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Property developer creates sustainable, ethically furnished homes

In an industry dominated by men, the female property developer is a bit of a rarity which is why we were interested to hear about Charlie Pachula of Charlie’s Interiors. With a background in construction, Sydney based Charlie not only renovates and builds homes, but she fully furnishes them with ethically sourced, sustainable products before they hit the market. 

Charlie's Interiors
Charlie’s recent Kingsford development which is now her family home

Charlie’s interest in sustainability was first piqued in 2007 after the birth of her first child – becoming a mother awakened her to the value in living more in tune with the environment and adopting a ‘whole life cycle’ approach to her business and life.

“Ultimately it was a trip to Northern India, where I immersed myself in manufacturing, visiting cottage industry manufacturers and artisans in small villages, that I came back to Australia with the idea of designing, developing and furnishing considered luxury family homes incorporating sustainable materials and design, and ethically sourced furniture and homewares,” says Charlie Pachula.

Charlie's Interiors Kingsford development
Charlie’s Kingsford development

Her first foray into property development was a fully furnished four-bedroom home in Kingsford that features an array of eco-friendly features such as eco decking, passive windows and recycled, insulated external wall cladding. But after furnishing it with individually sourced artisan furnishings and homewares, Charlie couldn’t bring herself to sell it and decided to turn it into her family home.

Kingsford kitchen
Kingsford kitchen

Currently on the market, Charlie’s latest development is located just 300 metres from Maroubra Beach, and it showcases the same eco-friendly approach as her Kingsford home. With three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, two living areas, a dining room, and a designer kitchen, the property features striking jet-black wood floors and lofty, cathedral ceilings.

Charlie's Interiors Maroubra development
Maroubra kitchen

Original art works from Jai Vasicek and Johnny K, Papaya linen sofas, marble and wood side tables, artisanal Italian ceramics, a hand-crafted wooden statue and Brazilian crystal pendant lights are just some of the home’s eclectic highlights.

Charlie's Interiors
Maroubra lounge room

Where possible, the furniture, homewares and artwork featured in both properties have been sourced from cottage industry manufacturers, local craft makers and artisans in Australia and abroad; from village weavers in the Italian hills to roadside potters in the Indian lowlands. The overall aesthetic has a bit of a world-traveller vibe and, if you’re keen on it you can purchase Charlie’s wares online or from her Maboubra bricks and mortar store.

Charlie's Interiors Maroubra bedroom
Maroubra bedroom

For more on Charlie’s Interiors

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House Tours RENO ADDICT

The fifth and final episode of Diary of a Reno: the big reveal

It’s finally time to reveal the finished reno and let you know how much money was made on the investment. In this episode, we have more keeping-it-real information and advice from Naomi Findlay and we also hear from real estate agent, Damon Sellis. We think the house is transformed and looks amazing! We think you’ll agree…

An offer was received and accepted after a mere five days on the market. Over 135 parties went through the property during open inspection during that time.

The final project profit, after all costs were taken into consideration, was $25,000. Not bad for six weeks’ work!

“What makes it all happen is a great team of trades and a great agent working hard on the overall goals of the project,” Naomi says. “Vision and design obviously play a key role but it must always stay grounded on the goal of the venture and the business. It is not all about design. It must be grounded in market research and a budget. Top that off with some targeted styling and you are away!”

Happy renovating!

Watch all the other episodes.

–Our video star Naomi Findlay is the founder of SILK Home Staging & Styling and the International Institute of Home Staging and a former university lecturer.

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House Tours RENO ADDICT Styling

Diary of a Reno, the complete video series

Watch all five episodes of our Diary of a Reno video series as we take you through a real life renovation, from purchase to sale and $25,000 profit six weeks later! Our expert Naomi Findlay, an experienced property developer (and busy mum of four!) owns successful business SILK Home Staging & Styling and teaches others how to stage for sale and set up their own styling businesses through her International Institute of Home Staging. Former Block winners Alisa and Lysandra are just some of her students!

Watch videos 1 through to 5 to follow the whole story of this project in Newcastle, NSW.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

We hope our warts and all, keeping it real advice has inspired and helped you. If you have any questions for Naomi, please put them in the comments below.

Happy renovating!

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RENO ADDICT Styling

Video: Diary of a Reno part 4

In the penultimate episode in our series, Naomi Findlay gives us a sneak peek of the almost-finished house and explains how she has reconfigured the floor plan to make better use of space and add value.

In the fifth and final episode, coming soon, we reveal the profit made when the renovated house is sold and talk to the real estate agent.

Naomi Findlay is principal of the International Institute of Home Staging and director of SILK Home Staging & Styling.

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Expert Tips RENO ADDICT Styling

Video: Diary of a Reno part 3

This week, Naomi talks about the importance of having a contingency fund because unexpected things do (always!) go wrong or crop up and require more cash! There’s also drama with some very stubborn wallpaper glue, but it’s not all negative! Watch the video for the full story.

If you haven’t already, watch part 1 and part 2 of the series first. The fourth and final part is coming soon! We’d love to know if you enjoyed this series and what else you’d like to learn about renovating? Please comment below.

Naomi Findlay is founder of SILK Home Staging & Styling and the International Institute of Home Staging and an experienced property developer in NSW.

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Expert Tips RENO ADDICT

VIDEO: Diary of a Reno part 2

Firstly folks, my huge apologies for keeping you waiting so long for part 2 of our video series. I blame me moving overseas and Naomi getting married. Nothing major! On the upside, if you didn’t catch part 1, you can now watch them both in succession!

In this episode, Naomi talks about the importance of budget and how to get the best out of your tradespeople.

“It is essential to have a plan of what you are going to do and a budget with a tightly connected timeline,” Naomi says. “But with these old houses you really have no idea what you will find until you start ripping things apart. In this video I face just that with storm water issues, floor height issues, and I even found a false ceiling that I was not expecting and walls that were so out of plumb they were 50mm out!

“All these finds mean decisions about where to shift your budget to reallocate time and funds. But it is essential to always keep in mind your end buyer and the level of the market that the property sits at. Knowing the expectations of the likely buyer means you can meet them without overspending.

“Above all, be on site and listen to your trades. Don’t leave them hanging or decisions will be made that cost money to change if you change your mind!”

NSW-based Naomi is owner of Silk Home Staging & Styling and the International Institute of Home Staging, which provides online courses on how to style properties for sale.

If you have any questions for Naomi about this video, please comment on this post.

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Expert Tips RENO ADDICT Styling

VIDEO: Diary of a Reno part 1 + top tips for renovating for profit

I’ve teamed up with Naomi Findlay to bring you a real-time video diary of a reno. In true Interiors Addict ‘style without the snobbery’ fashion, we’re keeping it real, warts and all, telling like it is. Our camera work and editing skills are by no means world class, but we’re less interested in that and more interested in bringing you practical, useful advice and giving you a realistic view of the highs and lows of renovating for profit, hopefully making you realise you could do it too.

Naomi, with various business partners, has done more than 20 renovations in the last three years (eight just last year!). She also owns Silk Home Staging and Styling and the online International Institute of Home Staging (IIHS). She’s also a mum of four. As well as helping people get the best price when selling their homes, it makes sense that she should renovate and stage her own for profit too

The house we’re bringing to you in this series is in the suburbs of Newcastle, NSW. “It’s an old home that has been bastardised over the years and the original features, other than two lovely ceilings, sadly removed,” Naomi says. “It is in ill repair and needing piering, sub floor repair, re-roofing, and a whole lot more!”

We won’t reveal exactly how much it cost until after it’s sold in case this affects the final sale price, but it was in the $300-to-$400k range. The budget for the reno is around $70K.

I want to allow people to see the real and unedited world of renos; super quick and in the case of this property, super budget! I am by no means a feminist but it is great to show how a woman like me, juggling a family of four and running my own businesses, can reno for profit and enjoy it,” Naomi adds.

I hope that people who want to have a go get an insight into what it is like and a thirst to know more about it!”

Naomi’s top five tips for renovating for profit are:

  • Buy well. This is where you make your money.
  • Have a team of trades as they will keep you alive.
  • Don’t forget to count your own time as money.
  • Keep a hold of the budget and review it weekly.
  • Time is money, so don’t lick stamps!
  • Know your market and spend you money based on ROI.

There are two main ways she sees other people get it wrong and these are putting too much or too little money in, depending on the market they are selling to, as well as trying to do everything themselves and it taking far too long. “They will go wrong if they think it is a ‘get rich quick’ thing and if they think it is glamorous!”

Naomi Findlay
Naomi Findlay

Many people put off having a go themselves and Naomi wants to encourage them to have a go, armed with the right information. “Some think that they are too time-poor or have no idea of where to begin. It is really hard as there is so much available on the net regarding developing property and there are so many valid and variable ways to develop or flip or reno for profit. All have their merits but it can be hard to sift through the information and work out what is best for you and your circumstances, considering your time, family, finances and skill level.

Mentoring is one of the best things that you can do when getting into this game; learning from someone else’s mistakes and their wins! They can help you work out finance, joint ventures, time schedules, budgets, roles and responsibilities.”

Naomi runs courses in home staging and styling, and business mentoring, through the International Institute of Home Staging (IIHS). Find out more.

Come back next week for the next installment!

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Styling

A day in the life of a property stylist, developer and mum of four!

Naomi Findlay owns Silk Home Staging & Styling and the International Institute of Home Staging (IIHS), develops properties “on the side” and is a mum to 4 kids. I asked this modern day Wonder Woman to share a day in her very busy life!

Naomi Findlay
Naomi Findlay

5am: Wake with the youngest little one for a cuddle.

6am: Surface with the 4 kids for a breakfast run.

7-8am: Get ready for work and kids ready for school.

8.30am: School drop off.

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Interiors Addict

Impress Shaynna and win a course at the International Institute of Home Staging

Are you a first-time first renovator, a flipper, a property developer or simply a would-be stylist who’d like to start their own business? The International Institute of Home Staging, which launched this week, could be just what you’re looking for! Luckily for one reader, we’re giving away a course worth $497 to whoever impresses our judge, Shaynna Blaze, the most.

The International Institute of Home Staging's Naomi Findlay
The International Institute of Home Staging’s Naomi Findlay

The International Institute of Home Staging (IIHS), which offers the first and only interactive online home staging and property styling courses in Australia, launched this week to help budding designers learn the art and business of making homes attractive to buyers. The demand for staging professionals has reached an all-time high in Australia, as real estate agents and vendors alike realise how much it can impact final sale prices.

Founder Naomi Findlay says: “The courses offered are put together by a fantastic array of Australian design, styling and business mentors that provide great insight into what is a growing industry. It’s designed to teach other people how they can make money on their own property sales or start their own property styling and home staging business.”