A fresh start in Rostrevor on Selling Houses Australia
On the first episode of Selling Houses Australia Season 18, the task was to turn a dark, deeply personal 1970s maze in Adelaide’s eastern suburb of Rostrevor into a bright, family‑friendly home –one buyers could finally understand.
Photography Selling Houses Australia/LIfestyle
In Rostrevor, Adelaide on Selling Houses Australia, I stepped into a renovation that grabbed my heart! It started with Lyn, who lost her husband and love-of-her-life Don, a couple of years back. Together, they built a home in Rostrevor that was full of noise, parties, kids, and memories, but after Don passed away the home became heavy for Lyn. She tried to sell with no luck, and it was time to take a different approach. Lyn and her devoted son Tom were ready for us to reimagine the space – something fresh, hopeful and true to the life they built. Let the reno adventure – and Season 18 – begin!
A much‑needed kitchen rethink in Rostrevor
Lyn’s kitchen was tiny, boxed‑in and completely out of sync with the scale of her enormous home. I opened it up by removing a dog‑leg wall and pushing the kitchen into the oversized dining area. We installed new Laminex Spotted Gum Truescale in Natural, cabinetry with Eucalypt accents, finished with Kethy Oak Matt Black hardware, and topped it with a Caesarstone quartz benchtop to keep the space light and practical. For personality, I chose a Nagoya Turquoise Copper Gloss subway tiles from National Tiles for the splashback, and layered pendants – Berimbau in Sage Green), Phoenix in Antique Bronze and Callam in Bronze, all Beacon Lighting – to add warmth and rhythm over the island and meals.
“Inside, the house was gloomy and overwhelmed by heavy furniture, clashing eras and intensely personal styling”~ Interior designer Wendy Moore, Selling Houses Australia
Light, flow and cohesion inside
Inside, the house was gloomy and overwhelmed by heavy furniture, clashing eras and intensely personal styling – from faux Federation details to an upstairs Moroccan retreat. Everything was visually competing. I unified the home with a cool, calm, mid‑century‑inspired palette in Taubmans White Illusion, Presidential Suite and Quill, laid Flooring Xtra Mooloolaba Spotted Gum through the living zones, and simplified the styling so the architecture could breathe. I also swapped coloured skylight glazing for frosted Perspex and removed the oppressive back pergola so natural light could filter right through the plan.
Reworking the bedrooms and upper level
Upstairs, I stripped back the hyper‑personal Moroccan‑themed living area and repainted the brickwork in soft neutrals to create a bright second living space. Across bedrooms and the mezzanine, I used Flooring Xtra Rustic Manor French Beige carpet for warmth and comfort, and added Veneta honeycomb blinds in a Champagne finish (with configurations tailored to each window/door) to control glare while keeping lines clean.
Dennis creates a usable family backyard
Outside, the home was hidden behind overgrown trees and weighed down by heavy structures, making the garden feel like a dungeon. Dennis removed the foliage that blocked light, pulled up the hard surfaces, laid fresh turf and opened the rear pergola so the interior and exterior finally talked to each other. We completed the refresh with simple, durable exterior lighting, including Beacon Wanaka wall lights, a Sunraysia pendant at the entry and Sentinel sensor spots, so the garden worked just as hard at night.
The sales history of Selling Houses Rostrevor
Before the makeover, the home had been on the market with no offers. Buyers quoted figures in the low $800Ks and found the house dark, confusing and overwhelming. After the renovation and a campaign with our new agent Reece, the shift was immediate: 10 offers after just two opens, and a final sale at $1.26 million.
Who pays for the renovations on Selling Houses Australia?
Lyn could initially contribute only $15,000, but her son Tom stepped in to bring their total to $100,000, an investment that helped reset buyer expectations and let Lyn move on to a new villa she loves.
