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Before and After: A Dreamy Beach House On Australia's Gold Coast

The vision some people have is simply incredible. When Sarah and Aaron Waters came across this (rather blurry!) 1960s red brick house on the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia, they immediately saw its potential. The family have been renovating it since 2008, transforming the property from a dated living space into a breath-taking, white clad, light and airy beach house for the entire family. It's easy to see why Bilinga Beach Abode has appeared in glossy mags such as Adore magazine and often hired as a backdrop for photoshoots. Ready to feel inspired?! 
Facade before (see above too!)

Facade after

The facade has been completely updated with fresh white wood cladding for a true beach vibe. Bi-folding doors also ensure a seamlessness between inside and out.  

Gaaaah! Will you look at this oasis?! 

I love the clear glass fence around the pool. Surprisingly I still come across pools in private homes today without a safety fence. Here's proof that you can have a pool that's safe for children and yet still looks lovely! 

Sitting room before

Sitting room after

Not kidding. Is it even the same house? The amount of work that has gone into the transformation is quite incredible. It's not for everyone. But this snapshot shows that if you do have the budget, time and patience it's quite incredible what you can achieve! 

Couldn't resists including this lovely pic of one of the children on the skateboard ramp - such a cute idea! 


Before Bathroom

I guess this picture was taken when the old bathroom had been ripped out - but it's still fun to see the bare bones before Sarah and Aaron transformed the space into this....

After bathroom

Loving the pink tiles! 

Their other bathroom has had a multi-page spread in Adore magazine, and when you see the pictures, it's easy to see why - it's beautiful! 


Tiles from Tile Trends Tweed, cabinets from Hello Trader

Sadly, I don't have any before pics of the bedroom, but here are the results. Think golden tones and layers of cosy textiles....


I'm seriously blown away by this transformation. It will definitely make me see houses that come on the market here in Malmö from a new perspective! 

Would you consider a renovation project? Or perhaps you've already done one (or are knee deep - or neck high in one right now!) - if so, I'd love to hear about it! 

One question, living by the sea in Malmö, do you think I could go all out Australia Gold Coast with my decor? I'm tempted but then again, I'm not sure we have quite the same winters! Bah! Perhaps subtle 'coastal' nods would work better here! 

You can see more of Sarah and Aaron's beautiful home over at @bilinga_beach_abode,  


Oh and, whatever you do today - take a quick browse through the 'before and after' archive - it's one of my favourites! 

Have a lovely day! 

Niki

Photos courtesy of Bilinga Beach Abode
Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 19, 11, 12, 17, 18  Bilinga Beach Abode 5, 15, 16 Villa Styling / Adore magazine 8. Elouise van Riet-Gray for Lana Caves

Thanks so much to my fab friend Sarah Brooks-Wilson for the tip! 

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Before and After: A Run Down Property becomes a Beautiful Swedish Farmhouse

Ever driven passed a dilapidated house in your neighbourhood and dreamt about bringing it back to its former glory? I'd actually parked that thought - until I spotted interior designer Sandra Östlind's beautiful farmhouse. When Sandra bought the property, it was in need of a complete overhaul, which would be enough to put off even the most prolific DIYer. But Sandra and her partner saw it as an opportunity. After a painstaking renovation, which involved a new roof, stripping and painting the facade as well as an interior gut job, Sörbergets Farm in Västerbotten County, Sweden, has become a beautiful light and airy family home. Let's take a peek at the transformation.

Exterior Before

After
For the facade, Sandra developed her own paint colour known as 'Sandras sörvit' - and available through Stuv Butiken. The difference is quite incredible! 

Before
After
Sandra swapped out the old, rotten front door for a new 'Bleckhall Långeskär door from Doorly, painted in her own blend: Sandras Skogsgrön (available at Stuv Butiken as before). The wall light is a classic style for this type of Swedish house - and bought from Ljus Experten.

Before

After
The existing kitchen was stopped out and replaced with traditional Swedish Marbodal units in 'Fagerö Beige'. 




Cabinet Before

After
Slight diversion from the room 'before and afters' here - but I wanted to include this cabinet update as an inspiring reminder of how you can easily transform a flea market find with a lick of paint!

Children's room before

After
Perhaps the craziest renovation of all in this home is the Ebbe's room. It's gone from a derelict upstairs loft space into a beautiful children's room that oozes character and old school charm. I particularly love the wallpaper (from Stuvbutiken) with matching blinds from Ikea and the exposed beams. 

Hallway / entrance before 

After
Sandra sanded down the wood panels on the ceiling before applying 'Helvit' from Herdins Färgverk and pretty 'Dahlia Garden' wallpaper by Boråstapeter. 

Before Entrance

After 
Sometimes you scratch the surface of these old houses and realise the issue is a whole lot bigger than you bargained for. This is what happened with the entrance. Sandra was planning on changing the door (as before), but it turned out the wall was so rotten that she had to replace the entire wall and window. Every cloud has a silver lining though - now their entrance is a lot brighter as a result!

What a wonderful transformation! I live the calming green tones throughout, and the fresh feel of the space. 

It has me dreaming of a house renovation project all over again (don't tell Per!), how about you?

You can see more of Sandra's lovely country home over on her instagram feed @sandrashem

If you feel like marvelling over more before and after reveals, why not delve into this archive - some of the transformations are absolutely incredible! 

I hope you're feeling as inspired as I am! 

Niki

Photography courtesy of Sandra Östlind, shared with kind permission. 

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Before and After: A Dated House Becomes a Fresh Mid-Century Modern Home

I think it's time for an awe-inspiring 'before and after', don't you? It's the only way to truly understand what can be achieved with a little (OK a ton) of vision and hard graft! Even if your home is just the way you want it, an incredible reveal is a pure joy to ogle at. In the case of this beautiful house in Ottewell, Canada, it took the masterful eye of interior designer Kristina Lynne to transform an outdated, stuffy living space into a light and airy mid-century modern home. Let me talk you through it. I hope you feel as mesmerised by the transformation as I am!

Kitchen before


Kitchen after
Kristina opened the kitchen out and used high end warm wood cabinet fronts from Kitch on IKEA units. This is a trick I've grown to love. Using IKEA basics helps to keep the price point down while adding high end pieces where it counts (cabinet doors, worktops, taps etc) will evoke a unique, high end look and increase your enjoyment of your new space!  

I also really like the concrete countertops which add an industrial touch while a textured honeycomb backsplash and open white shelves keep the style fresh and relaxed. Lovely! 


Sitting room before 
If it weren't for the wall-to-wall shag carpet (I mean, seriously, that had to go, right?!) the before is pretty cool in a whisky swigging, mad-men-esque kind of way. But wait until you see the 'after' and you'll quickly decide, like I did that light and bright is the way to go!




Sitting room after
At a first glance I wondered if Kristina had raised the height of the ceiling to reveal beams - and then I realised that actually it's just the effect of the white paint! Painting the beams in a contrasting colour also helps to bring this wonderful feature to life - they were completely lost before!  


One of the biggest changes was blocking off the second door - which served no purpose, making space for useful built-in shelving and a reading corner! The whole room was also given a fresh white update which helps to capitalise on the light pouring in from the panoramic window. Love it! 

An Eames lounge chair* , but of course - what better piece to use in a reading corner and help create a mid-century modern vibe? The only problem is, you could get stuck there for hours! 

Bedroom before


Bedroom after
I am so glad that I was not the one to have to scrape all that stuff off the ceiling. I've done something similar in a previous flat and to say it was unpleasant job is an understatement! But whoever put the hard graft in to even out the walls and white wash them has done a sterling job!

 Bathroom before

Bathroom after
Moving the loo to the side of the room to create room for a shower was key to the success of this space. It's even making me wonder if we should do away with our bath upstairs and put in a lovely shower like this instead. I wonder if I'd miss the bath? Do you enjoy baths?

A huge amount of work also went into tiling the space, re-plumbing it, laying a new floor, as well as fitting a new bathroom cabinet.

Entrance before


Entrance after
Kristina ditched the small closets, red carpet and linoleum floor in favour of hand cubbies, a great bench / coat hook area and tiled floors. The result is a fresh and clutter free hallway. 


What an incredible transformation! Great work Kristina! 

I'm going to look at the Malmö house market in an entirely new way from now on! 

What did you think off this renovation? 

You can see more of Kristine's projects (as well as some really inspiring 'before and after reveals' here). 

If you love a before and after as much as I do, check out this archive (there are some incredibly talented people out there!). 

Have a lovely, sunny day friends. Stay safe, stay well. 

Niki

Photography courtesy of Kristina Lynne, shared with kind permission
*affiliate links

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