Houzz interview: Sarah's Sydney beach cottage (133 comments)

We fell in love with Sarah's charming home when she uploaded her cottage photos to Houzz a couple of weeks ago. Born in London and raised in a very small house in Kent, England, Sarah, her husband, three children and goldfish have moved to Australia and now call Sydney home.
Sarah and her husband purchased their first Australian home in 2008. Quickly thereafter, and on a tight budget, the couple turned the "sadly neglected" house into a gorgeous beach style cottage.
Sarah loves finding vintage furniture and accessories, painting them white and creating a look of "old beach house ambiance with a fresh new feel". In her inspiring blog, Sarah documents her house renovation and her other life adventures living by the beaches of Sydney.
I'm very happy to introduce you to Sarah and her stunning beach cottage.

Please tell us about your "first meeting" with your house to be

The first time we viewed the cottage it was not only a fixer-upper, it was filthy and didn't exactly smell too good! However right away we knew it could be the one, we had been actively house hunting and rather than the actual cottage, it's location, 5 minutes from the beach, it's large plot on a quiet street and a few old features meant we knew it could be the one. So at that first 'meeting' with the Beach Cottage we looked past the horrors - looked up to the ceilings which were in good condition and fairly high, loved the old sashed windows and sneakily pulled up layers of carpet and linoleum to check out the wood floors. These were some of our main criteria because we knew with these we could work with the country-coastal look I love so much and not a big budget to create a laid back relaxed home a few minutes drive from one of the best beaches in Sydney.

The first step of your remodeling process

The first thing we did was to renovate the then family bathroom and turn it into an ensuite to the Master Bedroom - we blocked up the original doorway and opened a door into the bedroom, ripped out the old fittings and tiled wales and replaced with simple white tiles and classic fittings to create a large private bathroom. Next we painted all walls in white in every room of the house, removed the carpet, sanded, sealed and varnished the floors.

The biggest renovation challenge you faced

Our biggest challenge was the kitchen, there was no way it could be madeover, it was probably a health hazard and by this stage unforseen things had eaten into our budget and we could not afford a kitchen company to fit our kitchen for us. So we had to very quickly re-evaluate and find a more budget-friendly solution, so we looked to IKEA for help. We pulled out the old kitchen, re-lined the walls and fitted an 'un-fitted' kitchen from IKEA with open shelving and units on wheels we thought this would fit in with the laid-back theme and we knew that we could add further units as time went on.

Your favorite style and colors

I would describe my style as casual and coastal but this has evolved actually from more cottagey and country - so I think there is a healthy mix of all those looks in the cottage and because I change it around quite often and love to play.
I think it is quite often a case of which mood I am in as to which look is foremost. Obviously though, being by the sea, the coastal theme is usually paramount as it lends itself to our surroundings so perfectly.
Although I love to decorate with white, I find this is a perfect neutral for colour! My favourite way to add colour is with heaps of flowers around the cottage and with piles of books. I have recently found myself adding more soft blues and greys to the cottage, but I think I'll always mainly love soft mushroom and putty with a healthy dose of white!

A spot in your house that makes you very happy/proud

I love the Sitting Room at the cottage - it has an old squashy sofa that has our history with it, it is my little sanctuary at about 8pm, I sit with some books or magazines and a drink...turn the lamps on and light lots of candles, have some supper and put my feet up. I have an old meat safe from England in there and a vintage trunk from Hungary...lovely old vintage furniture with character and wearing that old faded patina.

Your next house project

Our next house project? Wow there is a very long list! We are about to embark on cladding for the front of the house, a deck to the front and a new roof. We also have French doors to the back to add and would like to replace some of the windows...oh and replace the Family Bathroom. The list goes on.

5 things that houzz readers need to know about you and your blog

1. A Beach Cottage was started to document the turnaround of our fixer-upper to a home with relaxed coastal vibe...so my blog follows our renovations, decorating and achieving a laid-back look on a budget - I post before/afters, tutorials and often videos of transformations!
2. I also post about my adventures in finding things for our home in thrift stores, and how easy it is to find things for a low price to make a home... in particular I blog my love for vintage things - china, quilts, old furniture and linens
3. I also add in a few things about Australian life - seeing as our 'seachange' seems to interest so many of my readers...regular videos and pics of life the Aussie way...
4. I love to take photos so I try to make the 'afters' good ones!
5. I to show through my blog that a comfortable home is easy to attain and hope it inspires people to get on and start creating a fabulous home regardless of how tight the budget might be...or where it is located.

Best tip for the remodeling beginner

My best tip is to think outside the box on everything you do and our motto here at the Beach Cottage is 'The Power of Paint' - when we've been unable to afford to replace something we have spent a few dollars on a can of paint and had a go...with some amazing and budget-busting results! For example we painted the front door, even though we hated it, but didn't have the money or expertise to replace it ourselves and it looks great, we painted some old concrete steps with paving paint in a neutral dark grey and they look as good as new and we zapped an old blue summer house in a slick of white and it looks like we just went out and bought it! Technology in the painting world has moved on heaps in the last few years according to our local paint shop which means things like tile paint and concrete paint actually do what they say on the can - we painted over our bathroom tiles a year ago, from pink to putty and they are still going strong.

Last but not least: as a houzz friend, Sarah has chosen a Pottery Barn giveaway gift card to one of the lucky readers that will share their thoughts about her house and interview..

Thank you for sharing your charming cottage Sarah!.

For your chance to win a $50 Pottery Barn gift card, comment on this interview by Sunday, November 1st, at 5pm EST.

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