When embarking on a journey to undertake the restoration of their existing 1930s family beach home, Lucy and Jonno, the husband-and-wife team behind home design and lifestyle platform, Hunting for George, had a clear vision. With inspiration driven by its existing façade and the surrounding environment, they set out to transform the charming weatherboard shack into their ultimate modern-day retreat. Encompassing a blend of styles suited to the coastal vibe of its Great Ocean Road location, the result is a stunning family beach home that is harmonious with its original heritage qualities.
“With so much history surrounding the home we wanted to preserve the essence of its existing structure,” says Lucy Glade-Wright, founder and director of Hunting for George. “It has been the family’s holiday home for over 50 years, for us it was about extending the footprint while making sure that the materials we chose worked within the existing look and feel.”
Positioned in an incredible location in Lorne with stunning ocean views, the existing three-bedroom and one-bathroom dwelling had been outgrown by the family’s evolving needs. It required future-proofing with more bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as updates to the existing rooms, and a significant extension to the upper outdoor decking area so that it could house everyone at once, and be enjoyed for generations to come.
The result is the couple’s biggest renovation to date, encompassing two years of planning and nine months of building. While the downstairs footprint was significantly extended to accommodate the growing family, with five bedrooms and five bathrooms, the upstairs communal living room, dining room, and kitchen were lovingly restored and updated to maximise the existing space.
“The challenge was to design a zone spacious enough to accommodate the large family while also serving as a comfortable space for smaller groups,” says Lucy. “The entire upstairs needed not just a major declutter but also a new approach to the layout, storage and ultimately the future-proofing of its foundations.”
The first task was to remove all the walls and ceilings. Replacing the existing uneven ceilings was a necessary part of the renovation and a huge task to undertake for the design and renovation duo. The new ceilings were finished with Gyprock Supaceil 10mm, resulting in a perfectly smooth finish, a vast improvement from the worn-out exterior weatherboards that had been used inside originally.
Gyprock Supaceil is a lightweight 10mm thick plasterboard, which uses Optimised Core technology to enable a significantly improved strength and board performance while remaining light enough for easier handling.
“From a functionality perspective, we chose Gyprock because it’s light and easy to install. The original ceilings were not straight, they were buckled and falling away in some parts so being able to lay a new grid and hang a perfectly straight and flush ceiling in just a couple of days was a huge advantage to keep us on track with our timelines,” says Lucy.
There is a heritage flavour throughout the upstairs, which has been freshened from the foundations. “Once painted, the Gyprock ceilings enhanced the overall feeling of scale and height in the home, setting the tone for the interiors,” says Lucy.
Dulux Sago was used on each of the walls with trims painted in natural white. The foundations were further updated with new Precinct Oak flooring and Bradford insulation to improve the heating and cooling and to make the home far more efficient. “With a shared colour palette, each zone of the upstairs living area has its own energy,” says Lucy. “The dining room is restrained and calm as you enter the house, the kitchen has a gravitational pull towards it whilst the living room is grounded and comfortable.”
Modern updates are juxtaposed with warm and earthy accents and original pieces have been retained. Lots of texture and natural tones are layered on top of each other through the setting and furnishings work to assist in creating the vision of warm neutrals. A scattering of natural elements, such as exposed river brick, also work to warm up the palette and reflect the history of the home. The finished look has a similar layout and energy to previously, decluttered with clever storage solutions and with a more cohesive flow to the interior design and furnishings.
Downstairs the colour palette continues throughout each of the five bedrooms with interior detailing that complements and continues the beautiful design story of the home. Fresh and calm in its outlook, the spacious master suite features wood trims in the bedroom cabinetry and ensuite alongside brass detailing, while the kids retreat, with bespoke fitted bunks, juxtaposes warm wood flooring and wall panels against a white Gyprock ceiling. For further future-proofing of the home, Gyprock Soundchek was used in the hallways. The high-density gypsum plasterboard has improved sound transmission properties, a necessary choice for a house that plans to be filled to the brim with family activity.
The downstairs also encompasses a laundry, guest bedroom, and ensuite and two stunning feature bedrooms, in blue and green, each with an ensuite; both rooms harness the existing colour story of the home while taking it to a deeper level.
A stunning and stylish revival that still manages to convey an easy-going appeal, synonymous with the idea of relaxed Australian coastal living, according to Jonno and Lucy; the most satisfying aspect of the build was being able to walk through the entire house and see how all the elements came together.
“The biggest success of this project has been finishing and being able to enjoy the entire house with our family and friends,” says Lucy.
