Reviving cottage charm in Smithfield, NSW on Selling Houses Australia
With a lean homeowner budget and a very real need to sell, we had to focus on impact, not indulgence: fix what buyers touch first, celebrate warmth and function and stretch every dollar on Selling Houses Australia
Photography Selling Houses Australia/Lifestyle
Interior designer and host Wendy Moore on Selling Houses Australia.
When getting ready to sell, some houses just need a few cushions and styling and they’re good to go. This one need a little more help than that! Ali and Suzanne’s Smithfield home had good bones and four bedrooms on paper, but buyers saw an over‑furnished living room, a bland kitchen, a bathroom missing its bath, and a front yard that felt more prison than picket.
The goal? Turn this grey, unloved shell into a bright, modern cottage that young Western Sydney families could walk into and say, “Ours.”
“When you can’t spend big, you spend smart: solve the pain points, dial up the charm, and make buyers fall in love at the front gate”~ Interior designer Wendy Moore, Selling Houses Australia
What was a bland kitchen is now a warm modern kitchen in Smithfield, Selling Houses Australia.
The kitchen in Smithfield: easy upgrades, big warmth
In brief, in this kitchen the layout worked, the mood did not. It felt functional but joyless, so I leaned into simple, high‑return swaps. We wrapped the splashback and benches in Caesarstone Glacier Flow to add soft movement and light. Then I warmed the palette with Kethy L7819 handles in mixed sizes so even existing cabinetry felt custom.
A hardworking Blanco Lexa 8 sink with a Linus‑S mixer were both chosen for durability and quiet, modern lines. For continuity and light, I ran Flooring Xtra’s Mooloolaba Seagrass laminate underfoot, carrying it through the living/dining so the whole heart‑of‑home reads as one calm zone.
Why these choices? A stone splashback/benchtop combo wipes clean, timber‑tone hardware brings character, and a single, pale timber floor makes compact rooms feel larger and connected.
The living room in Smithfield: less sofa, more soul
When every piece of furniture hugs a wall, a room loses its heartbeat. We edited the bulk, added softness with Taubmans Abstract Quarter on the walls (trims in crisp white), and zoned the space with a textured rug. Ceiling fans and low‑glare lights from Beacon Lighting (including the calm, sculptural MFL by Masson Ballare pendant and UNO flush mounts) lifted the mood without overwhelming the ceiling line.
I layered Lounge Lovers pieces – two slim‑armed sofas, a light TV unit, and round travertine‑look side tables – so you get conversation flow and a clear view line to the garden. The result is relaxed, livable, and finally scaled to the room.
Budget bathroom in Smithfield
This room was a heart‑sinker: dated tiling, storage that didn’t serve its purpose, and a tap with no bath beneath it. With tight funds, we used a refresh‑don’t‑rebuild strategy. We resurfaced the existing wall tiles where possible, then overlaid the floor in National Tiles Cava Borghini Satin 300×600 and ran Cava Borghini Satin 75×300 as a slim feature for width and rhythm. A new Caroma Urbane II suite (rail shower, toilet, mixers and accessories in chrome) and a Back‑to‑Wall Freestanding Bath reinstated the family‑friendly brief. An Ingrain arch mirror from The Blue Space added height and a little romance.
The change is all proportion and polish: consistent finishes, one focal wall, generous mirror, and a bath families actually expect in a four‑bedroom home.
Quiet, cosy and sale‑ready bedrooms
The brief was “calm refuge.” We laid Azolla Corin carpet (Flooring Xtra) for soft, forgiving texture and kept walls mainly Taubmans Abstract Quarter, adding a single deeper feature tone where it helped define a headboard wall. New Newhaven fans with integrated light from Beacon Lighting keep things breezy, and simple Lounge Lovers bedframes with layered linens from KAS feel fresh, not fussy. Importantly, the store room is now a real fourth bedroom – with scaled furniture and bedside lighting.
Heading outdoors in Smithfield: from cage to cottage
Curb appeal sells, especially when buyers form a verdict before the front door opens. Dennis removed the heavy, cage‑like front fence and those high‑maintenance white pebbles, then installed a white picket fence, rolled new turf and set an offset path in reclaimed brick steppers to the tiled porch. The new timber window at the facade replaces the sliding door, instantly giving the elevation a friendlier, cottage vibe and letting us place a reading chair inside – hello, street‑watching with coffee!
Out back, the budget went to blank‑canvas clarity: clear the clutter, define seating, and let buyers imagine trampolines and Sunday barbecues. Exterior lighting from Beacon (the Wanaka and Sentinel fittings) adds security and a little evening sparkle for opens.
Selling Houses Australia host Andrew Winter (right) with homeowners Ali (left) and Suzanne.
The sales history of Selling Houses Smithfield
Before we started, the home struggled to attract offers near the owners’ target – the presentation just didn’t match buyer expectations for a family four‑bedder.
Post‑reno, the house launched with light, charm and real function: a coherent living core, a finished bathroom, and an inviting first impression. The market responded with a strong offer aligned to local comparables, and Suzanne and Ali accepted $1.25 million – a life‑changing reset and a new chapter.
Who pays for the renovations on Selling Houses Australia?
As always, our transformations are a team effort funded by the homeowners themselves, and the generosity of our partners and suppliers. We contribute all the labour and our design expertise and planning skills - crucial when circumstances are tight and stress levels are high!
