Beaumaris Unit Reno

A while I started working on this little 2 bed, 1 bath unit in Beaumaris. It had great bones but needed THE WORKS! Kitchen, bathroom, floors, walls... the work.

I have a great team of tradies and an ever patient husband and we began working on it. The budget was tight but the results were truly amazing.

The kitchen was the original kitchen from the late 60s. It had a wall dividing it from the living room, and that my friends was the first thing to go... the space instantly opened up, making both the living room and the kitchen appear larger!

The kitchen cupboards were not deep at all, barely able to fit a large set of dinner plates, so there was no chance of actually keeping the carcass and just changing the doors and drawer fronts. It all had to go. In saying that, it had the most beautiful vinyl wallpaper in lieu of a splash back.

Luckily the floors were the original hardwood and they were in superb condition.

For the kitchen I chose an all white palette with a hint of grey in the grout that is all. White laminate cupboards with a Caesar Stone Pure White bench top. I was in need of counter space so I chose to have a large (900mm) under mount single bowl sink as I had a dishwasher installed right next to it!

Don’t you just love an all white kitchen!

The tiles are a favourite of mine and I have used them on a number of project. A subway tile in a brick formation with an uneven surface for more interesting finish. Bosch appliances and the kitchen was complete.

Next was the bathroom. That too was original and in desperate need of an overhaul but unlike the kitchen where nothing remained, there was an iron bath in really good condition and size. The toilet which was separate from the bathroom had to go as well!

Here I chose to have a bit of fun. For the toilet as well as a new toilet suite, I decided to use one of my favourite tiles. The Artisan Oxford tile in Black has the encaustic look but not the encaustic maintenance, no sealing or anything! Perfect to make the toilet interesting.

For the actual bathroom I chose not to move any of the plumbing around as it would add to the cost but we needed to replace pipes as they were quite old. For the vanity I went with a Likewood walnut finish (great for the mid-century building) and the fixtures were all in black. I added a black penny round for the floor with a light grey grout. For the walls I chose a subway tile this time with a matt smooth finish and here I chose a grid formation. I was so happy with how the bathroom come to be. My favourite room of the house!

The walnut of the cabinet works so well in both the mid-century of the building design and set against the white and the black!

A very important element for any house is storage. There was an existing wardrobe which took up a whole wall but it was in the second bedroom. The two rooms shared a wall. We chose to reverse two thirds of the wardrobe into the master and leave the smaller section of wardrobe to the second bedroom. As so we don't want to infringe on the space in the master, we decided on sliding doors. Also in the master we hung 2 white marble pendants on either side of the bed. I really love the flexibility of space that creates on the side tables. Both bedrooms were painted in a pastel grey with white trim.

The larger of the two bedrooms with the space saving pendants.

The floorboards were sanded and we created a custom colour in the varnish by adding a measured amount of black and walnut. They came up a treat!

Other modifications along with all the plumbing was a new reverse cycle air conditioner, new hot water system, total electrical rewiring and down lights.

By this stage our budget was gone... well it was gone a while prior to this stage but lets just roll with it... And we still had to do the little yard at the back... Here is where hero husband steps in! The trusty Dulux Monument on the fence, I swear most bayside fences are painted in this colour... a nice array of subtropical plants from Diacos and my hubby had it covered in 2 weekends!

Some new plants and a coat of paint (Monument!) make the world of difference.

During the whole process we felt that we took 1 step forward and 2 steps back but we got there and I couldn't have been happier with the result!
Chat soon!