AFTER spending the past few years renovating and building, Andrea and Dom Murphy were ready to build something right that suited them.
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They included all things they wanted and enjoyed: an in-ground pool after having an above one at the previous home, a large shed for Dom’s work as a builder and a well laid-out home.
The home has a French provincial style inside, using a lot of earthy colours.
Ms Murphy has always been interested in decorative and creative work, having altered much of the furniture to suit the house.
“A lot of the furniture I’ve picked up in different places and changed it to meet my style.”
The coffee table in the lounge room is an old desk, transformed by Ms Murphy shortening its legs, painting it and changing the handles on the drawers.
They wanted to keep the yard small and low maintenance, which is still finished off with a water feature.
With a 14-year-old son, they have made one of the bedrooms into an entertainment room to suit their son, which is decorated against Ms Murphy’s taste: modern.
“I can’t expect my teenage son to live in a French provincial room, so I’ve made it into a space he’ll feel comfortable in.”
Ms Murphy said they got the plans from a display home, adding a metre and a half of space at the back of the house, but have styled it to make it their own.
“I know what I like so we just had to ask for it,” she said.
Some of the walls are painted in stripes to suit the French provincial style of the home.
Mr Murphy said their furniture was a collection they had built up over the years, which came from a mix of op-shops, garage sales and some new.
“It suits us,” Mr Murphy said.
“We work together well – I have the ideas, and he is able to build it,” Ms Murphy said.
Ms Murphy said many people often neglect areas of a home.
“You can still do things in the laundry by adding simple things like flowers.”
They both said planning their home was not a difficult process.
“We’ve done it many times so we knew exactly what we wanted,” Mr Murphy said.
“For the past 15 years we’ve been in between and not settled, working on a renovation project or building.
“It’s nice to stay and enjoy what we worked on.”
nicole.cairns@fairfaxmedia.com.au
