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Grand Designs Transformations S02E01
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00:00While building a dream house is for some,
00:08This is brilliant.
00:09This is where we're up to.
00:11Many others are transforming existing homes.
00:14Got it. Got it.
00:17Smashing down walls, ripping out kitchens and digging up gardens.
00:23Oh, there you go.
00:25As they reimagine their homes as places to live, work and thrive.
00:30It's going to be a bathhouse. Why not, eh?
00:33Bathrooms are the hardest thing to renovate.
00:35I'll go turn that off.
00:37Come on.
00:39I'm going to die before we move into this house.
00:42I'm Anthony Burke, a professor of architecture.
00:46And I'm interior designer Yasmeen Janine.
00:50And in each episode of this new series of Grand Designs transformations,
00:54Every single person has kind of said, you're crazy.
00:57We follow the makeover masterminds behind two very different projects.
01:02I do question the stupidity of doing something like this.
01:05OK, this is good.
01:09In this episode, I'm in Melbourne to meet a young couple.
01:17Do you want to have a little cuddle?
01:19Creating something colourless.
01:21We're going all white.
01:22Are you minimalists?
01:23And colossal.
01:25I completely underestimated how large this house is.
01:28It's huge.
01:29On a shoestring.
01:30These were on a construction site.
01:32My biggest concern is that we find all these bargains along the way.
01:36And if we get to the end of our money, you can't go any further, right?
01:40Will their huge white box be something out of the box?
01:45They're bitten off more than they can chew and they're cheering like buggery.
01:48And I'm also in Melbourne, where white is blacklisted.
01:53Purple roof, purple walls.
01:55You really love purple, hey?
01:57Yeah.
01:59This vibrant couple.
02:01This is really our last fling.
02:03My health is slowly deteriorating.
02:06Fight back with colour.
02:08Blue, green, pink.
02:10Do you want a white kitchen?
02:11Do you want a blue kitchen?
02:12Do you want a green kitchen?
02:13No, I want all of those colours.
02:15Will it be a masterpiece?
02:17It's going to be spectacular.
02:19Or a multi-hued eyesore?
02:22The colour choice is, um, different.
02:27Melbourne couple Corinne, an account manager, and Mitch, a second generation Sparky, are
02:51on a quest for space.
02:53Where's Mummy?
02:54Can you see Mummy?
02:56Lucky then, they have Corinne's glorious family farm in Rokeby to escape to every weekend.
03:02Watch your fingers.
03:03Watch your fingers.
03:04Ooh!
03:05With daughter Audrey.
03:06I just absolutely love this space.
03:08Not having the hustle and bustle of the city life, and just being able to breathe and
03:12relax.
03:13They married in 2018, but their lives were rocked soon after.
03:19In 2019, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
03:24Cancer's a whole different ball game when you get thrown into it.
03:28We'd only been married just under 12 months when it happened.
03:33It has changed our expectations of life and our goals.
03:37You never know how short life's going to be, so we don't tend to hesitate.
03:42We tend to just jump into things.
03:43Like, we've really worked out that we want big things for life, I guess.
03:48They sure do.
03:49But, in the meantime, they're living in this tiny, one-bedroom rented apartment.
03:56I forgot we had the sandwich press in here.
03:59But that's all about to change.
04:01In 2023, Corinne and Mitch snapped up this 1950s weatherboard cottage in the leafy East Melbourne
04:11suburb of Mitcham for $1.1 million.
04:15Audrey, can you please show us the house?
04:18Come on, let's go.
04:20Please, please.
04:21Set on a massive 900-square-metre block, they've got the space they crave.
04:26This is our house at the moment.
04:28She's very derelict, hasn't really been touched in a long time.
04:32So the whole plan is to build, like, a really big extension on the back.
04:36Because bigger's better.
04:39Now I have to clean it up.
04:42It's going to have the best of both worlds.
04:44It's going to have that old cottage charm.
04:47Charm out the front.
04:48And then we've got this ultra-modern extension, I guess.
04:52It's a mallet house.
04:56It's a mallet house.
04:58It's neat up front.
04:59Party in the back.
05:00Sorry.
05:06Okay, I'm in.
05:08I need to meet the brains behind this mullet house for myself.
05:18There they are, Mitch, Corrine.
05:20Anthony, how are you?
05:21I'm good.
05:22You're well underway here, aren't you?
05:23We certainly are.
05:24Yeah.
05:25Actually, it feels quite spacious in here.
05:27From the street, I thought, ah, tiny little bungalow.
05:29Yeah, not quite.
05:30But it kind of opens up a bit.
05:31Yeah.
05:32How big are we going?
05:33The addition is 382 square metres.
05:36Yeah.
05:37That's enormous!
05:38Huge!
05:39And this is what, about 120 or so?
05:41Roughly, give or take.
05:42But all the design trends are going smaller and more intensely designed.
05:46Why are you going bigger?
05:48We love that open living feeling, so yeah, we definitely never thought this was going to
05:53be enough.
05:54Oh.
05:55We always thought we needed an extension out of the back.
05:57What's all this going to look like?
05:58So, we're going all white, no colour at all on the exterior.
06:03White inside as well?
06:04Yeah.
06:05Yeah.
06:06Are you minimalists?
06:07No.
06:08Well, we really love the tree at the front.
06:10That's what we bought the house for.
06:12So, we want to try and emphasise that as much as possible.
06:16Corinne and Mitch's mega build will honour the cottage's humble origins by preserving
06:22its south facing facade.
06:24But beyond that, their love of big, bold contemporary design takes over.
06:31The new extension will be strikingly white and completely windowless to the street.
06:36A blank canvas to reflect the shifting colours of the giant liquid amber.
06:42On the ground floor, old and new will marry to consist of three bedrooms flowing out to
06:48a massive open-plan living, dining and kitchen with butler's pantry.
06:53The only concession to the white on neutral colour palette, a striking red Venetian plaster
06:59bathroom.
07:00A show-stopping spiral staircase with a light-filled void will lead upstairs to the palatial main
07:08bedroom suite, which commands the whole of the second storey extension.
07:13A vast space in a vast house.
07:17When all is said and done, the new house will be enormous.
07:22But there's no turning back now.
07:26This is a very big footprint.
07:28When you're standing here, it almost looks too big, doesn't it?
07:31A bit overwhelming.
07:32How much money are you going to spend on all this?
07:34About half a million.
07:35Half a million bucks for effectively two and a half times the average home.
07:39Correct, yep.
07:40This is easily seven figures.
07:41What's your magic trick that's going to make this impossible task a reality?
07:45Hard yards. A lot of hard yards.
07:47And yeah, just really looking at any aspect where we can get stuff on Marketplace.
07:52We find those really good savings.
07:54And how long is all this going to take then?
07:56We'd ideally like to have Christmas here.
07:58This year?
07:59Yeah.
08:00That's six months away.
08:01He's promised me the family Christmas is happening right here.
08:05Will you still be standing come Christmas?
08:07Absolutely.
08:08Fingers crossed.
08:09I hope so.
08:15Corinne and Mitch's cup is full to the brim.
08:18And this bright and very large house they've designed for themselves certainly reflects their personality.
08:24But as they throw themselves into this mountain of an Altsen ad, and particularly with Mitch as the owner builder, I'm worried that glass could empty pretty quickly along with their wallets.
08:35And I've also got to ask, will all of their scrimping and saving ultimately get them that slick high-end finish they're after?
08:43With the footings and subfloor for the extension well underway out the back, inside the cottage, it's D-Day.
08:56Let's have a weapon of destruction.
09:03Gutting the old house for new rooms.
09:06All right.
09:08Like it or not, on their $500,000 budget...
09:12I'm too old for this crap.
09:14Roping in Mitch's sparky dad, Andrew, is one way to save bucks.
09:20I love spending all my time working on Mitchel's house.
09:24No, I think it's great.
09:25I think Mitch and Corinne are doing a great job, but I think it's too big for the area.
09:29But, you know, that's just me.
09:31I mean, the philosophy for you is you strive for the stars, you get to the moon, it's still the moon, so...
09:35Hey, Eddie, look what I found.
09:39I believe it's a mummified possum.
09:42Do you want to have a bit of a cuddle?
09:44Do you want a bit of a cuddle?
09:45Yeah.
09:51Nice and swelchy.
09:52It is gross.
09:54Four weeks later, the laughs have well and truly dried up.
09:58But everything else is sodded.
10:00Like, it's shockers.
10:02Weeks of rain has turned the site to mud and flooded the stump holes for the footings.
10:08Oh, my goodness.
10:09I can't believe we dogged these last weekend and now they're full of water.
10:13They're so full of water.
10:15I mean, look how deep they are.
10:17Like, that just goes in and keeps going.
10:20Hopefully the trusty pump can clear them out, otherwise we're going to get even more delays.
10:24And you still reckon Christmas deadlines are going to happen, Mitch?
10:28Um, hopefully.
10:31I love his optimism, but at this rate I wouldn't be counting on it.
10:35So it's about a metre and a half of water, do you reckon?
10:44Just down the road in Surrey Hills, husband and wife Nicky and Eric won't be going near white.
10:51It was getting a little bit pale, wasn't it?
10:55Their new house promises to be as colourful as they are.
10:59My look is quite alternate.
11:02It is now, but when they met, it was BC.
11:06That's before colour.
11:07I was at university and I saw this gorgeous, handsome, dark-haired bloke.
11:16Don't exaggerate too much.
11:18And I thought, I've got to meet this guy.
11:21We got chatting and kind of one thing led to another and many, many years later we're still together.
11:2947 years on and these grandparents are enjoying retirement.
11:37Here you go.
11:38Thanks.
11:40After Eric shook off the nine-to-five as a mechanical engineer.
11:46When I was working, we had to wear the collar and tight.
11:50Once I retired, it gave me an opportunity to go the full situation with the orange hair.
11:56And that really moved into my artworks.
12:01Hey Nicky, check this out.
12:03Oh, wow.
12:04That new passion includes turning roadside finds, like old car parts, into pieces of art.
12:12Looking around the neighbourhood, people discard their objects.
12:17And you think I can actually use these for my creative purposes.
12:21Eric certainly reinvented himself.
12:24And there's more change ahead.
12:26Leaving their Surrey Hills family home of 17 years.
12:30My health issues are influencing this decision to move.
12:35I've got problems with my cerebellum, which affects my balance.
12:40I have particular difficulty in walking up and down hills.
12:44So the area you're moving to is pretty flat.
12:48Flat in landscape, but not vibe.
12:51They're soon calling funky Fitzroy North home, where orange hair is nothing new.
12:59Because of our quirky nature, Fitzroy North, we felt quite at home.
13:05So Nicky and Eric will fit right in.
13:07But the single-fronted terrace they bought as an investment in 1984, for $68,000, is the odd one out.
13:17Robbed of all its Victorian features in the 60s, it's off the heritage list.
13:23And that means free reign.
13:25We've been able to go crazy with our imagination.
13:29You'll be approaching the house from saying,
13:32Wow, this is really different.
13:34The neighbours are quite happy to see the worst house in the street being fixed up.
13:41Fixed up is one way of putting it.
13:44I'm not sure the neighbours know what they're in for.
13:47Hi guys.
13:49Hello.
13:50Hello. Welcome.
13:51I'm slightly confused.
13:53You guys are so colourful.
13:55I'm assuming you're going to add some colour to this.
13:58It's so mismatched.
14:00The whole facade's going to be changing to much more colour.
14:04It's going to be a Mondrian pattern in pastel shades.
14:09Well, Mondrian's so well known for the strong primaries, the yellow, the red, the blue.
14:14How come you went pastel?
14:16Well, that was to actually match the rubbish bins of the area.
14:20I love it.
14:22So this is a very long, dark corridor.
14:24What are your plans for here?
14:26Oh, there's big plans for this.
14:27We're actually going to make it darker.
14:29Oh, really?
14:30Yep.
14:31There's a purple roof, purple walls.
14:33You really love purple, hey?
14:35Yeah.
14:37And this is a new area.
14:39Each area has different colours.
14:41This will be the Memphis Inn compared to the Mondrian out the front.
14:46Memphis.
14:47We've got circles, triangles, circles.
14:48Squiggles, triangles, shapes.
14:49Three or four different shades of pestle.
14:52I don't know how it's going to look, but I love the commitment to colour.
14:59From the street, the terrace will certainly stand out from its more conservative neighbours,
15:06with a Mondrian pattern facade, but in pastel colours.
15:11Inside, the old floor plan will be reconfigured from three bedrooms to one, with a pink and blue bathroom.
15:18A purple hallway will lead to the dining room painted in green and pink triangles, inspired by the Memphis art movement of the 1980s.
15:29While the reconfigured kitchen will have multi-coloured cupboards, including some that will be mirrored.
15:35Out the back, a new addition, a conservatory bathed in light from a rainbow of roofing sheets.
15:43Such wildly clashing colour everywhere.
15:46What gives?
15:48I always use colour to cheer me up.
15:52It's a really great mood booster.
15:55What about the kids?
15:57Well, I think they're a bit worried.
15:59How are we going to sell when mum and dad pop off?
16:01And we go, well, that's your problem.
16:04We're not going to be here.
16:05So we're just doing our own thing.
16:09This is really our last fling.
16:12Like, we're both 70 now, and we thought, well, let's do something for us.
16:18I know you're struggling with some health issues at the moment.
16:22How are you feeling right now?
16:24My health is slowly deteriorating, where I have balance and swallowing issues,
16:30and that's similar to motor neurone disease.
16:34Probably about six or seven years, I suppose.
16:38I'll probably be in a wheelchair.
16:40Yeah, so if I don't do it now, it ain't going to happen.
16:44Wow. And how much is this all going to cost?
16:47$500,000 to $600,000.
16:49And how long is the build going to take?
16:5110 months or less.
16:53Time is of the essence.
16:56It's great that they want lots of colour in the house,
16:59but it's how they're using it that's got me worried.
17:03There's no doubt that colour can affect your mood
17:07in both positive and negative ways, depending on how it's used.
17:11To create a beautiful, harmonious space,
17:14there has to be some rhyme or reason behind your colour selections.
17:18But they're splashing a lot of cash on what could be a lot of clash,
17:24and that doesn't sound very mood-enhancing at all.
17:30It's spring.
17:32Time to rewind the clock as the terrace is stripped back to bare bones.
17:40With decades of add-ons being erased,
17:43it gives builder Vicki Young a blank canvas to create her client's masterpiece.
17:47Are you all under control?
17:51Oh, we're at all I know.
17:53So the big challenge for us, working with a visionary client like Eric,
18:00who has got so many ideas and things are evolving,
18:04means that we're going to have to be flexible.
18:07Whoa.
18:09Whoa, let's do another one.
18:10As new ideas come to the table, it inevitably will add time and costs.
18:18You've made a smiley face in the kitchen.
18:20I made a smiley face in the kitchen.
18:22Very on brand.
18:24Back in Surrey Hills, Eric and Nicky had always planned to sell the family home.
18:30But now it's becoming more pressing, and the house is on the market.
18:34There's always so much to do when you're moving out.
18:38Haven't done so much cleaning in ages.
18:42Yeah, you may notice on my face, there's several marks.
18:47With my ataxia, my stability when walking is not really great.
18:53The time to move is now.
18:55If I don't do it now, it's not really going to happen.
18:5820 kilometres east in Mitcham,
19:08it's now two months into Corinne and Mitch's six-month plan
19:12to upsize their humble weatherboard.
19:15Gee, this one's heavy.
19:17Their biggest challenge?
19:19Keeping their giant white house out of the red.
19:23And with a budget of just 500,000,
19:25they're hunting and gathering like there's no tomorrow.
19:31Mitch's work warehouse looks like Aladdin's cave,
19:35with $120,000 worth of booty that is scored for just $30,000.
19:43This is one of our bars.
19:45The other one's packed up.
19:47We've got three light fittings there.
19:49I might make those into lamps.
19:51These were on a construction site going into the bin.
19:53My biggest concern is that we find all these bargains along the way,
19:59and if we get to the end of our money, what do you do?
20:03You can't go any further, right?
20:05So it's kind of a bit of a, yeah, a bit of a scary thing.
20:10Desperately trying to stay on budget,
20:13Mitch has been working the figures and reworking the design
20:16to find savings.
20:18But it's not easy.
20:19We've got back some timber pricing and it's come back astronomical.
20:25And I'm a little bit scared because I didn't budget for that sort of timber pricing.
20:31So I've gone down the rabbit hole of steel, light grade steel,
20:35and the prices are coming back a lot cheaper.
20:37So we'll see what happens.
20:43The big test, a visit to the steelworks.
20:46All right, Mitch, why don't we have a quick look at what we've put together here.
20:50To find out what can be lost and how much they'll save.
20:54We've actually pulled out about four tonnes of structural steel.
20:57That's amazing.
20:58Your cost saving on structural steel alone, supplied, installed and packed,
21:02is probably upwards of $40,000.
21:04Yeah, right. That's awesome.
21:06It's going to sing. It's going to be great.
21:08100%.
21:10It's a neat solution and a massive win.
21:13By using light gauge steel, it's reduced the amount of structural steel.
21:19But two weeks on, there's a catch. A big one.
21:22Retrofitting the new steel framing to the old timber footings.
21:27We installed this massive bit of timber under the floor over the weekend
21:31to take the new load-bearing wall above it.
21:34But the measurements aren't aligning so far,
21:36so we're just trying to work out if we can lift one column and drop the other.
21:41So...
21:43Yep.
21:45Yeah, it's sitting about 50 mil in.
21:49Reconfiguring the plans for the light gauge steel
21:52has caused a giant-sized conundrum with the measurements.
21:56And things are getting worse by the minute,
22:00with more steel arriving.
22:02Ah...
22:08Well, yeah, you've got to figure out this problem.
22:11Um, yeah.
22:13It's been a little bit of a hiccup.
22:15Yeah, this is not looking good.
22:18A few suburbs away in Fitzroy North, colour lover Eric's on site,
22:29bringing building designer Anita Sweeney up to speed in the bathroom.
22:33On my wall, on this wall, is in this pink one.
22:38Yep, that's it.
22:40And the ceiling will actually be blue.
22:42Great. Good.
22:44Ah, the challenge is getting all of the colours and ideas.
22:48Um, Eric is great because he has a lot of ideas,
22:52hence why we're up to an F revision of the plans now.
22:54And, yeah, getting that refined and onto paper is really challenging.
23:00Around the corner, Eric and Nicky are staying in short-term accommodation
23:05after selling the family home.
23:08Now they can move forward.
23:10If only Eric would stop tweaking his plans.
23:13I use Pinterest for my ideas in terms of colours.
23:19The more you look, the more you find.
23:22I just really have to keep ahead of Vicky.
23:25The, ah, the builder, the colours and movement,
23:28that's all very flexible until the last minute.
23:31Eric's latest research has uncovered a multi-hued product
23:36for the conservatory roof.
23:38We have lots of colours.
23:39These colour polycarbonate panels are going to work so well.
23:44They're not just like the old single sheet things.
23:47Yeah, well, I'm sure if you were happy with it,
23:49you'd go ahead with it anyway.
23:51Oh, yeah, that's right.
23:53After 47 years together,
23:56Nicky knows when to pick her battles.
23:59It's sort of Eric's project
24:01because he's come up with the ideas for all the colours.
24:04If it's too crazy,
24:06well, you can always put a coat of paint over it.
24:10But, yeah, I'm just being optimistic about it
24:13because it's a very stressful time.
24:15We just want to have a really lovely final part to our lives,
24:21the way that we want to have it.
24:22These two projects... Yeah.
24:26We've got complete opposites.
24:28Nicky and Eric are going crazy bold,
24:31and I'm really worried
24:33that it's going to be too much in their small terrace.
24:35Well, in Mitcham, Mitch and Corrine are the complete opposite.
24:38They have gone full in on white for the facade of their giant house
24:42and a very neutral palette inside,
24:44and I'm worried it's going to feel soulless.
24:46So here we are in Melbourne's Northcote,
24:49where this 1930s semi-detached Californian bungalow
24:52strikes the perfect balance
24:55between a neutral interior and meaningful colour.
24:57This is fantastic. Isn't it amazing?
24:59How good's the colour, though?
25:01Yeah, the colours...
25:03Architects and owners Monique and Scott Woodward of Wawawa
25:05chose a palette for their three-bedroom home
25:07to create the feeling of a nostalgic hug.
25:09It feels very womb-like, doesn't it?
25:10And very inviting.
25:12Yeah, it's got that kind of, like, snug, warm feel about it.
25:15Oh, yeah, except now we've got a, like, a boom!
25:17Full stop.
25:19I know. The Fluripop's nice, though, right?
25:21Yeah, it's good.
25:23I personally love that colour.
25:25I love that colour.
25:27I love that colour.
25:29I love that colour.
25:31I love that colour.
25:32Yeah, it's nice, though, right?
25:33Yeah, it's good.
25:34I personally love that combination
25:36of something really warm and neutral.
25:38Yep.
25:39And then you pair it with something super poppy
25:40Something strong.
25:41in a small amount, and it's just a heavenly combo.
25:43Yeah.
25:44These are very Danish colours.
25:46These really rich ochre walls
25:48paired with this soft powder blue
25:50and totally inspired by the owners past in Copenhagen.
25:53She studied there.
25:55So then we move down the hallway.
25:56I can see there's colour down there.
25:58We've just come through colour,
25:59so it's like colour bookending this neutral spine.
26:00Mm.
26:01So it's actually a bright space.
26:03The architect owners simply call the house magic.
26:07And here's where it's been conjured.
26:10Crossing the threshold from old to new,
26:13a surprisingly voluminous kitchen, living and dining area opens up.
26:18This is totally unexpected.
26:20It's amazing, right?
26:21It is. This is brilliant.
26:22Anchored by a soaring six metre high dividing walls shared with the house next door in warm copper glazed brick.
26:32You know what I really like?
26:33You feel like you're walking into colour.
26:35It's not applied on surfaces so much as it's atmospheric.
26:39Yeah.
26:40So what's so beautiful about this palette is it's tonal.
26:43Mm.
26:44Whether it's a brick, terrazzo, timber, a natural stone.
26:48Yeah.
26:49It all carries this same beautiful terracotta flavour.
26:52Yeah.
26:53And those tones carry outside to the elegant sink foil arch.
27:00From the French for five leaf.
27:02For me it's about the design intent.
27:12Mm.
27:13Every move, gesture, colour choice, material choice has had a really thoughtful consideration behind it.
27:21Yeah.
27:22And I worry that Nikki and Eric, as brave as they are, some of their choices may appear a little slapstick.
27:28Yeah, okay.
27:29It's too...
27:30Too graphic.
27:31I'm like walking into a storybook from when I was five.
27:33Right.
27:34Right.
27:35Well I've got the complete opposite worry for Mitch and Corinne.
27:37They have a very neutral colour palette to the point where I'm worried that actually it's going to have no meaning, no life.
27:43Personality.
27:44No personality.
27:45Really what I think they can learn from this place is that idea of looking back at themselves and trying to find a way to express that, you know, in their project.
27:53A hundred percent.
28:01Back at Corinne and Mitch's, there's not much white yet.
28:04There you go.
28:06Just masses of steel.
28:08You're on?
28:09Yep.
28:10And after much wrestling with measurements...
28:12Come on.
28:14The solution was to lose 50 millimetres off the ends of the steel and now it's fitting together one piece at a time.
28:24It's been a challenging couple of days.
28:26Now you can see the structure.
28:28I completely underestimated how large this house is.
28:31It's huge.
28:34With the skeleton of this beast of a build bed, the original cottage looks, dare I say it, like a doll's house.
28:42So we've got a big day today.
28:43You're doing the cladding and then the windows.
28:47Still got a lot of holes to bog.
28:497,000 in total.
28:51Speedy us now.
28:52Look at this.
28:54Alrighty.
28:55It's a good start.
28:56Six to go.
29:00Corinne and Mitch are saving a huge amount of money by being so hands-on.
29:05Jump up here.
29:06Do you mind if mummy tries and works?
29:08But it's not all that's going on.
29:11Life's just so hectic at the moment.
29:14I'm trying to work full time.
29:17Look after the little one.
29:19Obviously just run daily family life.
29:22There are so many things that I'm worried about.
29:24I am the stressor out of us both.
29:27The other big stressor, hey honey, be gentle.
29:30Be gentle.
29:31Give Bentley pats.
29:32Is budget, obviously.
29:35I think we're doing a fairly good job, but you just never know.
29:38Things can just blow out at any time.
29:40Yeah.
29:41It seems Corinne spoke too soon.
29:44We had a pretty bad week this week.
29:47We ripped the roof off on Sunday.
29:50And then we've got to Monday with our roof delivery getting booked in and it just never showed.
29:57And then we've had about 30mm of rain this week.
30:00So pretty much every plaster board inside the building probably needs to be replaced.
30:05You sort of feel deflated a little bit, which, yeah, it's just another cost.
30:10The cost to remove and replace the plaster is $16,000.
30:17So it's a good thing they've found a flat pack solution for their spiral staircase.
30:24To save them big bucks.
30:27It's impressive that you're going to have a crack at doing this yourself.
30:30So you get 120 pieces to try and make work, so.
30:33Yeah.
30:34The pieces are prefabricated off-site.
30:37It's like Ikea when you get all the bits and you're like, I'm missing a bit.
30:41Then it's very much a do-it-yourself job.
30:45But it's saving them thousands.
30:49Oh!
30:50What have you done?
30:51What have I done?
30:52Instantly, oh, you've broken it.
30:54There's quite a gap on this side, Mitch.
30:56Oh!
30:57Flat pack assembly tests any couple.
31:00But this, this is next level.
31:02So we've got to put all the stairs in.
31:04OK.
31:05Are they numbered?
31:06Yes.
31:079, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
31:1016?
31:1116.
31:12Are there 16 steps?
31:13No, there's 17.
31:14Or 18.
31:15Oh, my gosh.
31:16I cannot find a number five.
31:19That would have to be a five.
31:22Because, no, that's 12.
31:24That's not just it.
31:25OK, so let's...
31:26I believe we're missing a piece.
31:28We will not know for sure until we get to the end.
31:32So we could have all this done and then go, shit.
31:37We've got to pull it apart.
31:39Not easy.
31:40Thankfully, the missing step was found, but with just six weeks to the Christmas deadline...
31:51Hi, Anthony.
31:52How you going, mate?
31:53I'm good, mate.
31:54Always busy, aren't you?
31:55Oh, always.
31:56Always.
31:57There's still a hell of a lot more that needs to happen to get it fit for Santa.
32:02What have we got here?
32:06We went with a linear cement sheet board instead of a standing seam.
32:11Standing seams for something like this would be about $200,000 to $220,000.
32:15We've got the panels for about $16,000.
32:18$16,000?
32:19Yeah.
32:20When it could have cost you about $220,000?
32:22Yeah.
32:23Probably spent three weeks putting this up.
32:25Yeah.
32:26So, like, that's a lot of labour, but I've done it, so it's all free.
32:30Yeah.
32:31So, here she is.
32:33The curved staircase.
32:34Ah, lovely.
32:35I know you both worked really hard on this.
32:38We did.
32:39Yeah.
32:40We did it together.
32:41Yeah.
32:42Great.
32:43And we're still here.
32:44You're still talking to each other?
32:45Yeah.
32:46So, how's our timeline looking?
32:47We are really pushing forward, trying to get in here by Christmas.
32:50Christmas is only six weeks away.
32:52Yeah.
32:53I mean, I'm an optimist, but just saying.
32:57Yeah, we need to get you out of here so we can get going.
33:00Let's go.
33:01Let's get going.
33:09Across in Fitzroy North, things are about to burst into Technicolour.
33:14That's the beauty.
33:16With the polycarbonate roof sheets ready to go up.
33:20Is this the right way around?
33:22It's not backwards?
33:23No, that should be the right way.
33:25It's the first time I've seen something quite so wild.
33:30At least it looks better than woodland grey.
33:35The colour choice is different, but it actually looks better than what I thought it would look.
33:44It looks awesome at the top.
33:46It looks like a rainbow when you look across it from here.
33:48The rainbow room.
33:49Oh, wow.
33:50Look at the colours that are coming in.
33:52Beautiful.
33:53Beautiful.
33:54Look at that yellow.
33:55I know.
33:56It's a real kaleidoscope.
33:58I'm getting the sense that some of the sceptics are coming around to Eric's kooky colours.
34:05Although the pink vinyl floor might be a stretch.
34:09People don't normally go for vinyl in the houses and they don't normally go for pink vinyl either.
34:14So...
34:18Blue, green, pink, white, you know, so it's a bit different here.
34:23Normally this type of vinyl wouldn't go in a house, no.
34:26It would be hospitals, schools.
34:28This is a bit of a different project, so, yeah.
34:32Until now, Eric's had no trouble with his unusual orders in a patchwork of colours.
34:38But he's hit a wall with the kitchen company.
34:41It's like, do you want a white kitchen?
34:43Do you want a blue kitchen?
34:44Do you want a green kitchen?
34:45No, I said, no, I want all of those colours together.
34:48And I thought, nah, that's not going to work for me at all.
34:51So I decided to find some vinyl wrap guys
34:54who are happy to do individual colours for individual doors.
34:59So we're going to wrap all the white cupboards with vinyl colours.
35:03Vinyl wrapping is like covering school books in contact
35:07by a specialist tradesperson on site.
35:11Eric's literally sticking it to convention everywhere you look.
35:16We're going to have three or four strategically located mirrors
35:21as cupboard door faces.
35:24In terms of when you have guests there, they'll, in the dining room,
35:28they'll be, hold on, I can see myself in the kitchen.
35:31So, yeah, it should add quite a bit of interest.
35:35And just imagine the interest from the neighbours,
35:38with the facade soon to get its pastel Mondrian makeover.
35:43It will definitely be polarising.
35:47People will love the colour.
35:49Some people will find it incongruent
35:52with other more conservative heritage homes.
35:55It will give the neighbours lots to talk about.
35:58I think interesting times ahead for this little part of North Fitzroy.
36:02Over in Mitcham, the White House is living up to its name.
36:17Except for one brave dabble with bold colour...
36:21That's so thick.
36:23..in the downstairs bathroom.
36:25It's scary. Super scary, but...
36:29So this is Venetian pasta.
36:31So what it actually is, it's a Carrera marble
36:34grinded into marble dust.
36:36And, uh, once we apply it, you'll see, uh, see the magic happen.
36:40Bit of Tuscan in Mitcham.
36:42Colours in your face.
36:43It's loud.
36:44The rest of the house is quite toned down.
36:47The proof will be in the pudding, I guess.
36:51Speaking of pudding...
36:53Christmas is coming.
36:54..yep, in just five weeks.
36:57And there's still a sackload to do.
37:01Want a hold?
37:03Take it.
37:05..with little tradie lady Audrey...
37:08Nice and light.
37:10..and Pop Andrew mucking in.
37:13That's one big island.
37:15Like, you're more of a continent than an island.
37:18They've bitten off more than they can chew
37:20and they're cheering like buggery.
37:21They really are, so, yeah.
37:26It's the start of December and a sweltering 42 degrees.
37:31It's, uh, not where you want to be.
37:34Definitely want to be down the beach.
37:36In the main ensuite,
37:38the heat is the least of their problems.
37:41The stonemasons have come in and installed the bench.
37:44They've walked all over the floor
37:46not knowing that it was laid the day before.
37:48This tile, including another ten behind me,
37:51don't actually have any glue on them
37:53because they've actually delaminated.
37:55It sucks because I've had to rebuild the whole floor.
37:58Re-prime, re-waterproof.
38:00We were hoping to get in before Christmas.
38:03I think, uh, we can kiss that deadline goodbye, unfortunately.
38:08MUSIC
38:21In Fitzroy North, it's full steam ahead...
38:25..it drew us a plan of what's going where.
38:27..with one of Eric's more out-there ideas
38:29about to spring to life.
38:32Excellent.
38:33The Boring White Kitchen is getting vinyl-wrapped
38:36by experts Ethan and Edward Stephenson.
38:40We've done thousands of kitchens,
38:41we've done thousands of obscure colours,
38:43but I've never seen all of them in a collective in one go,
38:45so... Yeah.
38:46..exciting project.
38:48And it's about to get more exciting
38:51with Eric's latest brainwave.
38:54One thing, I was looking at changing,
38:56not doing these big doors,
38:58but doing the fridge instead.
38:59Yeah, uh, green and yellow.
39:01We'll have a look, yeah.
39:06Traditionally, we don't wrap that many fridges, um,
39:08but we definitely can look at fridges if customers want us to.
39:14Eric's colour choice probably wouldn't be
39:15what I would choose to put on my kitchen.
39:17I think my wife would kill me
39:18if I came home with those colours,
39:19but Eric's gone for some really interesting colours.
39:21You'd be really good on screen protectors, too.
39:26No-one can get them right.
39:33As the work continues on schedule,
39:35painter Huss is primed to start work in the hall.
39:40Nice colour.
39:41The colour called purple envy.
39:44But there's a problem with the undercoat.
39:46That's not going away.
39:49We can see, like, the patches,
39:52the old plaster work.
39:57So if we haven't fixed those defects,
40:01it's not going to look good.
40:02It is dark purple,
40:03and with those colours, dark colours,
40:06you can see even, like, the little dots.
40:10I have to call the plasterer to come back
40:13and fix all these defects
40:15before we start, like, the painting colours.
40:19With the planned ten-month project now in jeopardy,
40:22it's bad news for Nicky and Eric.
40:27See, you can be a painter at the house, you see.
40:29Oh, yeah, great.
40:30Yeah.
40:31Yeah, well, I tell you what,
40:32I'm getting keen for it to get finished.
40:35Yeah, we've got about two months to go.
40:38We'll just have to monitor it closely.
40:41Because they can't afford delays.
40:44I'm not up to the walker stage yet,
40:46but my walking's gone off a bit.
40:49I've had one fall where I've injured my shoulder.
40:53But you have to make the most of it.
40:57Well, making the most of it
40:59is what this project's all about.
41:01Turn around, turn around.
41:03After all, they named it The Fun House.
41:05Excellent, excellent.
41:07I just hope the building fun and games
41:10don't hold things up for too long.
41:32It's winter,
41:34and even colourful Fitzroy North
41:36is struggling through the grey.
41:43I'm just hoping the sunshine's been dialled up
41:46at Eric and Nicky's.
41:57Oh!
41:58What?
41:59I have no words.
42:07This was never the intention.
42:09It was Mondrian and pastels,
42:12and look at it on the streetscape,
42:14on a heritage conservation area.
42:17What on earth would their neighbours be thinking?
42:19This is every colour under the sun.
42:22It's so much to take in,
42:24but the more I look at it,
42:26the more I like it.
42:28Well, I mean, look at me.
42:31I'm wearing pink pants, aren't I?
42:33I don't know.
42:36Nicky, Eric, get on out of here.
42:38I have to know what on earth has happened to the facade.
42:43When we talked, this was Mondrian, this was pastels.
42:47How did you end up here?
42:50Well, time moves along, and things develop,
42:54and we actually developed into these patterns.
42:57Is this actually allowed?
42:59Yes, it is.
43:00It wasn't a heritage type of facade.
43:03So no troubles going this bold?
43:05No.
43:06And do you love it?
43:07When I saw the brief of what Eric had accepted,
43:11I thought, this is crazy.
43:13It's not going to work.
43:15Yeah.
43:16But it's stunning.
43:17I just feel so alive,
43:19and it makes me feel so happy
43:21to see all this gorgeous colour.
43:24And the three-dimensional has been so successful.
43:28Yeah, the trompe l'oeil detail at the top,
43:30it really enhances the architecture.
43:33Well, we've given it a lot more life.
43:35No, really?
43:36It's like a living house.
43:38And that's what I love so much about this.
43:41Well, this is actually going to become heritage listed.
43:44So in 50 years' time,
43:46you're going to have to protect this facade.
43:49And so what have your neighbours thought?
43:51Have they said anything?
43:53Well, we've had divided opinion, right?
43:56Some people say it's great.
43:58Other people say it's fabulous.
44:01But never anybody who's gone,
44:03oh, too much for me.
44:04Oh, yes.
44:05There have been people like that.
44:06I think it'll take time for them to embrace the colours.
44:12If this is what the outside looks like,
44:14I can only imagine what the interior is like.
44:17Take me inside, please.
44:19Come inside.
44:20Come in.
44:25What do you think of the purple hallway?
44:28I'm back in the 80s.
44:30An 80s colouring book or something.
44:32It's crazy.
44:34Is this tape?
44:35Yeah, that's tape.
44:36Did you individually cut flat tape?
44:39There was about, oh, 60 metres of tape we cut up and applied to the wall.
44:45Like, who paints their corridor purple and has black confetti tape marks?
44:51I wouldn't have done it myself, but it's growing on me.
44:53I love it so much.
44:56I was really worried about the darkness when you had proposed this originally.
45:00But I think by introducing a lighter floor and a really strong graphic,
45:05you kind of get thrown into this emotive space.
45:11Well, you're really moving from a very tight enclosing space to what will open out.
45:18It'll be like a birthing experience.
45:21It's a lovely, calming relief from it all.
45:37To wear the confetti morphs into continuous lines, delivering me into I have no idea what.
45:48And here we are.
45:49You almost need to take a double take.
45:57It's incredible.
46:02Wow.
46:03I want Mary's in my cabinetry.
46:05It's such a great idea.
46:07It was really a lot more successful than I'd thought.
46:11And it wasn't as in my face as I'd thought as well.
46:16So I'm really thrilled.
46:17I'm going to be very happy in the kitchen.
46:20The colour palette is really interesting.
46:23You've got bright pops of red, purple, lime green.
46:28And then you pair it with these pastels.
46:31They're completely different colours.
46:33They shouldn't go together.
46:34But there is something that just makes it click and makes it work.
46:39There is an exception to all this colour.
46:44The conservatory walls are white, with good reason, to catch the reflections from the rainbow of roofing sheets above.
46:56Everywhere you look, Eric's love of the Memphis art movement of the 80s pops out.
47:03From a glow up of blow up, to the geometric pastel wall and beyond, to all of Eric's wonderfully quirky touches.
47:17So you were looking at a 10 month construction build.
47:21Where did you end up?
47:22It took about 12 months, including all the fabulous artwork within and on the front facade.
47:30You had about $600,000 for this.
47:33Did you end up somewhere close?
47:35We spent about $700,000.
47:38The artwork probably went a bit further than what we had actually expected.
47:44So, yeah, we felt that, hey, that was good value for money.
47:50So you said this was your last hurrah.
47:53Did you pour your heart and soul into it?
47:57I enjoyed this project so much.
48:00I'd almost contemplate doing another one and another one and another one.
48:12Well, with a man like Eric, nothing would surprise me.
48:18But for now, it's time to stop and smell the roses.
48:23I'm looking forward to a good relax now.
48:25Yeah, it's been a long, hard road.
48:27No.
48:29These colour warriors refuse to use the C word.
48:34Conformity is 100% off the table.
48:39Cheers.
48:40To the fun house.
48:42Yay!
48:43Many more parties to come.
48:44Yes.
48:46And that kind of individuality makes my heart explode with sheer delight.
48:52CHOICE
48:54Lseconded horn
48:57hazır.
49:00Back in the leafy green streets of Mitcham,
49:04Back in the leafy green streets of Mitcham,
49:17Corinne and Mitch's supersized, bright and white cottage extension
49:21is finally finished.
49:24And I'm just a tiny bit nervous to see it.
49:34That is a load off my mind.
49:36Look at this, this, this is phenomenal.
49:40It's big all right, but the new volume is stepped back from the street,
49:45allowing the old cottage to set the scene.
49:49Hi, Corinne, how are you?
49:51Good, how are you?
49:52Great to see you.
49:53Congratulations to both of you.
49:55This is just so pretty.
49:57Yeah, isn't it?
49:58It's so cool.
49:59Especially with that tree that I know you love.
50:02You knew this colour, you've had this in mind all along
50:05and now it's just popping, isn't it?
50:06It's such a perfect time right now
50:08because it's like all autumn colour and, yeah, it looks beautiful.
50:12You must be feeling so relieved.
50:14Very.
50:15We were cleaning last night and, yeah, we had that moment
50:18where I just couldn't believe it was our house.
50:20That's pretty special.
50:21Yeah.
50:22We can't wait to show you.
50:23Well, then show me.
50:24Come on in.
50:25Lead away.
50:25From the front, at least,
50:30all the charm of the original cottage is preserved.
50:33Weatherboards, sash windows, old screen door and all.
50:37So this is the old part of the house as we step in here.
50:41But cross that threshold and everything changes.
50:45I like how you say the old part of the house,
50:48but actually it feels really contemporary.
50:50So we've left, what is it, the 70s
50:52and we're definitely in the now.
50:53And then you've got this fabulous...
50:55We call this a living room or a sitting room?
50:56It's actually Audrey's playroom,
50:58even though it doesn't kind of look like it.
50:59But, yeah, we'll have a little...
51:00Lucky girl.
51:00Yeah, I know, right?
51:01Yeah, it's huge.
51:03So bedroom's over there,
51:04round past the playroom and...
51:06We have a sneaky office around the corner here.
51:10And then this...
51:13Isn't it epic?
51:14Just have a breath.
51:15Just have a breath.
51:16Yeah.
51:17Look at this.
51:18This is magic.
51:19It really is.
51:23With its beautiful and textural Venetian plaster,
51:26it's more like a piece of sculpture than a staircase.
51:30Hard to believe it was a do-it-yourself job,
51:33and it certainly sets expectations for the living areas beyond.
51:40Oh, yeah, this is...
51:42Wow!
51:43This is fantastic.
51:45Isn't it?
51:45Yeah.
51:45Wow, what an impression it makes.
51:47I was expecting a kind of a pretty soulless white box,
51:51but this is anything but.
51:53The colours, the chocolates, the kind of the weight,
51:55it's very grounded.
51:56It feels warm already walking in here.
51:59I'm actually getting a very 70s Italian or European sort of vibe.
52:04The finishes in here,
52:05and the furnishings in particular,
52:06look, you know, well, very expensive.
52:08Like, you spend a bit of money in here,
52:10but I'm kind of getting the sense
52:11you've been very clever about this.
52:13Very clever, yeah, yeah.
52:14All right, come on, give me the secret.
52:16I've got a pretty tight budget to go with,
52:18so, yeah, just trying to find things
52:20from, you know, marketplace and scratch-and-dent stuff,
52:23and, yeah, it's proved pretty well.
52:26So, like, for example,
52:28that table there,
52:29it's normally 20 grand,
52:30and we've got $500.
52:31Shut the gate.
52:32Yeah.
52:33$500?
52:34What else?
52:35We've got our range hoods,
52:36so they're worth $16,000 for the two of them.
52:40We've got both of them for $1,200.
52:42This is so good.
52:44This is just the stuff we can see.
52:45Yeah, yeah.
52:45I'm sure that's happening everywhere.
52:47Everywhere.
52:47Yeah?
52:48Every room, building materials, everywhere.
52:50So, yeah.
52:51I love it.
52:51I love that attitude.
52:52But, I mean, the main thing is here,
52:54looking around here,
52:54I would never know.
52:55There's certainly no sense of any scrimping.
53:04From the wine cellar
53:06to the butler's pantry and mudroom,
53:11the palatial parents' retreat upstairs
53:14to the landscaped outdoor entertaining area
53:18with a super-cute cubby for Audrey.
53:23There's little, if anything,
53:25they haven't thought of.
53:28It's all sounding very X-y.
53:32I'm going to jump straight to the money,
53:34because I know it's been a big issue for you guys.
53:36You've had your eye on that target figure,
53:39you know, all the way through.
53:40You said $500,000 you're going to do this for.
53:43I said, no way.
53:44$1.5 million.
53:46So, where did we end up?
53:48We ended up at $700,000.
53:51Really?
53:51So, still half of what you said.
53:53Yeah.
53:53That's fantastic.
53:54Yeah.
53:55Yeah, but there's definitely been sacrifices
53:57from not just us, but other people as well.
54:00So, yeah, I mean, without, you know, our family, our friends,
54:04even some of our trades helping out,
54:06I don't think we would have got here.
54:08So, in terms of time frame, then, you said in by Christmas.
54:13Six months to go, basically.
54:14So, where did you end up with that?
54:17We moved in on...
54:18Four weeks later.
54:19...Australia Day.
54:20Okay.
54:21Yeah.
54:21But it obviously wasn't finished.
54:24Yeah.
54:24It was kind of livable.
54:26I bet you're glad you got your weekends back and you're not dumpster diving for seconds
54:29anymore.
54:30That's a win.
54:31Well, it's almost going to be like an addiction.
54:33I'm going to be sitting on a marketplace going, oh, there's more stuff.
54:36I don't have any...
54:37I need another house.
54:43You've got to give it to them.
54:47The only thing bigger than the house is their remarkable energy and determination to get
54:54it done.
54:55Cheers, mate.
54:56Thanks, Dad.
54:57I can't believe we live here.
54:58It's so psycho.
55:00I can't believe we're finished.
55:01Finally.
55:02Finally.
55:02Finally.
55:03I'm having next weekend, though.
55:05Me too.
55:07So, Johnny, what do you think of our red powder room, mate?
55:15It's come up well.
55:16It looks awesome.
55:17Even the red throne?
55:18What do you think?
55:19It looks great.
55:20It looks great.
55:21I can't believe you haven't got red toilet paper, though.
55:24It's still in the mail.
55:25In the mail.
55:26It's come up well.
55:30Thinking big allowed Mitch and Corrine to achieve the seemingly impossible.
55:34Double the house for half the budget.
55:38In all fairness, they threw everything at it.
55:41Countless hours, lateral solutions, shrewd savings.
55:45They're the poster people for what tenacity and a positive attitude can achieve.
55:50Now that the work's done, all that's left for them to do is to sit back and grow into this
55:56place that they call home.
55:58Over the otherhinny, which I call home.
55:59All right.
56:07Oh!
56:09Whoa!
56:10Woo!
56:11Wow!
56:12?
56:12Wow!
56:15Baby!
56:15Yay!
56:16Bye!
56:17Bye!
56:18Tune to a feeling of love.
56:20Hui!
56:20� benef莘
56:21that I was so angry.
56:22Over theses
56:23number of people
56:24are so angry.
56:24Yes.
56:25What do you see?
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