Finding this home - in need of love, but with great bones and the potential to grow with their family needs has been the gift that has kept on giving for its owners, Sharon, and Rob van der Kruik. Our late 1920s, Californian-style bungalow in Geelong West, Victoria, sits on a quiet street behind an old pub - close to the bay and just 45 minutes from Melbourne,' explains Sharon. Back in 1986 we were looking for a family home that we could extend and transform. We wanted a large backyard that the children could run free in, with enough space for me to garden, and for both Rob and me to be creative. This home ticked every box and has slowly evolved."
Fast-forward 36 years and the couple now have four grown-up children, two grandchildren, eight family dogs, and have recently completed the third phase of their sympathetic renovation. Their dream has become a reality and the original two-bedroom, the weather-boarded cottage has been transformed into a light, bright, four-bedroom, memory-filled home that their children regularly return to.
"To us, home is everything,' says Sharon. 'We have spent such a huge part of our life together in this little cottage.' Rob, a self-taught carpenter, restorer, and maker, has completed all the building work himself, turning his hobby into a passion, 'enabling us to create the home we imagined,' says Sharon. 'It has absorbed everything that we have and love, and in harder times has become our comfort and haven.'
Denne historien er fra January 2023-utgaven av Homes & Antiques.
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Denne historien er fra January 2023-utgaven av Homes & Antiques.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS
From elaborate taxidermy museum displays to humble folk art creations, a diorama can transport us to another time and place
Pride of place LEEDS CREAMWARE
In its heyday the pre-eminent rival to Wedgwood's Queens ware, Leeds creamware is still much revered by collectors for its understated elegance
Bohemian Rhapsody
An exuberant approach to decor, with rooms enveloped in colour and pattern, has brought this historic home merrily into the 21st century...
THE ANTIQUES THAT SHAPED ME Rory Hutton
The accessories designer on his love of silver spoons and Sévres porcelain
European HERITAGE B&Bs
Is there anything more inspiring than staying somewhere that's both beautifully stylish and imbued with history? Rhiannon Batten explores five gems across Europe, from Sweden to Spain...
STAR SALES
A Hitchens painting, a museum-quality teapot and a Parisian chocolate box are all top of the lots
Textile designs by artists
Influential 20th-century fine artists and sculptors, from Picasso to Barbara Hepworth, gained additional status as textile designers until decline set in during the 1970s
Period DRAMA
A painstaking renovation has brought this 1725 former Huguenot silk weaver's house in London's Spitalfields back to life
An artist's RESIDENCE
Rustic details and a restrained palette lend a sense of simplicity to this lovingly restored Friesian bakery
Carefully Curated LIVING
This lovingly restored Gustavian manor has become both home and showroom for its owners, Maria & Jan Åke, who deal in European antiques