Add CategoryTransforming this circa 1892 South Geelong cottage into a quirky family home full of hidden delights has been a life-changing experience for vendor John Gibbs.
The carpenter enjoyed the experience of designing and crafting the renovation so much it inspired him to enrol in architecture at Deakin University.
He describes finetuning and the adapting the initial second-storey addition at 197 Swanston St to suit the needs of he and wife Stacey Conroy’s growing family as a 10-year labour of love.
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“I really loved coming up with it because I sort of designed the whole house myself, and I’m a carpenter so I’ve been able to do a lot work myself which has been really great,” Mr Gibbs said.
“And then doing stuff like making all the benchtops and furniture – there’s always something going on here.
“It has evolved. Obviously we have got children now so we’ve got the cubby house and we had this dead space behind our kitchen that was initially our pantry and now has become this hidden toy room. It’s really fun.”
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The first floor living space has hosted two wedding receptions.
The outdoor entertaining area is a real treat.
The owners walked the South Geelong neighbourhood to find inspiration for its ideal facade.
The kids have also been known to take over the fire pit, which is now accessible via a slide off the cubby, and fill it with sand for play.
The weatherboard home was run down when the couple purchased it in 2013 with a view to renovating to maximise the 505sq m block.
A large tree in the back yard prevented them from extending out, so they went up instead, adding a large open-plan kitchen, dining and living area with sliding doors on a enchanting deck with a treetop vista and overhanging oak.
The living space, featuring a vaulted, exposed rafters and brick feature wall, has twice hosted wedding receptions, including the couple’s own.
Mr Gibbs said they designed the yard with a large, flat lawn area with their nuptials in mind. It’s now a children’s paradise, with a three-storey treehouse with a rock-climbing wall thrown in.
Vendors John Gibbs and Stacey Conroy were married in the garden, which was designed with the wedding in mind.
The living room has a beautiful treetop aspect.
The space was perfect for the couple’s wedding reception.
“It’s just been a really fun home,” he said.
While the original house wasn’t in great shape, the couple tried to pay homage to its era, incorporating their love of Queen Anne and Edwardian styles into the decorative facade.
They also salvaged what they could, restoring the existing entry and front door, lifting and relaying Baltic pine floorboards over new flooring and turning oregon beams into benchtops for the kitchen and bathrooms.
The kitchen also features a concrete island bench, double farmhouse sink and a Falcon freestanding induction oven and rangehood.
A spiral staircase links the first floor living area to the entry level that’s home to a large theatre room with a bay window and three bedrooms, including a sunken main suite with garden views.
The family bathroom is anything but conventional.
The cubby house is heaven for kids.
The sunken main bedroom suite is a peaceful retreat.
The family bathroom is another surprising treat, with a dreamy claw foot bath set under a perspex roof.
An extra loft bedroom with ensuite and living space with a kitchenette sit above the triple car garage with rear access.
Maxwell Collins, Geelong agent Shaun Carroll has listed 197 Swanston St, South Geelong, with a $1.399m to $1.499m price guide.