It began with just $5000 worth of paint, carpet and air-conditioning, but it’s since been transformed.
When Jessie Byrne bought her 1970s cottage, it was one of the worst houses on the street.in 2010, could not wait to renovate the Central Coast home.Credit:“We were just a young married couple,” said Byrne, who purchased the home with husband Brad Cuthbert.The couple initially spent $5000 making small upgrades to the home. Once they had given it a paint job, new carpet and air-conditioning, they set their sights on a bigger project.“We always had that vision there.
The renovation took careful planning, budgeting and required patience. The worst part for Byrne was managing a constantly moving timeline. “We locked up the en suite for, I think it was 12 months, and it was just sitting as an empty wet area until we then had the cash flow ... and the same with our wardrobes.”“It was tear-jerking. I don’t know what it is about white curtains ... it was like oh my god, it’s done.”“We wanted something that was single-level. Because we have a young family, we didn’t want to be running up and down stairs,” she said.