The renovation of a 1870s house in the Adelaide Hills gave Danielle and Brad a new way of life.
But finding that way wasn’t easy.
It was always going to be the final destination, but it was far from the intended route.
The husband-and-wife team, who have been together since they were 17, were all set on buying their rental property in Adelaide’s east – then Covid hit and the landlord reneged on the deal and moved back in.
“We always wanted to buy in that same area, but we soon realised we had been priced out of the market,” Danielle tells Place Journal
“Moving up to the Adelaide Hills was in our 10-year plan so we thought, ‘why not just start looking now and see what there is?’”
And there was something, alright.
They “fell in love” with an historic character home on 4000m2 of land, instantly.
The pair made an offer right away, even though it was barely livable, borderline unsafe and needed new plumbing and a septic tank.
“I cried in shock when the agent told us we had the highest offer and it had been accepted,” Danielle recalls.
Happy or sad tears?
“It had great bones, but it had so many big issues that needed to be fixed to make it livable,” she continues.
“It was very dark with drab carpets and lots of orange varnished wood, so we wanted to let more of the natural light in and make it feel lighter.
“We also wanted to make it feel more like us while making sure we kept the integrity and the history of the house intact.”
They well and truly achieved this in a six-month renovation – and then some.
“This house has allowed us to live the life that we always hoped for but weren’t sure we would ever achieve,” Danielle says.
“We always wanted chooks, veggie patches, a big backyard, fruit trees and an area to host family and friends.
“We walk to school and pick blackberries along the way, we swap eggs with the elderly couple across the road for soup and our next-door neighbours have become great friends.
“This house has given us so much more than just a roof over our heads, it has given us way of life that I still pinch myself every day.”
And that way of life begins in the kitchen around the big farmhouse island and all its beauty.
It’s the feature of a space that encapsulates the European country style of the home – and one where you really feel the warmth of the contrast between the white and dark timber colour palette.
Antique pieces that Danielle has collected along the way catch the eye, while traditional light switches, sourced with the help of heritage hardware specialist Tradco, further honour the dwelling’s history.
But, again, the journey to get there was an interesting one.
“It originated as a lead pencil sketch that Brad did in the back of our little girl’s homework book and we never swayed from it,” Danielle explains.
“The farmhouse island was a key piece in the overall design as we planned on basing our whole life around it - breakfasts, homework, baking and wine with friends were to be had around that table over the years to come.
“We had a lot of people questioning certain things, but we just knew that it was going to work and be the kitchen we had always dreamed of."
Brad isn’t just the owner of wealth management company Stellan Capital or one of only five men to have worn both the Crows and Power jumpers in the AFL, after all.
The couple may have relied on all the major trades during the renovation process but, despite coming into the project with “zero experience”, they were very hands on.
Danielle was on site every day as the project manager and, together, they took care of the design and planning aspects of the overhaul.
“Prior to this we couldn’t even operate a drill,” Danielle laughs. “Now we are building chicken coops from scratch and have a shed filled with tools that we actually use.”
Ollie was there, too. Nope, not the dog. Not a child, either.
But the famous retro caravan the pair renovated before buying the property.
And lucky it had been given a makeover, too – it was the family’s home while the major works took place, during the peak of an Adelaide winter.
If you haven't been to the Adelaide Hills in winter, it's cold. Beautiful, but cold.
With Danielle, Brad and their two daughters crammed in, the caravan, too, was borderline unlivable.
But, like so often happened throughout their journey, while the path wasn’t ideal, the outcome was a surprising and fulfilling one.
“We look back on this time and wonder how on earth we got through it. We knew it was a means to an end and we tried to make it as fun for the kids as we could," Danielle reflects.
“The hardest thing was the toilet trips at night. The kids would wake up and need to go and so you would have to put on your coat, your gumboots and run to the toilet in the rain then come back and take it all off again and try get back to sleep.
“But as hard as it was, it is something that we will look back on with nostalgic rose-coloured glasses. All being in there together, the kids sleeping above us, our family night-time chats, all making dinner together and in general just being the closest we will probably ever be in our lives.”
It’s true, Danielle and Brad now sleep downstairs in the new master suite that was created from the old library, and the girls are upstairs.
“We have three bathrooms which seems excessive but I don’t let the kids use one of them so I don’t have to clean it,” Danielle laughs.
A tight budget brought about its own challenges. Those three bathrooms will have to wait for a makeover, and those possums will be left to live in the roof a while longer yet.
But, again, sliding doors and all that.
Well, not literally.
“I wanted archways in place of some doors but that was going to be too expensive,” Danielle explains of the budget-affected decision-making.
“So we stuck with repurposing some old doors instead - and I absolutely love that we did that now and I believe the arches would have been wrong for the space.”
All's well that ends well, as they say.
Except for when the surprise ends with bright fluro green floorboards.
Yep.
Upstairs, they discovered the Baltic timber floors were still intact – albeit a few had rotted and needed to be replaced. But it started off as a good surprise.
The ending, after replacing, sanding and staining with a specific, tested colour, was anything but.
"I did many samples on the same species of wood and they all worked out perfectly, so I decided it was time to have a crack and do the entire area," Danielle recalls.
"I stained it all then let it dry and the next day when I came back, they were green. Fluro green. There must have been some kind of chemical reaction that caused it but we are yet to find out what.
"I was determined to not have to sand them again so instead I worked with a wax stain that I knew well and had used in the past and I waxed every single board by hand.
"It took hours and hours but it fixed the green and I didn’t have to re-sand, so I was very happy in the end."
And the surprises keep coming, although a little less dramatic.
The expansive gardens, divided into what seem like different secret areas, continue to be a place of discovery.
"I love that even two years on we are still discovering things about this house," Danielle says.
"Just yesterday I was pulling back some ivy and I found a huge lemon tree hiding under it all. We also once found an old fountain and pond in the garden that was hidden by weeds and bushes."
As Danielle and Brad found out along this journey, beauty is hiding everywhere.
Even behind green fluro stain.
Words: Jordan Pinto
Editorial styling/curation: Ashleigh Pinto
Photography: Shannon Wark for Place Journal
DANIELLE AND BRAD SYMES HOUSE RENOVATION
Built: 1871
Land: 4,530m2
Bed: 3
Bath: 3
WHAT THEIR PLACE TAUGHT THEM
Splurge and save together
There are certain items that you should spurge on and others that you can do on a budget. For us, the little details like our raw brass kitchen tap and antique replica light switches are such a stunning design feature in the house, and they were worth the extra bit of money. Whereas our downstairs flooring, we went with an engineered timber board over full timber which saved us a lot of money and in my opinion looks just as beautiful.
You can do it
There are so many people that will tell you that ‘it can’t be done’ or ‘there is a certain way to do things’, but if you really want it, you need to stick to your guns and find a way to get it. That is why Brad and I ended up doing so many things ourselves and we were coming from zero experience or ability. Just back yourself in and trust your vision.
Be unique
Try to blend vintage/antique pieces into your interior design… not only is it cheaper in many regards but you then have a unique, stand out piece that will become a feature of your home.
Scroll through to see what their place looked like before
Comments