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Beyond The Build - Season 1 Episode 5 - Jimmy And Tam Wilkins
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00:00Building a house is more than just bricks and mortar.
00:07It's also about dreams and aspirations.
00:10Design and execution.
00:12Making memories and mistakes.
00:15Ultimately, it takes more than building a house to create a home.
00:19Join us as we go Beyond the Build.
00:30On this episode of Beyond the Build, it's TV Renault vs Real Life,
00:45as block winners Jimmy and Tam take the plunge on a Sunshine Coast doer-upper.
00:51Will living in the house, completing most of the work themselves
00:54and keeping up with everything life throws at them be too much to handle?
00:59Or will they climb to the top of the renovation mountain
01:02and achieve in creating their dream family home
01:05with all the colour, style and optimism they are known for?
01:12Can I say what I'm calling it?
01:14What are you calling it?
01:15I'm calling it Bohemian Cottage.
01:17I'm calling it Farm Springs.
01:20Well, that's catchy.
01:22It could be something.
01:24Farm Springs, I mean, if you think about it, it's a farmhouse,
01:27put some cacti in.
01:28Yeah, no, it's good.
01:29It's really good.
01:30It's really good.
01:31I'm not allowed to call it Farm Springs, apparently.
01:33No.
01:35This episode, we're in Pomona.
01:37Two hours north of Brisbane, Pomona sits inland from Noosa Heads
01:41and is known for its infamous mountain, heritage-listed buildings
01:45and distinct hinterland charm.
01:47Mount Karoora, home of the king of the mountain race of the past,
01:51overlooks the town like a comforting friend or seductive challenge.
01:56Whichever way you look at it, the area is blessed with natural beauty.
02:00And being in subtropical Queensland,
02:02the natural beauty is also privy to natural disasters, bushfires and floods.
02:08The mountain and the region even inspired Australian band Midnight Oil in their song,
02:18King of the Mountain.
02:20Sugar train stops at the crossing.
02:22Cane cockies cursing below.
02:24Bad storm coming.
02:26Better run to the top of the mountain.
02:28Jimmy and Tam, their daughter Frankie and their two dogs, Archie and Belle,
02:35had always dreamt of living on the Sunshine Coast.
02:38And being back in Brisbane after the block, it was time to strike.
02:42We were at a crossroad, really, and we decided,
02:45why are we in Brisbane? We really don't want to be here.
02:47Let's just move to the sunny coast.
02:49You know, the block had ended, auction was over.
02:52We didn't really have jobs at the time.
02:54So we were like, why are we even in Brisbane?
02:56We wanted to be up here, closer to all of Tam's family.
02:59And my family's not in Brisbane either.
03:00So we just bit the bullet and did it.
03:03And we ended up living in our caravan for about four to six months on and off.
03:08Which was amazing.
03:09We're the battlers from Queensland.
03:11We're the battlers.
03:13Yeah, buddy O's we are.
03:15And these legendary battlers from Queensland love a challenge.
03:20For Jimmy, a plumber by trade,
03:22and Tam, a bar manager at a Brisbane bolo,
03:25the opportunity to get on the block was one they relished and absolutely thrived in.
03:30What?
03:31What?
03:32From pouring beers to the biggest block winners to date at that time,
03:36Jimmy and Tam won many fans with their practical builds,
03:40paired with their bright mid-century inspired tastes for which they became known.
03:45And they are excited to inject this style again here,
03:48but also pay homage to the original home as well.
03:51This house is absolutely beautiful.
03:53It's got so much character.
03:55It's got the 360 wrap around verandas, the vaulted ceiling internally, the fireplace.
04:01I mean, the list goes on.
04:02Yeah, it's got great bones, great character.
04:04So we were drawn in from the start.
04:06After some nervous moments in an ever competitive property market,
04:10they eventually secured this home in their dream location and they couldn't be happier.
04:16We just love this little town.
04:17It's so beautiful and it's up and coming.
04:20There's an awesome gin distillery.
04:21It's got a great vibe.
04:23Everyone we meet is so lovely.
04:25For this family, a fresh start was what they craved.
04:28Or was it a fresh challenge?
04:32Inside the house, it's actually got a really strange layout.
04:37Well, it comes back to the 80s.
04:39Yeah, exactly.
04:40In the 80s, that's what they did.
04:41They had separate dining areas.
04:42They wanted to make that dining space a little bit more intimate and not so open.
04:46Yeah.
04:47We don't want that.
04:48We don't want that.
04:49We want open.
04:50You can see right behind us, the front entry makes no sense whatsoever.
04:55Another thing is the laundry is bigger than the bathroom, which I don't get that at all.
05:02Someone loves doing washing.
05:03They spend a lot of time in their ironing or something.
05:05I love washing, but I don't love it that much.
05:07Yeah.
05:08The wish list is growing, but with the house in reasonable enough condition,
05:12the family can live here whilst they plan and execute their renovation.
05:16And the plans they have to get it to their dream home are extensive.
05:21We do have some pretty big plans for this house and it's going to be a very cool house,
05:28but it is going to pay homage to the character of the house.
05:31We're not going to take the whole character away.
05:33We do want to keep it, keep its characteristics, but it's going to have a nice edge to it.
05:38The floor plan of this circa 1980s built house has remained pretty much intact for 40 years.
05:45A wraparound balcony, a pokey kitchen and living area, three bedrooms, one bathroom and an oversized laundry.
05:53Jimmy and Tam plan to make this into a three bedroom, two bathroom house by converting the laundry into the main bathroom.
06:01The existing bathroom will be reconfigured into the ensuite and walk-in robe, connecting to the master bedroom and creating a parent's retreat.
06:10Or as Tam likes to call it.
06:12Our, I don't know, adults area.
06:14Master suite.
06:15Master suite.
06:16Adults area.
06:17Yeah.
06:18Make it sound like a bloody swingers pad.
06:19Up to the adults area.
06:21In the living and kitchen, they plan to rework the entire layout, making it one large open space with a new kitchen and reconfigured living room centered around the existing fireplace.
06:33A new huge sliding door will lead to the space they are most excited about, their new outdoor living area.
06:40We've got a thousand square meter block of land, so we've got a lot of land to play with.
06:44And when we moved in, the land is completely unused.
06:47There was a crappy little carport.
06:50There was overgrown gardens.
06:51Yeah.
06:52So we're clearing all that out.
06:53And up the top side is going to be a nice big shed for me.
06:56When I get in the bad books, that'll be where I disappear to.
06:59Yep.
07:00And then as we work our way down the backyard, we're going to have a plungy pool.
07:02So four by three meter plungy pool.
07:05And then a little bit of grass and then a nice big deck.
07:09It's Queensland.
07:10In summer and a lot of winter, you spend so much time on the deck barbecuing.
07:15Exactly.
07:16We're entertaining.
07:17So, I mean, that part for us was the most important part.
07:20Definitely.
07:21And because of the way construction materials are at the moment with COVID, we are going to start outside and work our way in.
07:27When Jimmy says big shed, he means big shed.
07:33This baby will be a whopping 5.4 metres high.
07:37Plenty of room for the laundry, the cars and even the caravan.
07:42The colour of the shed will also indicate a new modernisation of the entire property.
07:47And there's even been talk of going completely black.
07:51This is where Tam comes in.
07:53She can see the colours.
07:54I get nervous about different colours, especially bold colours.
07:57I mean, we've been through it before.
07:58Yep.
07:59With the fuzzy peach in our block bathroom.
08:00And it paid off.
08:01Which looked absolutely amazing.
08:02And that's why I don't doubt you.
08:04Yeah.
08:05I just get nervous about it.
08:06Well, it sounds like the vision is kind of clear enough.
08:10Coming up, we see how far this budget will take them.
08:14And we find out if fortune does indeed favour the brave with some very bold decisions.
08:22And later, can we reveal the finished home?
08:25We're in Pomona in the Noosa Hinterland to follow the renovation of this 1980s house into a mid-century inspired dream home.
08:39But before any big works took place, a housewarming was due.
08:44We're having a housewarming in a couple of weeks.
08:46So it's not just a housewarming though.
08:48But because of COVID, we never actually got to have a party or celebrate with our family and friends of us winning the block.
08:54So it's a housewarming slash come and party with us and celebrate winning the block.
09:10The next time we visit, the revellers have recovered and a ton of work has taken place.
09:15What a difference natural light and ventilation can make.
09:24So as you can see, we've opened it right up.
09:29So a lot has happened since you guys were here last.
09:31We've pulled out all the internal walls in the kitchen living dining area and put some Velux up there in the ceiling,
09:36which has made a massive difference to that space.
09:38It's really opened up that vaulted ceiling area.
09:41Definitely.
09:42There's so much natural light coming down in there now.
09:45It's just that big wow factor as soon as you walk into that space.
09:48With the ventilation of the air, you can really tell the difference as well with having those in.
09:53It's been amazing.
09:54We've only had them in for a few weeks and it's just been life changing.
09:58With Jimmy and Tam's house orientated towards the north, the best way to take advantage of this ideal sun was to let in as much as possible from above.
10:10The only compromise of opening up the space, the need for a structural post right in the middle of the room.
10:17So pulling out all those internal walls, we knew we were going to have a bit of an issue.
10:21The structure that was there was supporting the roof.
10:24So the engineer came back to us just recently and he's told us that we need to put a post in that space,
10:29which we're a bit bummed about.
10:31But to be honest, I sleep better at night with a post there.
10:34These things happen along the way in your build, you know, you've got a, it was in our original design anyway to have the post.
10:41So we've already included it in our kitchen design as well.
10:44So it's not the end of the world.
10:46And now the space is an open canvas, ideas have been bubbling.
10:51What we've done is we've put an outline on the floor over here of our design for the kitchen just because we're very visual people.
10:59I know I am especially.
11:00Jimmy was like, why don't we just put electrical tape on the floor so we can like map it out and work out where everything is.
11:06There's definitely been a few nights up awake sort of thinking about the design and making sure that everything's going to work and it's all going to be nice and open.
11:13It's good to get that feel for the space because it's one thing to look at it on paper, but when we've taken all the walls out and then we taped it out on the ground, we had to sort of tweak a few different things and to bring that post into it as well.
11:26So it's good to get that visual feel for your space.
11:30Looking around the property, Jimmy and Tam have taken this idea outside as well.
11:35There'll be no mistaking where the big deck is going.
11:39Out the back I've sprayed out where the big deck is going to be.
11:42The grassed area where the plunge is going to sit and then up where the shed is going to be as well.
11:49I can't wait for it because that deck is that big.
11:52It literally doubles our whole entertaining area.
11:54It does.
11:55And in Queensland there's nothing better than a big deck.
11:58Just in Queensland.
12:00The other big change out here, the fence is up, but there was quite a lot of work to get it to this stage.
12:09Previously, this was also overgrown with a big garden there and then we've done a retaining wall.
12:15So you can see that land used to slope up to that point, but we've dug it all out.
12:20We've got space there for our plungee, big deck there, nice grassed area there.
12:25The modular wall that we've put in, it gives us that extra added privacy and it's a good sound barrier as well.
12:31Exactly.
12:32It just looks so neat.
12:33For a lot of the build coming up, having materials on site and ready to go will play a huge part in the timeline of this Renault.
12:41And in this post-COVID landscape, getting the materials is becoming the hardest and costliest part.
12:47You know, as everyone would know, the material shortage is a real thing and it's really expensive as well at the moment.
12:53It's been hectic.
12:54So making sure you've got everything is key.
12:57Our design and renovation has changed and scaled back about three times just because our original design now would be a $400,000 Renault,
13:06which just, you know, would have been a $250,000, $200,000 Renault, but everything has just doubled.
13:13Yeah.
13:14So we've had to redesign and scale it right back.
13:16And that's where Matt from Tonic has really helped us out in that way.
13:19Yeah.
13:20Because we did the whole design with him.
13:22You know, we sat down a couple of times, sometimes at the gin distillery down the road.
13:26And we just sort of drew out exactly what we wanted to do.
13:29And then, you know, as prices were rising, we were scaling back to make sure that we could get the Renault done.
13:35And I mean, even now it's still going to be touch and go and time is going to blow out a lot because the availability of materials is not there.
13:42Yeah.
13:43Something that's not the most expensive but always makes a huge difference with any project.
13:49Paint.
13:50We've got to go pick up the paint today and we are going to be painting all weekend.
13:54And the colour of choice? Black.
13:57We've chosen to go with the black theme in this house because it just makes everything green pop.
14:04Traditionally, everyone's just going white on white on white on white, you know, and this house lends to that.
14:10It really does.
14:11It does.
14:12But, you know, we've never been ones to sort of follow the mainstream trend.
14:16So we're going black.
14:17Yeah, the black colour palette, it's really cool.
14:19It's still got a country vibe about it.
14:22It's going to, the outside is going to be black, but inside it is going to be quite white with pops of colour here and there.
14:28Jimmy and Tam plan to paint the fence black, the shed will be black and all the bricks black.
14:35So it's going to really all come together beautifully, I think.
14:39Hopefully.
14:40It will.
14:41He, you've got to...
14:43I don't want to be painting over the black brick with white.
14:46I think that's going to take a little while.
14:48We're not going to have to do that.
14:49I've got a vision.
14:51I can see it.
14:53Not all the bricks will be painted.
14:55Inside, the fireplace will be left as is, as well as some feature bricks on the exterior.
15:01I think it's all going to happen at once.
15:02Yeah.
15:03It's sort of like the calm before the storm right now.
15:05It's getting everything ready.
15:06And then I think the plunge is going to come.
15:08The shed's going to come.
15:09The kitchen's going to come.
15:10It's going to be all hands on deck and pretty full on in about a month's time, I think.
15:14I don't think there'll be much sleep.
15:15It might even be like on the block.
15:16Are we building the shed at 3am in the morning or something?
15:18You can do that.
15:19I'm not.
15:20Exciting times ahead, but there is a mountain of work to be done.
15:24Later, Sean visits Pomona for the reveal.
15:27But how much will actually be revealed?
15:30It's been five months since our last visit to Jimmy and Tam's house in Pomona.
15:43Winter has hit and the fire is on.
15:47On the Sunshine Coast, you've got to make the most of these colder, ah, weeks.
15:52Fire's roaring.
15:54It is roaring.
15:55Well done.
15:58And the project is roaring along as well with extensive works completed.
16:06Out the front, we've got the shed done, the massive shed.
16:09So that's up.
16:10The deck behind us, you can see that.
16:11The pool's in.
16:12The pool's not operational yet, but it's in the ground, ready to go.
16:15Roof.
16:16Oh yeah, new roof.
16:17We've got a new roof.
16:18That wasn't expected.
16:19So that's one of those things that you hit a little bit of a roadblock along the way.
16:23So that's slowed us down a bit.
16:25Yeah.
16:26And caused a lot of internal damage after all that rain that we had at the start of the year.
16:31We got a lot of ceiling damage from the roof not being installed in properly when it was first done.
16:37So originally we were just going to paint the roof because it wasn't in bad nick.
16:40But the part that was installed incorrectly, I pretty much had to pull the whole top roof off to fix it.
16:46So I just thought if I'm pulling the whole top roof off, I'm not going to put old iron back down.
16:50So.
16:53And the first thing to go in was the pool.
16:58Our Plungy, we had to get that in before we built the shed because the difference between a Franna crane being able to drive it in and drop it in the hole and a hundred ton crane sitting on the street and lifting it over the house is about six grand.
17:10So the shed had to wait till we got the Plungy in the ground.
17:13So we dug the hole, pour the blinding slab, Plungy rocked up on a semi.
17:18Franna rocked up, Franna came in, semi reversed into the Franna.
17:22He lifted it up, put it straight in the hole and we're done.
17:25The other big change outside, the shed.
17:29Jimmy's wish of a big shed has come true.
17:32But what does Tam think?
17:34Okay.
17:35Yeah, I can tell you what I think about the shed.
17:36The shed is a bloody big shed.
17:37And the shed is not what I thought it was going to be.
17:41So Jimmy gave me plans and he told me about the shed.
17:44But then when the shed went up, I was like, mate, that's a bloody big shed.
17:49Now that we've had it for a while and we've been using, like, our caravan's in there, our laundry's going to be put in the back of it as well.
18:00Yeah.
18:01It could literally be bigger.
18:02And Jimmy's tool, all his toys and stuff.
18:04Mentals.
18:05Mentals.
18:06It's actually, yeah, the size is, it's understandable.
18:10There's been some new changes inside as well.
18:15I found a lovely lady by the name of Dee who does feng shui.
18:21And so, so with the feng shui in the house, we needed to make sure the fridge was in the right spot.
18:30She came into our house and took all these calculations of all the energy lines in the house.
18:37So when we had the fridge over here, it wasn't activating the right gear line, which it messes up with everyone's energy flow.
18:46So we needed the energy to come from this spot.
18:49And when I told Jimmy, he lost it.
18:53I didn't lose it.
18:54Well, you were like, it's not going to happen.
18:55Yeah.
18:56I was like, no, we can't do that.
18:57That's literally changing the whole design of the kitchen where we, you know, we've found the perfect design and it was going to work perfectly.
19:04Yeah.
19:05And Tim's coming and just throwing a spanner in the works.
19:08But it's one of those things that like, once you know, like once you've got that in your head, you can't not do it.
19:13Because then if something bad happens, you're like, oh, should we put the fridge over there?
19:17Yeah.
19:18But since we did it and since we've changed things, stuff has happened.
19:22And Jimmy's like, you know what?
19:23Yes, it's, hasn't it?
19:25Yeah.
19:26Yeah.
19:27See?
19:28Probably stuff that was going to happen anyway.
19:29You don't know.
19:30Oh, don't be like that.
19:31Yeah.
19:32When the feng shui talks, you've got to listen.
19:34And talking about unlocking a space's potential, check out the new door.
19:39I think one of the big things Tam missed on the inside is this seven metre bifold door.
19:44Oh, yeah.
19:45We've got the pedestrian access door here.
19:48And then we just fold back each section as we go.
19:51So when we sat down with Matt from Tonic, we said we wanted a big entertaining area.
19:56Because our internal space, the kitchen, living, dining, it's not big.
19:59And we know we needed to pretty much double it, if not larger.
20:02So with three handles unlocked, we get a massive open space to go out onto the deck.
20:10And it just makes this whole space work together.
20:15I love it.
20:16It's so good.
20:17Our internal space is about 70 square metres.
20:20Our deck is 90 square metres.
20:22So it's more than doubled our living space.
20:25And in Queensland, outdoor living is paramount.
20:29Am I in the background?
20:30Yeah.
20:31Jimmy and Tam are using recycled timber decking.
20:35Not only for this new outdoor area, but for the entire wraparound deck.
20:40And they are making sure not to waste the old deck as it gets replaced.
20:44That timber that we pull up, we've been using it for kindling for our fire.
20:48And we're nearly done burning up that timber.
20:50So I've got to start pulling up the deck so we can get more timber for winter.
20:55The new fireplace is also in the theme Jimmy and Tam are going with for the whole house.
21:00Black.
21:01And it's all starting to make sense.
21:04It's one of those things people start seeing black and they're like,
21:07oh, I'm not too sure about that.
21:09Yeah.
21:10But then when they start seeing the different stages come together,
21:12like when, you know, some of our neighbours, they saw the black fence
21:15and they were like, oh, that's a bit out there.
21:16Then they saw the black shed and they're like, oh, it's starting to make sense.
21:19And now they can see the black roof.
21:20Yeah.
21:21It's all starting to, like, make a lot more sense.
21:23Then landscaping is going to make a massive impact of this house.
21:26It's going to be huge.
21:27Because that's sort of what we're relying on to really bring it out.
21:31Or bring it all together.
21:32I think we're pretty confident with what we've got in our vision for the landscaping.
21:37Yeah.
21:38Are you?
21:39I don't know.
21:40Well, questions about the landscaping still remain.
21:43But life for Jimmy and Tam in Pomona is moving forward nicely.
21:47We're so busy.
21:48So I've got my own plumbing business, Bellark Plumbing and Gas.
21:51Tam's got Velzi Lane.
21:53Yep.
21:54So I've got my own homeware store now, which is in the centre of town.
21:58And I've also just recently become a firefighter.
22:00So it's a lifelong dream of mine to become a firefighter.
22:04I tried out about 10 years ago and didn't quite get there.
22:07Yeah.
22:08But just recently joined the QFES up here in Pomona.
22:11So I'm having lots of fun learning and training to be a firefighter.
22:16It's all stations go for Jimmy and Tam.
22:18And juggling their busy lives whilst also living in the renovation has been testing.
22:23We are living in the house whilst we're renovating.
22:26So at the moment, we don't have a kitchen.
22:28We have very little lighting.
22:30So you'll see around, we've got a few camp lights and a few torches and things around.
22:35We're living off our air fryer and the barbecue at the moment.
22:39And the microwave.
22:40Yep.
22:41That's how we're cooking food.
22:42It's fine.
22:43Good things take time.
22:44That's right.
22:45It's fine.
22:46Yeah.
22:47Are you just pretending to tell yourself that?
22:48No, I'm fine with it.
22:51We've got so many little things going on that I need to prep for and do bits and pieces.
22:57And because, you know, I'm trying to do a lot of it myself because I enjoy doing it.
23:01I love the self-satisfaction of doing it myself.
23:04With another Queensland summer right around the corner, they'll need to step on the gas
23:08to get this chain reaction of jobs in motion.
23:11Let's hope they can before living in a work site all gets too much.
23:20Three months later, we return to Pomona.
23:23Although there are some exciting changes to see, they are not coming as fast as Jimmy and Tam had hoped for.
23:29Things haven't moved as quickly as we wanted to, but I mean, I think with the weather combined with trade shortages and supply material shortages, it's sort of been something we've been battling the whole year basically to try and get this done.
23:43And I'm trying to do a lot of it myself, basically to save money, but also for self-satisfaction.
23:48I mean, this is our home. This is our house.
23:50And we really wanted to be able to put our own love and blood, sweat and tears into it.
23:57So, I mean, it has taken a lot longer, but it's all good.
23:59We're not in a rush. We're just chipping away.
24:01But we can start to see the finish line, especially with this outdoor area.
24:05I mean, we're just about to get the pool operational, which is really exciting because it is really heating up here in Queensland and it'd be nice to be able to just go for a dip.
24:14So that's where we're at. We've got the internal floor done. Kitchen's not too far away, so it's very exciting.
24:24One of the biggest things that's made such a massive difference for us was putting a coat of paint in the lounge room, dining area, kitchen area.
24:33It has just really brightened up that space and the flooring.
24:37It's just completely transformed everything.
24:46They've also had a big change of mind about painting the bricks black.
24:50The bricks on this house, they're made from a local brickworks, Kuroi bricks, which you actually can't get any more.
24:55They're quite a rough texture.
24:57So it actually looks like the bricks are just slapped together, but back then it was a feature they did.
25:02After learning about the history of them and growing more and more fond of their colours and charm, they've decided to work with the original bricks and make them a feature.
25:11The Kuroi Brickworks opened in 1951 and produced much of the bricks for homes and businesses in Noosa and the surrounding areas for decades.
25:21A blow for the workers and town of Kuroi, the factory closed in 2010.
25:27The bricks have become a reminder of the past for the area and keeping them is a nod to the old style and history.
25:33It's got that rough feel about that rough country feel.
25:36Yeah, and it's kind of a timeless design as well.
25:38So I think no matter what design you go with it, it's going to work.
25:43This is a huge turning point for the final look of this house and retaining features you originally thought should change often happens after living in the home for a period of time and learning about its history.
25:54Now that the outdoor area's foundations are built and uncovered, the space can finally be appreciated and just in time for summer.
26:06We've got the Bondor roof up there, 200mm thick sandwich panel. You sit under here, like today and yesterday we were sitting around 34 degrees I think it was.
26:14Because it's such a nice open space, the breeze coming through, it felt like, you know, 15, 16 degrees under here. It was just perfect.
26:23There's been some great progress around the pool also, as well as a never-been-done-before breeze block addition.
26:30We've done a few things that have never been done before, like right behind us, that wall behind the pool, the modular wall,
26:35with the breeze blocks, that had never been done before. I just thought, you know, let's give it a go.
26:40And it worked perfectly, like literally the 2.4 panels spaced out the breeze blocks perfectly for it to, you know, really work without having any sort of half bricks or anything along that whole space.
26:51Jimmy and Tam jump back on the brushes and paint this feature wall in unbleached calico.
26:57The mid-century slash country theme is coming together nicely.
27:01With the design of our house, we're trying to take a little bit of mid-century and a little bit of country and mash them together and make this house feel really cohesive.
27:10Our kitchen, which is getting done soon, really has some cool elements to it that I think people would be scared to do in a design normally,
27:19but we're running with it and I think it's going to be a pretty special kitchen.
27:25The best part about this is we're designing this house for ourselves.
27:28We don't have that added pressure of we have to sell it at the end.
27:31I mean, we don't plan on selling this house for a long time.
27:34So being able to make it for ourselves, for us to live in and do what we want to do
27:39and not worrying about, you know, ostracising the buyer or anything like that is really fun because we can do what we want.
27:45The downfall of living and breathing in your own renovation while you get pulled and stretched to do other things in your life is that it's difficult to finish.
28:00I feel like this is the real life renovation. I mean, because we hadn't renovated prior to going on the block, which was like three months, the house is complete.
28:08Now that we have to juggle our jobs, businesses, family life, budget.
28:14I mean, there's so much involved in renovating.
28:16I think this is a real story of how most people do renovate these days.
28:20It takes time. It takes a lot of time.
28:22But on the flip side, it can also be a joy.
28:25And for Jimmy and Tam, the finish line does not matter because this is real life.
28:31I think Jimmy's going to be that 17 year old man that's sitting on the porch, watching, like looking out over the neighbourhood.
28:39And the green kids are going to be sitting there and he's going to be like, I made that gate.
28:44I did that over there. Come and look at this and holding up his level and all that sort of stuff.
28:49And if we don't live here, I'll be sure to drive past to tell them.
28:52Like every good tradesman does.
28:54Yep. I made that gate.
28:57Completely finished, I would hope, by mid next year.
29:02Not a chance.
29:05Will they ever finally finish? And does it even matter?
29:09After the break, architect Sean Lockyer visits Pomona to see Jimmy and Tam's vision come to life.
29:22On a spectacular spring day in Pomona, architect Sean Lockyer gets a special tour of Jimmy and Tam's home.
29:32Jimmy and Tam moved to Pomona a little over four years ago.
29:36And immediately set about transforming a tired, but character filled house into a family home filled with the colour, charm and optimism that we've come to know them for.
29:47What really interests me is how living under the drama of the beautiful Mount Karura and living in this vibrant community have shaped their design decisions.
29:56In Queensland, in the subtropics, how we consider climate is everything.
30:01What I'm excited about is to see how Jimmy and Tam have embraced all of this and how living in Pomona have shaped their design vision.
30:16Jimmy and Tam, it's been four years since you guys have become Pomona locals, you've changed careers, you've built a house.
30:22What's the journey been like?
30:24It's been long.
30:25It's been long.
30:26Long.
30:27Long.
30:28But it's been good.
30:29Yeah.
30:30I mean, we moved to this place for a change of lifestyle, to get into a small community and it's been absolutely amazing.
30:40And I think that's been one of the most special parts of this whole process is living in the town, getting to know the people.
30:46Yeah.
30:47And I feel that has helped us change the feeling of how we live in our home.
30:50Yeah.
30:51The bricks in this home have got the grit and everything from this area and I feel like that has really encapsulated how we have created this home.
31:03Yeah.
31:04And the feeling of the home, the colour palette and everything.
31:07I love it when you see a reno where you see the character of the old house and, you know, clearly this old brick with a lovely snorted pointing and stuff.
31:16It's a really beautiful brick, first of all.
31:18So I think if nothing else, you know, that is the lovely character of this home.
31:21And then to see kind of how you clearly have embraced what was here, but then kind of extended it with all the sort of freshness of the contemporary black, which I love.
31:29You know, all the beautiful sort of succulent gardens.
31:32There's a really lovely character to the place.
31:34The renovation evolved over time.
31:36So originally our plans for this house were to go black on black and paint the brick black.
31:41And, you know, just we loved the black look of that.
31:44But then, you know, as we were saying, living in the house, we absolutely fell in love with the brick.
31:49And then the more story we heard about the brick and the localisation of it, you know, being from the Karoi Brickworks, knowing its heritage.
31:58I mean, we couldn't touch it.
31:59It had to stay.
32:00The black sort of just sits in the background.
32:10You've got all these elements.
32:11You've got your shed at the back, which is a beautifully Australian thing to do in a setting like this.
32:15You've got the little Wendy house and all the black sort of sits into the background.
32:18And then you really have here this beautiful kind of 60s modern balustrade and the brickwork.
32:24And I think it's a very, very clever strategy.
32:26I think also it makes landscaping pop.
32:28Absolutely.
32:29You know, I often say that, you know, while white in nature is a colour you might see on a beach and you might see it in, you know, plants and flowers every now and then.
32:37Overwhelmingly natural colours, browns, greens, greys, you know, maybe towards blacks.
32:42So I think when one thinks about the garden, when the subtropics, you think about landscape, to me, darker colours always think are more sympathetic to that.
32:50Around here, everyone does do the more native sort of style gardens, but we knew what we had vision for this property.
32:57And I can't look after plants for the life of me.
33:01So a garden that was really easy to maintain and put it in, forget about it.
33:07And it just does its own thing.
33:08She has forgotten about it. I'll look after it.
33:27We've come through the front door into the central living space.
33:33And what I'm already loving about this is the informality of it.
33:36You know, there's no big lobby, you know, you just come straight into that space.
33:39And behind us is this beautifully and critically important subtropical move of just opening that entire edge of the building up between the indoor and the outdoor space.
33:49And I'm imagining this is the heart of the house.
33:52How much of this was here already?
33:54I mean, there's this beautiful pitched roof above us. I'm imagining there's some new skylights, but was this all new?
33:59There was a lot of dividing walls in here.
34:01There was a formal dining room over there with a dropped ceiling.
34:07A wall here with the kitchen on this side of the house.
34:10Basically a mirrored set of French doors on this side.
34:13So it was all pretty much a big wall.
34:15Yeah.
34:16And it was all, it was really pokey.
34:17It was really pokey.
34:18There was no flow to it or anything, and it was really bizarre.
34:21So our whole goal was to open it right up.
34:23Yeah.
34:24And essentially this is quite a small space.
34:26Yeah.
34:27So by doubling it outside, it's really opened the space up for us.
34:32Yeah.
34:33We knew in Queensland we needed to, you know, celebrate our way of life and lifestyle.
34:40So doubling this space was a huge benefit for us.
34:43Yeah.
34:44And we spend so much time out there.
34:46Yeah.
34:47At the heart of great architecture, I think, is just a flow of space.
34:51An ability for people to live comfortably.
34:53Mm-hmm.
34:54You know, have relationships, engage with people in a meaningful way.
34:57And for me, a beautiful big opening, spending the money on the big beam that gets these lovely bi-fold doors to open,
35:03what is six or seven metres worth of openings.
35:06Seven and a half metres, yeah.
35:07And connecting with this outdoor space, I think, is incredibly smart.
35:11And I imagine this would have changed your guys' lives.
35:16We haven't made any huge drastic changes to the home.
35:20The footprint of the home is still here.
35:22Mm-hmm.
35:23And it's a small home, but it packs a punch.
35:24Yeah.
35:25So it's got everything we need.
35:26It's comfortable.
35:27It suits us perfectly.
35:30When we were designing the kitchen, a peach kitchen to some people would be a little bit overwhelming.
35:36Yeah, yeah.
35:37And, you know, it's definitely a risk-taking thing.
35:39Yeah.
35:40But it just flows so perfectly in this house.
35:42Like, the bricks have that peach in them.
35:44Yeah, yeah.
35:45So I feel everything was very intentional when we did choose the colour palette.
35:49Yeah.
35:50And it just blends beautifully in the home.
35:52I might also add that I had a feng shui consultant come into the home when we designed it.
35:59And I had to fully redesign the kitchen.
36:03Yeah.
36:04And Jimmy wasn't very happy about that.
36:06I'm not joking, but this house has a beautiful energy.
36:09Yeah.
36:10It has a really lovely feel.
36:12And it could be because of where my fridges now sit.
36:16Maybe.
36:22So the house originally was a three-in-one with a laundry internal of the house.
36:32So what we've done is moved the laundry out into the shed and turned that laundry space into our main bathroom.
36:38And the main bathroom became the ensuite and master bedroom and two other bedrooms.
36:52Yeah.
36:53But the kicker is, as a lot of people would be familiar with this day and age, is we haven't finished the master and ensuite yet.
36:58Yeah.
36:59I mean, that's life.
37:05Yeah.
37:06Life is very fast paced these days.
37:07Yep.
37:08We haven't completely finished it, so.
37:10Yeah.
37:11But we have the bathroom and the two other bedrooms.
37:13Yeah.
37:14I love doing the work myself.
37:16Yeah.
37:17So that's the whole, this whole house has been blood, sweat and tears from us.
37:21Yes.
37:22We're not waiting on trades.
37:23We're not waiting on anything.
37:24We're literally waiting on ourselves.
37:25Yeah.
37:26And so I'm just chipping away at it, basically myself, to get it done and, you know, put our love into it.
37:31Now, as you can see with the rest of the house, by living in it, you get a bit of better feel for the layout.
37:36You do.
37:37And again, we're trying to take this lofted ceiling, open space into the master.
37:42Yeah.
37:43And really opening that up.
37:44Yeah.
37:45After the break, we continue the tour and Sean asks the big questions.
37:49Four years, new careers, new house, new lifestyle.
37:53What have been the highs and lows?
37:54We're in Pomona in the Noosa hinterland to see this amazing transformation of a tired 1980s house into a striking contemporary family home.
38:17Jimmy and Tam have expertly managed to infuse a mid-century inspired style while still paying homage to the rustic charm of the original home.
38:28We've seen the facade and the kitchen.
38:31Time to check out the big deck.
38:33So we wanted to make it that big open air feeling because we get a nice breeze through here as well.
38:39Yeah.
38:40But then in the winter, we've got the fire pit area down the bottom.
38:42You know, no matter where you're sitting in this space, you know, we can have the adults here while the kids are in the pool.
38:47Yeah.
38:48Or on the grass or something like that.
38:50There's always that sense of connectivity between everyone that's here.
38:55What I think is also really smart with what you guys have done here is you've created a nice solid edge to the south,
39:01which is going to give you privacy and, you know, it's going to deal with some of that very, very late sun that comes through.
39:07And behind us over here, you know, the elevated roof is just such a clever idea because you're going to get that deep winter sun penetrating into the space.
39:16One of the major features we wanted with this house was low maintenance.
39:20Yeah.
39:21So we've got a 360 veranda that when we moved here was all hardwood timber.
39:24Yeah.
39:25And I mean, anyone that's got a timber deck knows that the maintenance that comes with that.
39:28Yeah.
39:29So we transitioned to our big deck as a Trex deck, and then we wrapped the whole house in that Trex deck.
39:34We've got the AstroTurf, succulent gardens.
39:37Everywhere in this house is low maintenance, and that's what we were aiming for.
39:43What that also means is that, you know, when kids are running around, instead of having all those muddy feet, which are going to land up on your beautiful timber floors.
39:50Yeah.
39:51You know, the dirt stays outside.
39:53You know, this ability to keep the house open just works that much better.
39:57And the fact that you've got these really deep covers out here and, you know, let's grab a seat.
40:02But with this lovely deep cover, you can actually have furniture out here.
40:06You can have upholstery.
40:07You can have outdoor carpets.
40:08You've got a TV out here.
40:10Yeah.
40:11And it really is a subtropical room without doors.
40:17And you would have noticed in the house the breeze blocks that we brought into the bathroom.
40:20We did that because they are the main feature of this outdoor pool area.
40:25Yeah.
40:26And that flows, yeah, seamlessly through the home.
40:29I also really like that, you know, you've carried this idea of the sort of 60s modern landscaping right the way through.
40:35Like you say, it is a low maintenance item and some really lovely landscaping that, you know, does celebrate that sort of mid-century modern vibe.
40:44I like to say it's country living, but it's got a Palm Springs vibe.
40:48Yeah.
40:49Yeah.
40:50Yeah.
40:51It ticks all our boxes anyway.
40:53Every single one.
40:57Four years, journey, new careers, new house, new lifestyle.
41:01What have been the highs and lows?
41:03Oh, we haven't had too many lows.
41:05Like it's been a good, it's been a great journey.
41:07Like, I mean, you know, putting our heart and soul into this house and chipping away and changing our jobs.
41:13You know, there's been a lot, there's been a lot, but we haven't had any bad.
41:18It sounds like it's been a really positive, optimistic and productive process.
41:23You know, there's obviously been a lot of change coming here.
41:25But, you know, what do you sort of see as the things that sort of maybe not, if not changed you, kind of changed your experience of the world being here now?
41:34I think it's slowed us down.
41:36Absolutely.
41:37Being in this town and, you know, the whole experience of the block and everything else has really reset our lives into a slower pace.
41:46Yeah.
41:47I mean, yes, the reno's become slower.
41:49That wasn't intentional.
41:50Yeah.
41:51That's just how it's become.
41:52But I mean, we, I mean, for myself, when I was a plumber in Brisbane, it was just go, go, go.
41:58We had deadlines.
41:59It was, you know, there was so much push forward and not taking in life.
42:04Absolutely.
42:05And I think moving to Pomona and renovating your own house and taking these new roles and jobs has really made us slow down and appreciate life so much more.
42:20When you can go to work and enjoy your job and come home and enjoy coming home, enjoy every aspect of your life, then you've won.
42:29Moving to Pomona was obviously a big move.
42:36At the time, did it feel like a big move?
42:39And I suppose the second question I've got is you obviously had a whole lot of expectations about how this would change your life.
42:45The dream versus the reality, it's obviously been positive.
42:48You've said as much, but how different is it from what you maybe expected?
42:52It definitely was a big move.
42:55I mean, we uprooted our whole life prior to the block in Brisbane.
42:58I mean, we loved our friends and everyone in Brisbane we were around, but we knew that just wasn't where we wanted to be.
43:04We wanted to be out up into the, you know, Noosa area because Tam's parents live up here as well.
43:10But it was a big shift and we were so unsettled at the start because we didn't know where exactly we wanted to live, where we wanted to be.
43:18And then it wasn't until we drove into Pomona and felt that sort of elation, the power of Mount Carora really set in that first time driving into the town.
43:28We knew Pomona was where we wanted to be and we had to make it happen.
43:32I couldn't imagine being anywhere else in the world.
43:37I'm always struck how the design process evolves as owners come to understand the character of the houses that they are renovating.
43:45And this is a wonderful story about how Jimmy and Tam have worked through the chaos and the dust and the dirt.
43:51And they rolled up their sleeves and found the energy, the passion and commitment to turn this house into a beautiful family home for them and their daughter Frankie.
44:00And I think if houses and architecture about anything, it's about people.
44:04And in the end, this is a good news story about people creating new memories in a space that's truly about them.
44:11Oh, that's worth it.
44:13My, my thousand years ago.
44:14Yes, and I know tens of thousands of people quadrants.
44:16My.
44:18My.
44:19My.
44:20My.
44:21My.
44:22My.
44:23My.
44:24My.
44:25My.
44:26My.
44:27My.
44:28My.
44:29My.
44:30My.
44:31My.
44:32My.
44:33Bao.
44:35My.
44:36Well.
44:37My.
44:39My.
44:40My.
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