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This thoughtful 18-month renovation completely rejuvenated a tired 1950s weatherboard house and garden, giving the whole property a fresh, modern look.
The project
When we bought this house back in 2019, the facade was a typical 1950s green and the house had a very poor-quality roof. There were metal fences, weeds and overgrown rose bushes and shrubs, as well as a wonky front path and crummy old grassy area. We saw the potential but it took a heap of work.
It had an old weedy arch entranceway and the whole vibe was dark and very tired looking.
We began clearing out some of the weeds, shrubs and rose bushes so we could see more of the house and visualise what we wanted it to look like at the end.
We started testing a whole bunch of different colours with test pots from Bunnings. We tried out various combinations for the weatherboards, windows, plinth, fascia, downpipes and balcony. Most of the weatherboards on the facade were intact and just needed filling and sanding.
Once we had finished painting the weatherboards, windows and plinth boards, we got the excavator in to level the block.
This gave us a blank slate for the front yard.
We then laid fresh TifTuf turf and built formwork for the front path.
We did a whole heap of planting and established the turf with a lot of aftercare throughout the seasons. We also replaced the front door with a solid timber one and changed the plinth board and balcony colour to better complement the grey.
This is the final product. We are super happy with the results and it has completely changed the vibe of the house. We also had new fences installed all around the perimeter, and painted all the fences ourselves with our trusty spray gun. The roof was professionally restored and looks as good as new in black. We filled in the path with screenings and painted the formwork to match the rest of the house.
We used the following paint colours:
- Dulux Grey Pail for the weatherboards and downpipes
- Dulux Vivid White for window and door trims
- Colorbond Woodland Grey for the balcony, fascia, path formwork and plinth boards
- Colorbond Monument for fences
- Charcoal (paint code unknown) for the roof and gutters
- Merbau stain on the deck (you can't see it in the pics but it really brought the old deck back to life).
For us, it was important to start with a clear slate in order to visualise what we wanted to achieve – hence excavating as early as possible so we could see what would and wouldn't work in the space we had.
Then it was stripping the house right back to its bones and making sure it was structurally sound before doing anything else. We made sure the floor levels were right (new stumps and packing existing stumps), and stripping and filling weatherboards where required (sides of the house needed new boards but the facade was salvageable) among other things.
Our focus was to bring energy and good vibes into the block as it was so tired when we purchased it. Having good suppliers and tradespeople to support us with tougher jobs like building fences and roof restoration was key to the overall success as well.
How to paint like a professional
Experienced Bunnings Workshop contributor Rob (Peggers) has put together a great step-by-step guide to getting professional results with your painting projects.
Resident D.I.Y. expert EricL has also put together this handy guide: How to choose the right paint for the job.
More project inspiration for your home
Bunnings Workshop member Belinda also used paint to rejuvenate a tired weatherboard cottage and a house in the hills near Byron Bay.
There are also plenty of great ideas in our Top 10 most popular renovation projects.
Let us know if you need a hand with your project – we're here to help.
Love what you have done and thanks for adding the colours/materials 
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