Modern English Cottage Makeover

The all-female team at Front Porch Properties, led by builder and business founder Rachael Turner, recently completed a renovation on a classic 70s-style home in the northern Brisbane suburb of Grange.

Home-owners Prue & Nick talked to several builders who recommended they demolish their home and start again. However, the couple preferred to renovate because of the potential environmental impact of a complete replacement and because the home held special memories.

Seventies transformed as a modern English cottage

When Prue briefed Front Porch on her requirements to house her family, including three young children, she had a vision that Rachael and her team turned into reality. With Front Porch’s guidance, the farmhouse style morphed into what Rachael calls ‘Modern English Cottage’.

She says that timber mouldings are essential to her company’s niche styles, “These traditional and classic styles all have their flair, and timber trims form an important part of the look,” she said.

“The renovation included rebuilding the entire ground level of the house and a complete make-over of the upstairs area. The only changes made to the upstairs floor plan were removing the kitchen, relocating it downstairs, and converting the old kitchen space into a new bedroom.

“We used Intrim’s SK498 for skirting and architrave throughout the home, as well as VJ Board Pro in key living areas, including the kitchen, living areas, bathroom and laundry.

“We chose to use VJ panelling in a range of spaces, including several where we panelled the wall to three-quarter height and then used plasterboard for the rest of the wall. We topped the VJ panelling with DAR to complete the look,” Rachael added.

A long-standing partnership

Front Porch has worked closely with the Intrim team for over five years.

Project & Design Coordinator, Bronwyn Smidt, says that when working on a new project, Front Porch will choose two or three options for the mouldings for a client and then present these as part of the renders for each room. “From here, the client will either let us know their preferred option or leave it with us to choose what we think will work best for the style of their home.

“Intrim has a great range of profiles available, and we often find a design our clients love within their standard InStyle IN-Stock range,” said Bronwyn.

Project success

For Rachael and the FPP Team, client satisfaction is key to their success as builders and designers.

In the case of the Grange home, the clients Prue & Nick, who moved in in June this year, are both delighted with the outcome of the renovation.

When Rachael visited the family three weeks after they moved in, Prue cried with happiness and described her new home as “just like living in a fancy B&B”. Nick also commented during the build, “Where has VJ been all my life. I love it!” Since then, he has unexpectedly nominated the laundry as his favourite room in the house!

Intrim Mouldings trims used

Skirting – SK498 135mm

Architrave – SK498 90mm

Panelling – VJ Board Pro 100

DAR 90mm

Design & Build: Front Porch Properties