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House Rules RENO ADDICT

House Rules’ final interior renovation

After - Daniel's Room

Karina and Brian’s ‘old lady’ in remote Geraldton was transformed by the teams who were left with the somewhat challenging house rules of: ‘style our house desert coastal’, ‘bring the outside in with texture and tone’ and ‘make our kids’ bedrooms #TotesEpic’!

So what did team WA and judges Wendy Moore and Joe Snell think?

Bronik and Corrine – 27/30 

Before - Daniel's Room
Before – Daniel’s Room
After - Daniel's Room
After – Daniel’s Room

Victoria’s Bronik and Corrine finished on top for the first time on 27 points. They received the highest score from the judges this series – a perfect 20/20. Wendy said their bathroom was the best she’d seen in the competition: “The pebble feature wall was a huge risk but boy did it win me over.” The couple also made over the bedroom belonging to Brian’s teenage son Daniel. “Commissioning a street artist to do a mural was an incredibly brave thing to do,” said Wendy. “The art itself was perfect for the room.”

Cassie and Matt — 26/30

Before - Master Bedroom
Before – Master Bedroom
After - Master Bedroom
After – Master Bedroom

Tasmania’s Cassie and Matt finished in second place, with their master bedroom, ensuite and hallway receiving the highest score from the homeowners, of nine points. ”The master bedroom is exactly what we wanted in our house,” said Karina. “It’s got the right textures, furnishings, colours and we can see so such love in the room.” Brian added: “I’ve got a loo with a view if I leave the louvres open. It was awesome.”

Ben and Danielle — 21/30

Before - Lara's Room
Before – Lara’s Room
After - Lara's Room
After – Lara’s Room

Queensland’s Ben and Danielle came third on 21 points. Their zone consisted of the dining room and the bedroom of Brian and Karina’s six-year-old daughter, Lara. Wendy congratulated the newlyweds on steering clear of the tired old pink stereotype: “The colour scheme was beautiful. She will remember this bedroom forever.” However, their dining room brought their score down. “The table was the right choice in style and tone but it should have been longer to fit the space,” said Joe. The homeowners were also critical of the terracotta paint. “Unfortunately I wasn’t really taken with the colour,” said Karina.

Ryan and Marlee — 20/30

Before - Living Room
Before – Living Room
After - Living Room
After – Living Room

South Australia and NSW tied for fourth place on 20 points. SA’s Ryan and Marlee hit the mark with their laundry and living room. “My most favourite item in the whole house is the coffee table,” said Karina. “The stacked stone was a great choice and complemented the fireplace beautifully.” However, their pantry was the weakest part of their zone. “The pantry doors were flimsy and verging on tragic,” said Joe.

Steve and Tiana – 21/30

Before - Kitchen
Before – Kitchen
After - Kitchen
After – Kitchen

The NSW zone consisted of the kitchen and teenager Bailey’s bedroom. While everyone loved the copper splashback, the cheap plastic trim and the light blue walls were criticised. “The light blue against copper created a very uncomfortable clash,” said Joe. However, the colour palette of Bailey’s bedroom was much more successful, though the wooden bedhead and “hacked-in” desk let the room down. “I was really impressed with your colour palette and the bedhead was a great look, but it would have looked better had it been wider,” said Wendy.

With all six interior renovations now completed, the teams have been ranked in order with Tasmania in first place, followed by Victoria, Queensland, SA, NSW and lastly WA. While Karina and Brian were expecting to go home, surprisingly, they were thrown a life-line, with no teams being sent packing.

Rather, all couples will now return to their renovated homes for a make or break power transformation. With a limited budget and just 24 hours, they must choose one zone within their home to change. The six reveals and the first elimination will air this Tuesday. Who will be the first to go?

For more on House Rules.

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Architecture Design Expert Tips RENO ADDICT

Knocking down walls: what to consider first, with Joe Snell

Across Australia, the drive is on to unleash our homes’ full potential and lifestyle value. Our renovation radars need to be focused on maximising the space, light and lifestyle appeal of what we already own.

Ask yourself how could a disused or neglected part of my home be made into a beautiful asset? Big-ticket items such as views, garages and pools are no longer the only assets. Rather in a hot property market, every inch counts. Once neglected areas such as side paths, old laundry rooms, tiny courtyards, overgrown yards and boxed in kitchens are now assets ready to be brought to life. In contemporary living terms, this means opening up and refreshing every inch of a space. Nothing has to be too dark, small or cluttered. Rather, emphasise what you already own.

Image: iDesignArch
Image: iDesignArch

One clear path to unleashing a home’s potential is through improving its floor plan. If you’ve ever attended an open for inspection it’s not unusual to hear buyers talking about knocking down a wall. No one wants to buy a place and be limited by a constricted floor plan. Removing walls is a well known strategy for transforming a space thanks to television programs like House Rules, Selling Houses, The Block and Grand Designs showcasing the results.

Knocking down a single wall, or numerous walls, has become a hugely popular solution for creating more light, space and value. Australians are world leaders when it comes to open plan living and there’s a huge premium placed on contemporary design to deliver free flowing spaces where the lounge room, kitchen and ideally, indoors and outdoors, merge.

Image: Tommy Welsh
Image: Tommy Welsh

There are certainly positives to rearranging a home’s floor plan through removing walls. But before you start knocking them down, please remember that when it comes to design, nothing is in isolation, rather it’s all connected.

Consider the following before undergoing your wall removal project:

  1. Acoustics: the more you open up a space, the more it creates echoes and noise problems. There is such a thing as too open when it comes to sound.
  2. Be careful about stripping a space of its character. Traditional buildings such as terraces, semis, cottages and pre-1960s apartments, were designed with separate rooms because privacy and warmth were of major importance compared to today’s premiums on light and space. With a traditional building, consider retaining the feeling of the building’s original spacing by leaving a beam where the wall once stood. Beams can also help give a sense of grace that suits traditional spaces. Sometimes, your mind wants to know that the beams are holding everything up so emotionally you feel safe and secure.
  3. Creating a social home that’s not too hectic. We all love the idea of the social home where the kitchen is at the heart of the action. It’s the place where everyone congregates and therefore it should be located in the best part of your site. In open plan living, the kitchen and lounge room create a feeling of connection rather than isolation. However, consider creating a sense of division somewhere amongst this openness once the wall/walls are removed. Try to create two living areas that give the opportunity for families to handle the complexities of sharing a space. For example, where are the kids going to play Lego where it’s not in the way of the adults? Perhaps consider a half wall, or a flexible solution like a bi-fold, which will give you the right amount of area division so kids have their own play space and aren’t on top of the adults. Then you have the best of both worlds.

At the end of the day, knocking down a wall can be all the difference in terms of space, light and a lovely home, but think very carefully about it, and do your planning, as you want openness but not over exposure.

—Joe Snell is an architect and judge on Channel 7’s House Rules, coming back to our screens soon. Read all articles by Joe.

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House Rules Interviews RENO ADDICT

House Rules’ winner Adam Dovile on his new role on Better Homes and Gardens

Ever since watching House Rules last year, I’ve been a big fan of Adam Dovile, one half of the winning Victorian couple, Adam and Lisa. With his happy-go-lucky attitude, broad grin and roaring laugh he has a personality that seems made for TV. So it comes as no surprise he’s now back on our screens, this time as the resident builder on Better Homes and Gardens.

Adam Dovile interiors addict

“I was working back in Melbourne when I got a phone call asking if I’d like to join the team for 2015. I actually said to them are you sure you want me? I was absolutely blown away. So now Lisa and I have moved to Sydney. It was a big decision, but we just thought you only live once you, have to give it a shot!”

The move to Sydney meant Adam had to put his building business on hold, Lisa quit her job and they both had to leave their newly renovated House Rules’ home. However for Adam it’s all been worth it, being able to share his love of building and DIY with the rest of the country. “As the resident builder and carpenter for the show, I’m basically there to show people the DIY tricks they can do around their home and also the big projects both indoors and out. We’ve been doing bathroom and kitchen renovations, so people will be able to get ideas and tips on all the processes that are involved in renovating. There’s a lot of steps people aren’t aware of.”

Adam Dovile interiors addict 1
Adam on set

While the building and DIY jobs have come naturally, Adam does admit that the biggest challenge has been talking to the camera! “In House Rules it was completely different. That was reality TV and the camera basically just captured Lisa and I doing work. But as a presenter, you have to talk to the camera like it’s a person and that feels a little weird!”

However, what has made the process easier is getting to just be himself (as he says: “If I can’t do that, there’s something wrong with me!”). With no script or teleprompter in sight, instead he just speaks his mind. “When I got offered the role I said to them, yes I’m a builder and I understand all the processes, but I’ve never presented in my life. But they said they just wanted me to be myself and I didn’t need to read anything. That took a lot of the pressure off.”

Adam with presenters Johanna Griggs and Demi Harman
Adam with presenters Johanna Griggs and Demi Harman

Having had a whirlwind 2014 after taking home the House Rules’ grand prize of getting his mortgage paid off, Adam is ready for an equally big year. “Winning was amazing! Not having all that money taken out of our account each month (for the mortgage) has been great. It’s opened up a lot of new opportunities and I’m very excited for what this year holds.”

Better Homes and Gardens starts Friday 6 February at 7pm on Channel Seven.

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House Rules RENO ADDICT

Interview with House Rules grand final winners Adam and Lisa

They were my favourites from day one and on Sunday night, Victoria’s Adam and Lisa took home one of television’s biggest prizes, their entire $526,000 mortgage paid off!

2014 HOUSE RULES CHAMPIONS ADAM DOVILE & LISA LAMOND.
Adam and Lisa

“It’s very surreal,” says Adam. “I’m just in shock. It’s a massive prize; I still can’t believe it’s happened. It’s amazing!”

The engaged couple took out the House Rules win after beating WA’s Carole and Russell in one last renovation challenge – to transform a secret room in each other’s homes. The judges then scored the rooms (which were a bar and a spa area for both teams), with those scores then being combined with a public vote to determine the winner.

Screen Shot 2014-07-08 at 9.32.11 am
Before: Carole and Russell’s secret room transformed by Adam and Lisa

For Adam and Lisa it was the viewers’ vote that propelled them to victory, as they trailed Carole and Russell after the secret room scores were revealed, with the VIC team getting a combined score of 17 out of 20, versus WA’s 19.

“I was happy with the scores from the judges, we loved the room we created and we wanted to have fun with that last challenge,” explains Adam. “But I’m not going to lie, I was a bit concerned with the scores. I think at that time we didn’t think it was possible to get the mortgage paid off, I don’t think we ever thought we were going to win anyway.”

But win they did, with their design skills and their likability getting them over that finish line thanks to the public vote. “It’s awesome to have been received so well by the public,” says Lisa. “I said to Ads it’s made me feel a little guilty of how much we have received from the competition, because I really don’t know how to thank all the people who have supported us. It’s so humbling.”

After: Carole and Russell's secret room transformed by Adam and Lisa
After: Carole and Russell’s secret room transformed by Adam and Lisa

Adam and Lisa were long referred to as the dark horses, with their first renovation in week one, seeing them get scores of three and four from the judges. It wasn’t until weeks later, at the Townsville renovation, that things finally changed, with the duo receiving three perfect 10s from the judges and homeowners.

“After that first week, I didn’t see us going past the first phase of the competition, purely on me, nothing on Adam,” explains Lisa. “I still think we were hard done by on that first week but you couldn’t let yourself get down about it, you had to pick yourself up and dust yourself off and go again. My coping skills throughout the competition definitely got a lot better.”

ADAM & LISA CELEBRATING THEIR WIN

Now that they’re mortgage free, many of their long-term plans can now be fast-tracked, with their wedding set for September and the possibility of starting a family and going into business together, real possibilities for the near future. For both of them, they’ll have House Rules to thank for the rest of their lives and could not recommend the experience highly enough.

“You’d be crazy not to apply,” says Adam. “Not many people will go on this journey. It’s hard, it’s challenging but the rewards and the feeling you get when you complete your zones and challenges, it is the best feeling you could ever feel. Definitely apply, if you’re thinking about it or you’re not, it’s a journey you’ll never forget!”

Applications are still open for the next series of House Rules until the end of July. For further details, go to the official website here.

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Interiors Addict

Decluttering and styling with budget queen Michelle from House Rules

House Rules contestants Michelle and Steve

By Michelle Ball

I’ve loved decluttering and styling since I can remember, so I thought I’d share my top tips on these 2 topics. I hope they help you!

House Rules contestants Michelle and Steve
House Rules contestants Michelle and Steve

Decluttering

I am not, and have never been a hoarder. I believe in the principal of letting go of excess, and as you do, even more beautiful things come into your home. In saying this, when we had to let go of all our belongings as part of the competition on House Rules and give them all to the Salvation Army, it was difficult for me. We boxed up all our photo albums and personal belongings, then any furniture in the house, including rugs, went.

Continue reading “Decluttering and styling with budget queen Michelle from House Rules”
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Interiors Addict

Channel 7 seeks expert renovator for TV show

Do you buy, renovate and sell Aussie homes for a living? Channel 7 is looking for expert renovators to join an on-camera team for a new program. The right person must have an extensive background in residential property renovations. If you consider yourself a ‘flipper’ then this could be right for you.

You should be able to explain concepts easily to a broad audience and be willing to share your knowledge. If you are selected to be part of the team you must be comfortable on camera and confident sharing your opinions on what work/changes/renovations will help a property’s value and what traps there are when renovating.

Continue reading “Channel 7 seeks expert renovator for TV show”