Interior designer renovates house in three weeks while 7 months pregnant!

By Amy Collins-Walker •

With her first child on the way, Sydney interior designer Stephanie Ferrara was keen to move from her two-bedroom apartment into her first family home. The search was proving rather fruitless until an Inner West heritage home hit the market and Stephanie and her husband were the successful bidders at auction. “We purchased the home while I was six months pregnant, had a settlement period of a month and so had to renovate really quickly,” says Stephanie. She transformed the place with just $20,000 within three weeks and while working full time (not to mention seven months pregnant). Phew!

A colorful, small house with a brick facade and decorative trim, surrounded by a well-maintained garden and white fence.

BEFORE front

Front view of a house with a white decorative facade, red brick walls, and a small front yard with a fence. The house has a porch with white and black trim, a porch railing, and decorative wooden detailing. The roof is red with a chimney, and the sky is blue.

AFTER front renovation

The circa 1918 home needed a fair bit of work; not only was a lot of the timber falling apart but the home’s palette was an ‘interesting’ mix of aqua blue, brown, turquoise and pink. “We bought the ugliest house on the street and all of the neighbours said that they couldn’t wait to see what we would do with it,” says Stephanie who wanted to carry out a relatively small renovation in the short term with a view to extending the home in a few years’ time.

Living room with white walls, two framed blue and gold abstract art pieces, a wooden sideboard, a gray armchair with a blue pillow, a white couch with colorful pillows, a round wooden coffee table, a textured rug, large window with beige curtains, and decorative vases on the window sill.

BEFORE lounge room

Living room with a large flat-screen TV on a dark wood stand, a potted plant on a small round side table, decorative candles, a white plush ottoman, and a modern chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

AFTER lounge room

Living room with white couch, black and white pillows, round rattan coffee table, white armchair, furry beige ottoman, beige carpet, and white curtains.

AFTER lounge room

The renovation began outside where the home’s existing rainbow of paint colours was replaced with a much more sophisticated palette of Dulux shades including Domino, Monument, Teahouse and Shale Grey. “I chose Dulux Pink Dust for the front door because I’m having a girl,” says Stephanie. The home’s original iron fence was replaced with a picket fence also, greatly increasing the home’s street appeal.

A bedroom with a bed covered in pink textured bedding, flanked by two nightstands with lamps. There is a framed artwork above the bed and large windows with sheer curtains. A closet with sliding mirror doors is on the right.

BEFORE master bedroom

A neatly made bed with a beige blanket, multiple patterned pillows, and a small black pillow, in a bright room with white walls and curtains.

AFTER master bedroom

Almost a quarter of the renovation budget was spent on the floors where the blue and pink carpet was ripped up to reveal perfect timber boards underneath. A dark stain was applied and then all of the walls were patched up and repainted in Dulux Lexicon Quarter and Vivid White. “I wanted it to be quite monochrome and clean because it’s my signature style and the home also needed to be modernised to some degree,” says Stephanie.

Dining room with a glass table, four wooden chairs with beige cushions, a window with white curtains, a bowl of green apples, and two bottles of wine.

BEFORE “The dining room was like an aquarium with its turquoise walls,” says Stephanie

View into a dining area with a round wood table, black and green chairs, a window, and a black and white checkered floor.

AFTER dining

The kitchen underwent a small renovation (the doors and the bench top were replaced) while the bathrooms were overhauled with the Dulux Renovation range of tile primer and paint. “A client of mine did it as a temporary five-year fix and we’ve done the same thing. The bathroom is nice and fresh now,” says Stephanie.

White kitchen with black countertops, including a microwave, toaster, and gas stove, with a beige rug on the floor.

AFTER kitchen

Small white bathroom sink with a silver faucet, a soap dispenser, and a mirror above it in a minimalist white bathroom.

AFTER Tile paint freshened up the bathroom

A bedroom with a white bed, blue and white decorative pillows, a beige blanket, a wooden nightstand with a lamp, blue curtains, and a wardrobe with mirror doors, with an abstract blue artwork on the wall.

The house also needed to be completely rewired and while it was carried out by an electrician, Stephanie’s brother-in-law was on hand too. “He is an apprentice electrician, so he helped with all of the more minor jobs. Even I got involved with chasing cables up the wall,” says Stephanie.

BEFORE bedroom

A nursery with a white curtain, a small white dresser, a changing table with a wicker basket, a white cushioned changing pad, a plush bean bag, and a small chair with hanging toys. Light-colored walls with small polka dots and a beige rug.

AFTER nursery. Lovely Wall Co decals adorn the far wall.

“We moved in when I was eight months pregnant and I’m about to have the baby this month. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. It was obviously worth it but I’m exhausted!” says Stephanie.