It’s a renovating journey that began in 2020 with a lairy green loungeroom and its eye-catching bar.
Featuring arches, brass fixtures, sea-green glass tiles, and large square-patterned paisley wallpaper, it was a fixture that sat proudly above its sunken, conversation pit and commanded attention.
It was the centrepiece, the piece de resistance.
And that’s exactly what it will become when recently engaged couple Nina Meehan and Dylan Chant complete their Charlestown makeover.
Perched high above the sprawling Lake Macquarie suburb, the two-storey double-brick home already boasts views, privacy, and dual-access, as well as what its new owners say are “good bones”.
Combining his carpentry skills and her creative flair, the 20-something year-old couple are breathing new life into ‘the old lady’, as they fondly refer to her, and they’re documenting the journey via their social media page ‘That 70s Bungalow’.
“The character of an old home is usually hit or miss, sometimes its older and it needs a lot of work but there isn’t a space that really captures you.
“Every house is different in terms of character. This one had old wallpaper everywhere, and exposed brick. It was hard to see past all that craziness.
“It was the lounge room that sold it to us, and the bar especially.
“You need something in the house to capture you. You need to feel all the work ahead will be worth it.“
“You need to think it’s cool now but later it will be amazing.”
Their captivation with the address began on a whim when lockdown forced the cancellation of a home open, allowing the Northern Beaches couple an exclusive viewing.
“I remember straight away thinking the bar was the centrepiece of the whole reno. It jazzes up the room, and all of a sudden, I loved the wallpaper. “
That’s when the couple’s style concept was born.
It’s not quite crochet blanket, green linoleum, shag pile rug, lava lamp concept, but rather the pair are hoping to keep some of the home’s heritage while modernising its feel.
“There are touches of that era but it’s not too full-on, it’s more of a subtle 70s,” Nina says.
And its something that she is constantly reminded of throughout the process.
“We did the bathroom and I tried to marry it to the arches and the green [of the lounge room].
“I think as we were getting rid of old stuff, we were understanding the character of the home more.
“And it definitely all stemmed from the arches.”
It’s a venture that could have had a very different outcome if the pair had listened to advice from others.
“It [the sale] was during lockdowns and our parents were asking us if we thought it was a good time to buy, and move,” Nina recalls.
“Because we had the dog we knew we wanted somewhere with space, with a bit of yard, and in Sydney that’s almost impossible without spending a fortune.
“We were originally looking at Wollongong, but we came up here and we were so surprised, its so beautiful. We loved it.
“I never would have thought to come to Newcastle, you usually just stop here on the way to somewhere else, but it reminds me a lot of the Northern Beaches – its relaxed, its beachy, its perfect.”
While they began searching in January 2020, it wasn’t until ten months later that they settled on the Charlestown home.
“We’d missed out on at least eight houses, it was still really competitive then. I think there was less people looking but a lot more serious buyers so we kept getting priced out.”
Then an agent gave them an exclusive sneak peek at what would become their dream flip.
“We put an offer on another home and we were the top bidder but the other person was cash.
The agent suggested this property. We came up on a Thursday after work, we met the owner and she was so lovely we felt it was meant to be.
It turns out she wanted them to have it too, settling on a $770,000 price tag.
“This is not a Sydney story, I feel like this is a lovely community kind of story, we stayed and had tea with her on settlement day – that wouldn’t happen in Sydney.”
Having moved away from family and friends, Nina began documenting the renovation as a way to share the experience.
“Working in digital marketing, it was a natural progression to create engaging posts of each milestone.
That 70s Bungalow now has 4,300 followers.
“I hope people keep tinkering away with us while we’re renovating, it’s really been fun,” she says.
“When it’s been a tiring weekend and people give you positive feedback it keeps you going.”
So, while Nina creates, Dylan brings the practical solutions.
And although they are only part-way through their first extensive two-year renovation, they’re happy to share some of what they have learned so far.
Start where necessity calls
We had to start on the bathrooms, they were leaking so we had to get straight on to that. There was a time when the tiles were popping off the walls.
Remember all that rain we had? That meant this area became priority number one.
Photoshop
As a visual person I have to create mock-ups of a room on photoshop. I’ll take a photo of a space and then erase things and layer on elements so I can get a feel for it. That’s what we did for quite a few of the spaces. It helps me to know how that space is going to tie into the rest of the house.
Give it a Try
We try to do as much as we can ourselves, but there are some things we’ll always leave to the qualified; like tilers, plumbers, electricians, and even plasterers. We did our plastering once and it is not fun. Putting the sheets up, the coats, the patching…it’s the one thing I don’t want to spend my weekends doing. At least with painting, I don’t like it but it’s rewarding in the end. When you’re trying to save money its something you can do yourselves.
