to the kitchen space was unused as there was already a dining room and outdoor dining space. The timber cupboards, black benchtops and dark red colours combined made the area seems small with a disjointed flow.

To open up the space and create a flow through the area, the layout was changed to a galley style kitchen with a large breakfast bar running along the length of the space.

Windemere Interiors designer Lindy Evans said while the size of the space was good, the original layout underutilised the full area. "There was a large kitchen space available, taking into account the unused meals area, but the high benchtop effectively cut the area in two, limiting bench space and without a breakfast bar," she said. "By creating one long, low breakfast bar, the area has been opened up with a seamless flow between the kitchen and other living areas."

The walk in pantry had a number of shelves with angled corners, making the space and its contents difficult to access. This area was gutted and replaced with wall mounted shelving and a benchtop with pull out shelving underneath.

To lighten the space and integrate with the living areas, a neutral white was used on the walls, benchtops and cabinetry and stainless steel appliances, pendant lights and glass splashbacks created a luxury finish.

The kitchen has had a magical transformation, from clunky and disjointed to glowing with a seamless flow.

Before






After

Top tips for your bathroom

Tiles

Lighter coloured tiles will reflect the natural and artificial light. White and cream are perfect and if you use light coloured grout the room will appear bigger and more seamless.

Larger tiles will also make the bathroom appear more spacious. Laying wall tiles vertically will make the space seem higher while laying them horizontally will make the space feel wider.

Using a single colour throughout the bathroom will create a more seamless look. Consider tiling to the ceiling and matching the ceiling colour with the tile colour.

Shower

Shower screens and frames can divide a bathroom, blocking light and making the space appear smaller. Clear glass as opposed to wire or opaque glass will open up the space as will frameless or semi-frameless glass.

Cabinetry

Chunky cabinetry can look bulky and clunky in a bathroom. Minimalist cabinetry with recessed basins will look take up less space. Wall hung cabinets will provide storage for towels while the void underneath will give the illusion of more floor space.

Consider recessing a shaving cabinet into the wall for a seamless look to the walls. This will provide more storage for toiletries while the mirror will reflect light and give the illusion of more space.

Windows

Curtains and blinds can block the natural light and appear chunky on the walls. If you are renovating, remove any bulky, dark curtain rods and consider frosting the windows or installing minimal, light coloured roller blinds.

Fixtures

Simple, sleek accessories will create a minimalist look. Changing chunky plastic handles and knobs for simple chrome or stainless steel accessories will look much more contemporary and clean.

Lighting

Recessed lighting will streamline your ceiling and designing lighting over or beside mirrors will reflect light throughout the room and ensure it doesn’t cast shadows.

These are some simple tips for maximising light and space in your bathroom. If you are building a new home or renovating a bathroom and would like advice, ideas or inspiration, speak to the designers at Windemere Interiors.

Space Transformation

In the kitchen, it’s the best use of space that will make a fabulous kitchen renovation, not necessarily more space.

in this kitchen renovation, the focus was on creating more useable and accessible storage space, rather than simply creating more space.

The original kitchen, while larger in space, lacked enough storage in the corner pantry and cupboards while appliances sat on the benchtops creating clutter.

We reconfigured the pantry and fridge area to create a practical butler's pantry. Split into a storage area and preparation area, there’s enough room to store dry goods and appliances where they’re easily accessible, yet away from sight to keep the kitchen tidy.

The outdated decor of the cupboards were replaced with simple, clean lines while a built in appliances tower houses a coffee machine, steam oven and microwave, creating a sleek and streamlined appearance.

A kitchen renovation is much more than just changing benchtops and splashbacks. The redesign needs to take into account the family’s needs and any issues with the current kitchen.

Purposeful Change

Great interior design is about the best use of space for your changing needs. Your family may be growing or perhaps you’re empty nesters, either way, a good interior designer can help you work out the best use of each space for your individual needs.

A good interior designer can look at the layout of a home objectively and practically, and think outside the box. Sometimes there’s no need to move walls or change the layout, a simple change in the purpose of a room or space can make a huge difference.

This home already had a number of eating spaces, including a formal dining room, two casual meals areas and an alfresco. We  transformed one casual meals area into a more formal dining room, while the original formal dining was converted into a reading/ study nook to accommodate the owner’s love of reading and writing.