One of the appeals of a house, like this, is the original features, but it can be a difficult decision to know what to preserve and maintain and what to modernize. Dianne Huegil and her family are standing that very crossroad. Dianne, who also lives in the house, and her two brothers share responsibility of keeping the property up to scratch for their elderly mum who owns the property.
Inside and outside the house screams Victorian terrace and while there are so many beautiful period features, there are also many areas that are suffering from old age. “I would like to freshen up the kitchen and Mum would like the downstairs bathroom done. My brother David thinks we should invest some money in the backyard too.” There’s lots to do, but Dianne and the family have so many factors to consider in this renovation. They have to agree as a family on what work needs to be done and the budget, they don’t want to overcapitilise, and above all they don’t want to cause too much disruption and confusion for Mum Eileen.
Dianne has taken the sensible approach of getting some advice before finalizing the plans. And that makes the opinions of our experts all the more important. First to give his thoughts is real estate expert John McGrath.
With 12 foot pressed metal ceilings, beautiful moulded cornices and architraves John advises Dianne to work to the strengths of the property. “I am relieved they have preserved so many original features in this 100 year old house. People will pay top dollar for that.” While there are other parts of the home that need serious structural and design work, John wants Dianne and her family to leave those works for the next buyer and focus on simple but effective updates to add value, like new floors.
Dianne’s next piece of expert advice comes from builder Luke Van Dyke and although he too thinks the floors are a great investment. But he has word of warning. “It can be really costly so you really need to work out what is going to fit in your budget but still give the right quality finish to the home.”
So with both of our experts advising Dianne to consider the floors a good investment she has a lot to think about and talk about with the family before they start spending. Can she keep the rest of the family happy and still bring the house into the 21st century?
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