Oct 22, 20234 min read

Sara and Luke's place: Renovation of a 1960s house in Adelaide

“That’s a future us problem”.

After painting the front fence and renting it out, that was Sara and Luke’s thoughts on renovating the 1960s double-brick house Luke bought when he was 21.

Fast forward a few years and that future came quickly, when household chores became near impossible.

“It all started when Luke was getting a little sick of washing the dishes,” Sara tells Place Journal.

Aren’t we all?

“Our kitchen was so dysfunctional, we had a massive double drainer sink with a single bowl that basically took up our whole benchtop – and that was only 450 deep,” she continues.

“It was a classic 1960s situation.

“We looked into how we could fit a dishwasher in somewhere and came to the conclusion that we should just replace the kitchen.”

And things escalated from there.

If the kitchen is going, so too is the old lino flooring and carpet, the couple thought.

Nek minnit, every wall changed colour, the fire alarm was going off in the wee hours of the morning and mum got paint in her eye.

Sound familiar?

Sara and Luke’s story is a relatable one.

Well, maybe not mum’s eye – but we’ll get to that later.

It’s one of love, blood, sweat and DIY tears. A couple making their first house their home.

There’s no major structural changes here, no need to submit to council, no I-can-only-dream-of-that budget.

But they made a difference.

They made a difference to the house, bringing it back to life. And, most importantly, made a difference to their own lives.

It wasn’t about trying to add resale value, as such, it was about them and what suited the house itself.

“We haven’t done much to the house that would’ve been too out of the ordinary to see in 1960,” Luke says.

“We have revitalised something that would’ve had a pretty good chance of not being around for too much longer otherwise.

“I grew up in this area… I grew to love the post-war 50’s and 60’s houses and their vibe.

“Naturally, as time goes on there are less and less of them throughout the streets but I am glad we got the opportunity to live in one for ourselves and to bring one back to more of its former glory.

“What means the most to me is the fact that we have made a difference to the story of the house.”

But what happened to mum?

“Our friends and parents also helped a lot throughout, which meant there was some rogue workmanship,” Sara laughs.

“The worst mishap would have to be when Luke’s mum was painting the ceiling and got a huge drop of paint directly in her eye. It was awful!”

Thankfully, it wasn’t related to the fire alarm going off late at night.

As most DIY renovators have done, Sara and Luke spent nights sanding doors and skirtings in preparation to paint.

But the couple didn’t have adequate ventilation and the fire alarm was constantly set off by the dust.

Dishes anyone?

“Just a lot of dust,” Luke recalls when questioned about the lows of the journey through renovation of a 1960s house.

“To come home from work just to work on the house into the night was pretty taxing, but still enjoyable and rewarding.”

Sara agrees, “The sheer exhaustion was really hard, but ultimately so worth it”.

Luke, an electrician by day, did all the plumbing, carpentry and electrical work himself as the couple took on most of the project, only outsourcing the tiling and floor sanding.

Or, as Sara puts it, “the jobs that we thought we’d f*** up if we tried it”. Good advice.

“Luke could do it all,” Sara explains.

“Before he was an electrician, he did a couple of years of carpentry, so he’s very handy.

“We just chose where we wanted to spend the money – for me it was the benchtops and splashback tiles that were important.

“Everything else was very DIY. Our kitchen is all from U-Install-It, and everything else was just cosmetic.”

Interior designer Sara took care of all the selections and finishes, describing the home’s style as “colourful, cosy and warm”.

“We love our house, it really exudes our personalities and has always felt very much like home,” she says.

“I love how it is always filled with so much light. I also love how our home just feels like us – you can definitely see our personalities shine through.”

Perfect? Maybe not.

But just right for them.

The house doesn’t lend itself to the idea of perfectionism,” Luke adds.

“It still has its quirks but I love them.”

And, just to be clear, no mums were really harmed in the making of this story.

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