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00:00building a house is more than just bricks and mortar it's also about dreams and aspirations
00:09design and execution making memories and mistakes ultimately it takes more than
00:16building a house to create a home join us as we go beyond the build
00:30on this episode strap in for one of the wildest renovation rides imaginable unexpected setbacks
00:47spiraling costs frustrating delays and many design challenges along the way all in a day's work for
00:54dave and jane franklin they're inside dogs pretty much on the bed on the couch anywhere they feel
01:04they want to have a snooze let's wind the clock back to 2019 billy eilish's bad guy topped the charts
01:12tick tock was gaining popularity and richmond had just won their 12th premiership moods were high
01:18we're renovating we've done so many renovation shows so thought why not let's do our own house
01:23dave and jane purchased this house in 2007 and from that time on they've embarked on a renovate
01:30as you go odyssey using whatever materials dave would have left over from his jobs when we did
01:36start this house we didn't have a lot of money i suppose when we started doing it and it was built
01:40of leftovers from jobs so as you can see it looks like a patchwork quilt the rooms are tiny the kitchen
01:46is really really small to be honest she hates it it was either do the house or get a new husband
01:51the house has served this growing family well but it looks and sounds like the family might have
01:57outgrown it it's got to be done it's tired we wanted a great house we want a great family home
02:02and you know what i'm sick of doing these amazing pools and backyards and front yards for everyone
02:06else so i want one myself like we live in black rock village and we're the village idiots
02:13black rock is an affluent bayside suburb about 18 kilometers southeast of the melbourne cbd
02:21known for its natural beauty fine dining and luxury homes it's a sought after suburb that residents
02:28love to call home the median house price in black rock is 2.4 million dollars
02:33what would have been fitting in the early noughties with its gray render and broad iron fence
02:47along with the thrown together kitchen now looks dated and very tired the walls are literally caving
02:54in both dave and jane are ready for a change i want a different kitchen um and possibly a different
03:01housewife they say a builder's house is never finished and with dave's hefty work schedule
03:12he doesn't have the best scorecard finishing things at home jane's and his future happiness
03:18depend on getting this done but with the right design there's potential for an amazing transformation
03:25and if there's anyone who is up for the challenge and capable of pulling it off it's dave and jane
03:31three right there one of australia's most prolific landscapers dave franklin has had his finger on
03:39the pulse of landscape design for over 25 years he and his team have thrived in creating some of the
03:46country's most luxurious and transformative outdoor spaces dave's likable personality has shone through
03:53with his work on popular tv shows such as the block and open homes australia where he showcases some of
03:59his most impressive designs jane has also gained some renovation experience taking the interior reins
04:06on their last renovation the family beach house in phillip island she is once again excited to get
04:13creative and transform this home in her own unique style along with their young kids texan summer the
04:19family dogs rodney and keith and the many guests they love to entertain the franklins are looking forward to
04:25creating a home where everyone has their space and where everyone is welcome the design dave and jane
04:33have settled on will see the living room extended downstairs the laundry converted into the wine cellar
04:38a carport add-on and the biggest change the walls on the eastern side will be extended to two to three
04:45meters on both levels along with using some of the balcony space at the front the house will gain a
04:50whopping total of 15 square meters almost doubling the floor space they also have plans to replace
04:58the roof this will also help with the overall look they want to achieve dave and jane are going for a
05:03kind of cape cod nautical thing but with their own spin on it the gray render will be replaced with crisp
05:10white weather boards juxtaposed with black window frames and accents to set it off the works are
05:16extensive at what stage do you just knock it down and start again their love for the internal spiral
05:24staircase is so great that it's enough for the couple to go through with a complete renovation
05:30just to retain it so the roof is coming out the kitchen's coming out the whole side of the house
05:35is coming out another two three meters wide enough it's going to make them every room basically bigger so
05:40we're not adding a room we're just making every room bigger the wants and needs are growing and they
05:46both have their focus let's talk about the outdoors it's all about the outdoors this is dave's domain
05:54and with his reputation on the line he'll want to get it right we're on three different levels here
05:59and obviously everyone that's been to this house after a few winds actually falls down the stairs
06:03so we're going to make it one level here okay that pool's coming out new one will come in so we're
06:08going to do like a curved pool just create a bit more space after many many late nights dreaming of the
06:14perfect design and many many alterations he has settled on what he thinks will best maximize the
06:21space we've got a packing pool spa there's going to be an entertaining area you've got a barbecue area
06:27and a fireplace that's going to look amazing and how long do they give themselves for this extensive
06:36renovation it is not just like right we're going to go and renovate this this weekend this is like
06:40something that's you know normally takes about a year and a half and we're going to try and do it
06:44in six months famous last words coming up the renovation begins and the obstacles immediately
06:51present themselves to be honest it's just a it's an absolute nightmare
07:00we're here in black rock melbourne to follow the renovation of dave and jane franklin's family home
07:05dave had a grand plan of wrapping this project up in only six months inside apart from some demolition
07:16there's been little progress so what's been holding them back been a old house we've had a few
07:22engineering issues every time you start pulling something down something else hits you again and
07:26pushes back another bloody month it seems like so anyone who's renovated one of these they'll know the
07:31pain that we are through older homes have character often boasting features like architectural windows
07:39and solid plaster walls that you don't find in many newer buildings when it's time to renovate though
07:46older houses present costly challenges that are not so charming we've got a concrete balcony here then
07:52we've got timber four um all the joists and bearers are running the wrong way for our extension going out
07:57there so this is kind of a bit of a mean feat yes i would take the roof off but what's going to
08:01support the house so we take the floor out first so these are the questions that we're going through
08:06and to be honest it's just a it's an absolute nightmare that's not the only obstacle for dave
08:14they've also found concrete cancer on their upstairs balcony as long as we cut it out fix it it'll be
08:19fine so yeah that's what i'm trying to tell everyone but no let's listen to it concrete cancer is when water
08:26over time penetrates the concrete causing the rusting of the reinforced steel fixing this will
08:32not only be costly but it will also take more time on a positive note dave's been able to get a hand
08:38from very experienced builder matt you want me to start and then you finish it off you're going to do
08:43the top ones matt runs his own construction company and has been a builder to contestants on the block for
08:49multiple series so he's used to deadlines dave will be hoping matt can provide a block style finish to
08:56this turtle paste renovation it's a little bit slow going um we've basically started pulling it apart
09:01bits and pieces uncovering trying to expose the bones of the house um there's a few little surprises
09:09turns out that some of the floor jaws are undersized so we're going to have to look at beefing them up
09:12and making sure everything's legitimate before we do advance and before we do start piecing it back
09:18together one area that is progressing is the backyard the old pool has been removed and works have begun
09:28to prepare for the concreting of the new pool this is the part of the build dave has been most excited
09:34about and after many tweaks along the way he's come up with the ideal design it will sure be a site when
09:42it's finished jane has also started to organize some of her selections for the home and by the looks
09:48of it she's leaning towards some statement tiles she's also planned out the kitchen area um we're
09:54going for black shaker doors um and some timber in it with well because otherwise the black kitchen
10:00will be too overpowering uh and bronze techware at the moment there's a shell in there so i'm really
10:05struggling to find it um difficult to picture how it's going to look one of the hero selections in this
10:11kitchen area is a unique round window dubbed the porthole so we're doing a big round window for
10:17david's porthole the pirate yeah yeah so we're going to send him off to sail and waving goodbye
10:26let's hope the ship hasn't sailed yet
10:31on the bright side it looks like dave may have an apprentice in the making
10:35and he'll need the extra help as the issues with this old house keep compounding
10:44everyone's saying pull the whole freaking house down but house has been here since 1950 and i'm not
10:49doing it we probably should pull it down oh come on get out of here we're going to start pulling the
10:55roof off next week as well so i mean once we start doing all that then we can start seeing a lot of
10:59action and get moving and the roof upstairs is going to be cathedral so it's going to look beautiful
11:09six months has passed and we can finally see some progress on site the frames are up and the roof is
11:16off the franklins have been renting around the corner and with the lease coming to an end dave
11:23started to make some promises he couldn't keep every wife's worst nightmare is that i said the house
11:29will be finished in two weeks time so guess what we're doing we're shifting to another rental just
11:34for a couple of months so yeah dave and jane had the engineering completed however after removing the
11:41ceiling and seeing the structure it became evident that the engineering wasn't adequate for their plans
11:47on the upper level an extensive amount of rectification needed to be carried out to support
11:53the work being done upstairs so much so that little actually remains of the original structure should
12:00have pulled the house down and just built a new one almost almost upstairs the results are worth it
12:06though coming up that spiral staircase you can see straight out to the bay it's highlights like these
12:11that are worth taking advantage of this can be just one big window there was an existing window
12:16there we've pulled it out we've framed it as big as we possibly can having a roof line that's four
12:20plus meters high is you know it just creates so much space um the windows are a lot taller as well
12:26so and there's a big focus onto the bay view here and that's why i'm a lot calmer because i'm sort of
12:30like wow it's going to happen you know at least someone is feeling calm the same can't be said for jane
12:35she thought she'd be moving in by now instead she'll be moving to another rental summer and i are having
12:42bets on it at the moment we're thinking late this year that it might be finished um david's saying
12:48to me june don't you know the rule dave under promise over deliver off-site dave also seems to
12:57have his hands full we didn't have a holiday and we got the jump on this year with all our other jobs
13:02that are coming through and so we've got a massive thing going on at the block at the moment we're
13:05building five pools i've got the today's show bushfire relief that's starting next week and we've got you
13:10filming us today so taking up our time so there you go right now i see why the renovation might be
13:16running behind we're back on site at dave's slow going renovation where they've fallen months behind
13:28schedule it's been a year since our first visit so add six months on top of dave's initial six
13:36month renovation plan we're gonna try and do it in six months jane is frustrated with the progress
13:42where are we at we're at where we were six months ago when i asked for open plan living he came to
13:49the party we have open plan living i love it i quite honestly love it she desperately wants to get moving
14:02and start on the interiors but that still seems like a while away i'm such an organized person
14:07but he won't take the next step because he's got to get his own organized it's like well what about
14:17dave seems happy with the progress outside but inside is another story the power is out the roof looks
14:24like we can get that on soon so uh steel guy's been here today the pressing issue for dave will be getting
14:30the roof on once that's completed the rest of the build will advance i can't do much more until the
14:36scaffold's got to come down and get the render done because otherwise start doing finishing touches and
14:41it's only going to get wrecked
14:45as winter comes so does yet another perilous setback coronavirus cases in victoria have jumped again
14:53the world is reeling from the impact of covert residential building has been deemed essential
14:59allowing dave's renovation to press on yeah whilst we can work it's it's good so that's pretty much
15:06the only thing we can do looks like lockdown has actually been a blessing for this project
15:12extensive work has been completed on the balcony areas the cape cod vision is starting to take shape
15:17in the form of the weatherboard cladding all the windows have been installed and the roof is on and it looks
15:25spectacular out back they've completed the decking although progress has been made it's still a long
15:35way off being a home i wonder how the timeline is tracking yeah good no maybe no i've got to be in
15:43this christmas it can't be you know 2022 you know if we can shift in on christmas day i'll do it
15:58a week out from christmas and although there is some noticeable progress the franklins are indeed
16:04not in for christmas i'm surprised we're not going to put a lift in this house by the time we move in
16:08we're going to be in our 70s further covert restrictions have limited dave to having
16:18only five people on site at a time delaying the build by months again i can tell you right there
16:24our christmas holidays will be yeah well yeah we'll be here jane will be down the zx oh no i'll be here
16:30because i've got a style of a hand so it's going to be uh very it's going to be very very busy for us
16:35on the upside the outdoor area is really starting to take shape
16:41so i can't wait to get in that pool it's amazing you've done something right
16:48what they have done is re-engineer the carport with the plan to create a series of brick arches
16:53on top of the feature posts come off this line through here do another arc another
16:58arch and then a big arch and that's going to frame out the front door it's a big boot uh this far out
17:05but you know are we going to get done hell yeah inside there's been some progress they've carried out
17:11all the electrical and plumbing the walls have been sheeted and they've pieced together a statement
17:16seller out of reclaimed bricks i kind of like the old brick here so we actually pulled out the newspaper
17:23that was from 1960 so especially when i put the newspaper in a frame and put it up on there so
17:28we're going to actually leave that old school thing so because all the house is going to look new
17:33and we'll make sure that i'm just not the only old thing in here today on site they're rendering the
17:38exterior and installing the windows and doors something they're both excited about is the very
17:44impressive front door we've got a new front door that's going in oh yeah amazing i'm so happy about
17:50the front door yeah being a pivot door it will provide a grand entrance but will also provide
17:56some practicality so the last door that we have here i think is 850 wide so this has gone to 1200
18:01so that's quite a big opening for us so we sort of need it now oh walked into that one dave
18:09to get jane back on his side he wants to show her something he knows she'll like
18:15the walking wardrobe it's massive it's massive so you can like
18:21is that how you're doing the wardrobes well it will be because i've never had a walking wardrobe before
18:25so it's just amazing
18:30no i'm really really excited because um i think now we've got to the final detailing now and i think once
18:36the doors are on the plaster's been done it's really just us fine tuning really isn't it just
18:41getting the big things in like the kitchen the floors and some window dressings but it's where
18:45we're on the the way home yeah i'm on track to be right it's actually two years in may it's two
18:52years in may have heard we're not no one's counting time okay i mean like no one's you don't need to
18:57can't it is as i say it's the jam
19:08dave's family home renovation is finally making some solid progress considerable work has been
19:15done on the exterior and interior dave's landscape design has been slowly coming together through
19:20the build process but now it's time to put the foot on the pedal with such an impressive house in the
19:26making dave will want impressive landscaping to suit and one of the heroes in this area is the
19:32feature olive tree olive tree boom
19:37dave will be using this large olive tree as the centerpiece along with these mature grass trees
19:43he's already planted to frame the pool area we won the block with it so so if it's a winner there
19:49can certainly be a winner in my backyard but is the olive tree too big when you're at the farm it
19:55doesn't look as big big is better isn't that what they say so but yeah now we've got to i'm just
20:00going to ring the guy to make sure i can cut it down a little bit so i can fit it in can i cut knock
20:06off a little bit of that is that going to be a problem okay all right they'll be planting the tree
20:11in this raised planter area the concern is that if the roots are too big it will put excess force on the
20:17steel causing it to fail and start bending luckily dave's got a wealth of experience to draw on so a little bit
20:24of creative horticulture we'll get the tree in five men strong they lift the heavy olive tree into dave's
20:32digger transport it to the planter box and lift it off
20:41as you can see it's hard work but you can see that it's worth it the moment the tree falls into place
20:48hey there we go
20:53honestly we've kind of worked our design around having this beautiful olive tree here as i keep
20:57saying chalky colors always give you a great looking garden
21:05it's a new day and with it comes another massive inclusion to the backyard one of the major features
21:11in this backyard is the glass that's going into the spa here i've got my mate coming down from
21:15queensland he's come down today to help me put the glass in i've probably been waiting for this to go
21:19in for probably about four to six months to be honest so today's a good day a rather painstaking
21:25process first they have to hook it up to the crane by hand four guys wasn't enough so one of the
21:32cameramen had to jump on one end of the 600 kilo pane of glass once it's strapped in the crane operator has to
21:40slowly guided over the neighbor's fence where dave and his mate will delicately lower it into position
21:47slow and steady they get the job done that went fine it's in
21:56jane has arrived to check up on progress she's clearly pretty happy with the work being done
22:01at the back and something that also should put a smile on her face is the work being done inside
22:06as her huge walk-in robe is being installed as well as some detailed tiling work
22:16she's desperate to start filling the house with her furniture pieces
22:20i've been going to sleep every night thinking where i'm going to place everything i'm really excited
22:25because i like decorating and placing items in the correct spaces it's going to take me a while david
22:32said it'll take me a day but clearly he does nothing with the inside um but it'll take me a bit
22:37longer but that's okay we've got heaps of time once we move in i just really want to get in
22:42not long now jane a month later and 18 excruciating months past their deadline dave and jane have brought
22:50text aside to show him what they've been busy working on will you remember these last time you hear text
22:55oh maybe i reckon the build has been going for what felt like my whole life i'm looking forward
23:03to you seeing your bedroom now i am as well wow oh oh you haven't seen this no i haven't seen it
23:11oh it looks good doesn't it my favorite thing is definitely in my room where there's a little
23:16cubby up there and there's a little platform and it's like a kind of a bed i don't know how you're
23:21going to get up to your crib up the top there yet i've got ways i've got ways take all my girlfriends
23:26too as if you're not going to have girlfriends oh my god dave also wants to show tex his sister's
23:33room aka the cave room why is it the cave because she hides in it all day this is a pretty cool room
23:40it is pretty cool but she's actually got a non-suite yeah that you don't have and then she's got the
23:44outdoor balcony yeah i'd be trying to swap rooms yeah i do but i'm kind of grateful then you can have
23:50all your girlfriends out there he doesn't have girlfriends his only girlfriend is the mama
23:55wish i couldn't heal mate with the bill time dragging on the family have been staying at a
24:03rental around the corner the house is set to be pulled down after they move out and it seems as
24:08though the franklins may be happy to see the back of it if there's another rental i think dave and i will
24:14probably be going to the courts maybe when when do we start so we're done 2019 2020 2021 around
24:23y'all should finish the house
24:24on a spectacular spring day in blackrock melbourne architect sean lockyer pays a visit to the
24:37franklins to finally see the finished home after four very long years well we're finally here after
24:46four long and arduous years on a project that so many others would have simply given up on but hard
24:52work and tenacity really does pay off the franklins have eventually completed their own hacienda with
24:58a mix of sweeping arches a lot of different materials and some playful architectural form
25:03from the outside this certainly looks like there's a lot going on but after all this time the big
25:08question for me is are they happy with the result and was it all worth it
25:23it's been a long journey suffice to say very very very long journey very long journey
25:28is that long it's very long i don't know what your long is but my long is very long what are you guys
25:34thinking about all of it right now well one definitely that we're finished okay uh two i've
25:40got jane off my back now because we have finished three we've got no more bins in the drive home to park
25:46our cars now obviously at the outset of a journey like this irrespective of what style one hopes to
25:52build irrespective of the amount of money one puts into it or how long one takes to do it you do this
25:57to make an impact in your family and to do something that your family can enjoy how does it
26:02all feel for them now that it's all done well well again it didn't take too long well it did take a
26:06long time right so we had the time to actually change the design as we were building it
26:15we've pretty much done every room as you know perspective you know our kids what we like and what
26:20we like in our lifestyle really given that you obviously you're a designer you've had a
26:27lot of experience you've had a lot of ideas that have been going around for a long time
26:31you've got a very strong hand in the interior design and the materials you're bringing two
26:36strong personalities together in a house where you've done a limited amount of documentation
26:41and then everything else has kind of been organic yeah would you do it again hell no there's been a lot
26:45of fights there's been a lot of fights a lot of arguments no so i do inside he does outside and
26:51he's tried so many times to get inside the house yeah and we've had so many fights over it but i always
26:56went in the long run well you've got to say well we're both born the same day yeah so two gemini
27:01so there's a recipe for disaster for us for well at the start um yeah you know yes we fought pretty
27:07much the whole way through pretty much there was not actually one nice fit you know i've got through
27:11the whole thing but um yeah we got there in the end and you know do we love the house absolutely so
27:17to do the journey again i think to be honest and you hit the nail on the head yeah documentations
27:22everything being designer yeah there was a lot of blood sweat from me and tears from david but we
27:28managed to get through it look the hardest thing for me you know and you touched on it before was
27:36you know facade of a house is one thing that's the first thing that you greet and that's with
27:40the landscape as well yeah and you know it was going to be all hamptons as you see upstairs and then
27:44i started uh probably not watching all those escapades sort of shows and pablo isma had all
27:51the arches and that i thought well geez you know that's all right
27:56this was probably pulled down about i think at least eight times the front facade so yeah so that
28:02costs a bit of money to get it right and look and again there's not many houses like it in this area
28:07and that's why we sort of love the arches and you know in designing landscape as we always say
28:12arches create space to that yeah and pablo escobar had it so why not you know so well i've got to
28:18tell you the escobar is a new reference for me in design i know there's a lot going on in the
28:27interiors i can't wait to see what jane's done yes given that your work's almost done outside here so
28:32if you're happy to show me through i was going to say you know i can let you inside
28:52so we've come up into the middle of what is essentially the old cottage i'm going to say
28:55old cottage in inverted commas because i i know a lot's gone on this roof but straight away what i
29:01really like about this space is as an architect i hate corridors i think they're just you know they
29:06dark they're oppressive they don't really do anything for the house and you've got rid of
29:09all the corridors here you've brought what is the original stair up into the space and then you've
29:14consolidated all of these spaces there's obviously an amazing sense of light about you get some views
29:18to the beach and i imagine this is probably quite a strong catalyst in the way that the whole
29:23upstairs has been planned yeah i would have to say well this was probably one of the biggest
29:27things that uh we changed in our design because in the original house you could actually touch the
29:31ceiling here yeah and uh it was it was just one corridor through here small bathroom small bedroom
29:37there small bedroom here yeah so now we've managed to get you know three bedrooms up here but all
29:42with you know bathrooms as well at the same time but the biggest feature we love is obviously having
29:46the six meter ceilings here yeah and that was probably one of the biggest things that we wanted
29:50too we can see some great bay views up here as well and yes that was the original staircase so that's
29:55the only thing we haven't changed in here but we fell in love with the house initially 17 years ago
30:01because of the staircase we love the staircase there's definitely a sense of cohesion about
30:07the sort of black and white themes i mean i love the the black floors and the herringbone and they're
30:13really gorgeous and you've taken that herringbone through in the marble in the bathrooms
30:19everywhere that you can you've chipped into ceilings and you've kind of opened up spaces in your
30:23your son's bedroom you've got that little um sort of bunk niche up at the the top um which is and all
30:29of that i'm assuming you discovered through the build that didn't exist before yes 100 well look
30:34we did do it with our summer's bedroom and you know she's got a high ceiling like this and then poor
30:39texio had this he's got the smallest room of the house and i thought oh all right let's give him
30:43something so we thought well he's young enough and he's got his friends come over and that's why yeah
30:46we sort of got that little mezzanine little spot for a bed up in the top there and it's kind of cool
30:51it makes every room different yeah just to interrupt you just for one second i did buy that
31:00light in bali and i said david you need to give me a roof that i can put the light in and so he
31:06managed that's why we did the roof yeah the light well if we yeah to be honest if you reverse back
31:10that's the one that cost me heaps yeah yeah i can't look at that one anymore
31:21there's some people that will attempt an interior like this and it will feel like they're trying to
31:25do it for somebody else so they're trying to capture somebody else's vibe yeah but this does
31:29feel like you guys in a really authentic way which and i think when one evaluates design and when one
31:35thinks about building houses you guys are trying to build a family house you've got two crazy dogs
31:40and you know two kids that are really young adults now and i think it is a space that really feels
31:46like a home it genuinely does you know and i think that's really i mean what the whole point of this
31:50is especially off the journey you guys have been through well we have to live here so we want to make
31:56it as um as easy as possible yeah after the break sean continues the tour this is obviously your
32:04world you know what were you thinking in all of this what was i thinking sean we're in blackrock melbourne
32:22to see this spectacular transformation it may have taken four years for dave and jane franklin to
32:30achieve this but the finished product makes it all worth it sean continues the tour
32:38so we're here in the main living space of the house with a beautiful north-facing backyard
32:42and you've obviously consolidated the dining the living the kitchen to create a really nice open
32:47plan space which makes a lot of sense probably to be honest was the hardest part okay so just even
32:51doing that little bit of extension just through there um just to get rid of all the hallways we
32:56had to put an i-beam through the top there and that was obviously coming in from the top otherwise we
33:01had to feed it through so this took a long time so when we decided to take the whole top of the roof
33:07off it was a lot easier to crane that in it was like a rabbit warren really wasn't this house it was
33:11like you'd walk through the front door uh those hallways like this little room here was our tv room but it
33:16was only from there to there a toilet there and a small kitchen yeah there used to be the lounge room
33:21out on the other side and that's where the spare bedroom is yeah we've kept the original um fireplace
33:26out there which got some nice original stonework and stuff like that but our garage believe or not
33:31was actually right here which is our sort of slash another rumpus room movie room getting the big things
33:37right having your living spaces open out to the north particularly here in victoria where you know
33:42you have longer winters and we're lucky to have up in queensland you get all this beautiful light
33:46coming through we enjoying a day today where your doors open beautiful light in the space you've got
33:52a lovely connection to all the landscape out the back these beautiful olive trees and beyond us i mean
33:57i think these spaces are working really nicely and i think also your kitchen spaces you've obviously put
34:02a lot of thought into the functionality of those because you've got the kitchen laundry pantry that's right
34:08yeah we wanted it sort of open plan living out here and you know it starts in the kitchen you start
34:13cooking you always end up talking to someone so you know what you can watch the footy talk to someone
34:18that's cooking there and end up here where we're sitting right now and sean what do you think of my
34:24porthole well i i wasn't sure whether it's your porthole or dave's porthole it's actually my porthole
34:31because um i came up with the idea didn't i and what was the initiation of that idea to open
34:38it up i just didn't like the squareness just a normal mirror arm window so i wanted it to be
34:43a feature and with david's beautiful planting of his bamboo it's actually nice and shady and green
34:50and it's nice and it's a different we started the craze of round windows recognizing this was a long
35:02journey a lot of things were organic you know to me it looks like you've kicked a lot of goals here but
35:06when you look at these spaces particularly are there any things that you think on reflection
35:10you'd be doing differently given the chance again maybe like dave
35:16yeah one that was a little bit too quick i was going to think that's a little bit too
35:20i was going to leave it till later look to be honest no it's it's actually sort of perfect for us you
35:25know if we go back through again the only thing that we would get bored on is that you know it's been
35:29a landscape and stuff like that everything's finished now it's sort of like you know you start looking at
35:33things and going do i like that plant should i change it so no i don't want to change it we've
35:38sort of you know customized everything for ourselves and especially downstairs here it is
35:43definitely different yeah yeah as you said it's hard to put a style on it i think everyone comes in
35:47and either says a well-traveled house or eclectic
35:53i love what you've done here you've got silver travertines you've got all this beautiful blonde
35:57stone lovely graying natural timbers this is obviously your world you know what were you
36:02thinking in all of this what was i thinking sean still wondering yeah yeah that's right that's
36:08exactly well you know yourself it is probably the hardest thing to design in your own place okay
36:13especially if you're a landscaper and you're doing it as a job um you know it started with the pool this
36:17is actually our second pool we had an original pool in first yeah and the best thing you know is
36:22obviously you know you've got to create rooms outside yeah and it isn't the biggest backyard but it's
36:26enough space for me to create obviously a pool zone um you also need to have a little bit of
36:30width between obviously the doors and the pool yeah and then come out here and this is what i
36:34always love is that you know through covert we had the fireplace you had the pizza oven and then
36:39we've got this beautiful sort of seating through here we use this fireplace all the time don't we
36:43even in summer we still use it because often melbourne gets cold overnight yeah so we'll sit around
36:48here with a group of friends and um with a bottle of red wine and enjoy the fire it's really lovely
36:53your point is a very good one is a lot of times people duplicate what they've got inside outside
37:00again and they go inside living dining outside living and dining they cover it and you go well
37:04why do you need both yeah and i think you know you you guys have been very clever to kind of create
37:09these outdoor rooms and this is a space that has its completely own character to inside it's a completely
37:15different space it's with a fireplace and everything that's got a reason for being that's completely
37:19different to inside to pulls the out here and i think it's fantastic that you guys are using it
37:23year-round if you don't mind me asking when you started this process you would have had an idea
37:29about what you wanted to spend yeah and when you finished it i had a budget of five six hundred
37:34thousand dollars but the real terms is like it was any day of the week at least one and a half million
37:38dollars to spend you know um yeah it was a lot of a lot more unknowns that we come across yeah again
37:44at the same time you said earlier on documentation is something that we should have really
37:48looked at a lot more gone through the house evolved a lot differently so we've ended up
37:52with well an eclectic house something that we love well traveled house yeah well over budget
37:59well that brings me to you know the preposition that we put at the beginning so it's been a hell
38:04of a journey you know and congratulations i think you know you you guys have maintained a good sense
38:10of humor which is important it's important for building it's important for marriage but i i think
38:14to your credit you know you guys have stuck to your guns you know you you've actually stayed
38:17the distance you know uh we said at the beginning you know that many a people that would have got
38:22divorced abandoned this thing done something worse and i i think you've answered the question because
38:27you've created a beautiful home for your family i don't think there's any question about that
38:31but do you feel like it's all worth it yeah look i mean the marriage of the house
38:37and i think it's very i think it was worth it we do have a beautiful house and we are very happy
38:42aren't we yeah no i don't know whether to cry or laugh but uh let's just say i'm glad it's the end of
38:47it and it's not four years yeah all right it's just under three years whatever but no look no absolutely
38:54really really proud of it proud of what we ended up with and it's a place that we come home and i love being
38:58here you know it's got everything there and as i said there well i wouldn't add anything else but uh
39:03the serenity the serenity
39:11as an architect this is a challenging project for me to comment on i like the idea of rules i like
39:17the idea of establishing decision making in a hierarchical sense that explores all the ideas
39:22captures it in drawings controls the process and gives it to a builder that is executed in a nice
39:27linear fashion what dave and jane have done here is almost the exact opposite they've taken a set of
39:32drawings almost immediately abandoned them and then set about making decisions on an organic and
39:38incremental basis but what they have done is taken their passion their experience and their knowledge
39:45of building and they've created it into a genuine family home that reflects their personality and is
39:51authentic to them and in the end they have created a coastal sanctuary for their family and i don't know
39:58that anything can be much more relevant or meaningful than that
40:10so
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