Interiors

A Before-And-After Interior Renovation That’ll Knock Your Socks Off!

It’s not every day that we share before and after images of a completed renovation project. So you know this is a good one!

The owners of this family home in Berkeley Vale on the New South Wales Central Coast engaged designer Agathe Touguet of AMA Studio Interiors to transform their wood panelled cottage into a contemporary coastal home.

Agathe designed a new layout and material scheme for her clients – who completed a lot of the construction themselves. Scroll down for the seriously impressive before-and after shots!

Written
by
Sasha Gattermayr

Sage green cabinetry coated in Dulux Tranquil Green complements the lush tropical outlook. What a place to wash up dishes! Photo – The Palm Co..

The kitchen bench was salvaged for free on Facebook Marketplace and repurposed. Photo – The Palm Co..

The furnishings do the heavy lifting to soften the monolithic polished concrete slab underfoot. Jute, rattan, teak, timber and sheer curtains add warmth to the space. Photo – The Palm Co..

The laundry is tucked behind the kitchen, accessible via an archway. Photo – The Palm Co..

Clever nooks aid in zoning the large space, from the fireplace to the built-in banquette seat at the end of the kitchen bench. Photo – The Palm Co..

The existing concrete floor was polished and retained. Photo – The Palm Co..

A cosy lounge moment! Photo – The Palm Co..

Agathe’s biggest feat was increasing the volume of the space without making any structural tweaks. By installing skylights above the kitchen, a fresh coat of paint, floor-to-ceiling curtains and V-groove panelling in the wall behind the television, Agathe created the illusion of extra volume in the rear room. Photo – The Palm Co..

The before and after shots! Photos – courtesy of the owners.

Writer
Sasha Gattermayr
27th of July 2021

The owners of this ‘70s-style, wood-panelled cottage did a lot of the renovations to their home themselves, but when it came to designing the large open plan living space at the rear of the house, they brought in the professionals. The family of five engaged Agathe Touguet of AMA Studio Interiors for her expertise.

‘My clients wanted to create a friendly family home somewhere between boho earthy and coastal,’ says Agathe of the brief. Her involvement was focussed at the back of the house, where the kitchen layout needed reconfiguring and a new palette required devising.

After repositioning the kitchen to face the rest of the room, Agathe craftily tucked a laundry into the corner behind it. This is the first of multiple clever nooks that characterise this open-plan space: the others being a cosy fireplace in the corner of the lounge room, and the banquette seat at the end of the kitchen bench, which Agathe made from an IKEA television unit that she found for free on Facebook Marketplace!

A natural materials palette consisting of oak, linen, wool, jute, clay and rattan furniture adds warmth to the room, otherwise characterised by the monolithic polished concrete slab underfoot. ‘The repetition of curves in the kitchen and in the living area (with the round coffee table, curbed TV unit and round dining table) adds softness to the space, and contrast nicely with the concrete floor,’ explains the designer.

But Agathe’s real design feat is a few clever tweaks to the ceiling, which makes it appear taller than it actually is. By installing skylights above the kitchen, a fresh coat of paint, floor-to-ceiling curtains and V-groove panelling in the wall behind the television, Agathe has created the illusion of extra volume in this hardworking, open plan space.

What a transformation!

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