Driving down Sam and Shelley’s street, you can’t help but steal glimpses in between houses of what must be some of the area’s best views of Lake Macquarie. But despite the fact that it was positioned on a generous, sloping block, the Johnsons’ original home had not been built with the view in mind.
“The living spaces were at the front of the house and the bedrooms at the back,” explains Shelley. “The windows were all really small so you couldn’t enjoy the view at all. We knew that we would eventually need to completely flip the house if we wanted to stay.”
The couple had been living much closer to town, and despite the fact that Shelley had grown up near ‘the Lake’, the couple hadn’t considered buying in the area.
“My mum found the house on Gumtree as a private sale and sent me the link,” explains Shelley. “It was obviously her not-so-subtle way of getting all of her kids to move back this way, but we really weren’t that keen on the idea.”
“We came to have a look anyway and the guy selling it was just so chilled and he said ‘Look, text me your offer by Thursday, I won’t be negotiating so I’ll just pick the highest person.’ This was on a Tuesday, so we had two days to submit our offer. So, we texted him our offer without really even knowing what he was looking for. He replied the next day and said we had acquired the house.
It was so weird, but also totally awesome!”
“My mum found the house on Gumtree as a private sale and sent me the link.”
The house was perfectly liveable for a young married couple, despite the fact that Shelley and Sam had to eat dinner on their laps for the first few years as there was no dining space. As their family grew and kids came along, the couple started to wonder whether they should stay and renovate or look elsewhere for something with more space.
“For a while, we weren’t really sure whether we’d stay, but then our best friends moved into the same street, so that really helped us make the decision,” says Shelley.
Shelley and Sam worked with their friend, architect Laura Green from Space Design Architecture, to come up with new plans for an asymmetrical-roofed extension that would flip the bedroom and living spaces and ultimately give the view the attention it deserved. With their second baby baking away, Shelley and Sam pushed the plans along and hired J and B Maguire to start construction.
“We signed our building contract right before Covid hit around March 2020,” laughs Shelley. “It was pretty nerve wracking, but it also meant that more builders were available at the time.”
The majority of the nine-month build was completed in time for Christmas, but more importantly, before the arrival of baby Bowie.
“The whole timeline for the renovation was built around Bowie’s due date,” explains Shelley. “It was pretty tight – but we knew we needed it done before then. There were some delays in sourcing different things, like our bench tops which came from China, but we achieved it.”
For the most part, Shelley and Sam opted for a neutral palette, with a few quirky design elements thrown in. There’s a couple of hidden surprises…
With Sam owning a concrete pumping business, he was pretty hands-on throughout the build. Shelley opted to spend her days collecting bits and pieces for the home from her favourite local homewares shop, Common Circus.
“Because this was all happening right in the middle of Covid, we tried to support local businesses as much as we could,” says Shelley. “Pretty much all of our homewares are from Common Circus and we worked with Rei from Upholestrei to cover some of our chairs. Another local woodworker made our ensuite mirror and bedside tables and I have a pendant light by local ceramicist, MayClay.”
For the most part, Shelley and Sam opted for a neutral palette, with a few quirky design elements thrown in. There’s a couple of hidden surprises like the ground-to-roof wooden battens at the back of the house and an amazingly colourful wall mural Shelley and her sister painted under the house.
“Sam surfs, so we have definitely brought in some beachy elements. I also really love 70s decor, so there’s a few touches inspired by that era, like the pendant light fitting over our dining table,” says Shelley. “I’d been eyeing that off for years – before we even started the renovation.”
Sam and Shelley also decided to paint a feature on their daughter Sunny’s bedroom wall – a sun for Sunny – but her reaction was far from what they were hoping for.
“We wanted it to be a surprise, so we did it while she wasn’t home,” laughs Shelley. “We were so excited to show her, but when she saw it all she said was that she wanted a rainbow.”
House Profile
Age of house:
Built in the 1960s
Who lives here?
Shelley and Sam Johnson, and their children Sunny (4 years old) and Bowie (6 months).
Best thing about living here?
“We obviously love the view – but living on the same street as our best friends is such a dream. When our son was born we’d get texts from them saying things like ‘I baked you some banana bread, it’s on your doorstep.’ You really can’t beat that. My sister and brother-in-law also bought a house just down the road, so it feels like a little community of our family and friends.”
The renovations so far, and what’s next?
“The house has essentially been flipped, with all new living spaces and kitchen as part of the extension. The old living area and kitchen have been turned into our main bedroom and ensuite. The extension also incorporates a deck so that we can take full advantage of the amazing views. We painted the exterior ourselves but we would like to do some more work on the façade and landscaping will come at a later date.”
Favourite room in the house and why?
“In the previous version of the house, we could never host people – we didn’t even have a dining space. So, it would have to be the deck – and because it’s undercover, we can be out there all through the year. I’m also and kitchen out to the deck.”
Favourite piece in the house and why?
“Definitely the pendant light over the dining table. I honestly thought about it for over a year, and every time I went into Common Circus, which is basically every day, I would talk to them about it. They’re like ‘Shelley, you just need to buy it.’ By the time I finally made up my mind to buy it, it wasn’t really in stock any more, but Lauren (the owner of Common Circus) thankfully found a way to order it for me.”
As all seasoned renovators will appreciate, there are still plenty of odd jobs to be done, but for the most part the renovation has completely opened up the home and created an incredible space for entertaining, or just getting lost in the view. When the afternoon light starts to creep through the back windows which ever-so-perfectly frame the lake in the distance, who could really blame the Johnsons for wanting to stay forever?
Words: Hannah Mills | Photography: Zoë Lonergan | Styling: Lauren Henry
As seen in Swell Issue 11.
