Finding this home - in need of love, but with great bones and the potential to grow with their family needs has been the gift that has kept on giving for its owners, Sharon, and Rob van der Kruik. Our late 1920s, Californian-style bungalow in Geelong West, Victoria, sits on a quiet street behind an old pub - close to the bay and just 45 minutes from Melbourne,' explains Sharon. Back in 1986 we were looking for a family home that we could extend and transform. We wanted a large backyard that the children could run free in, with enough space for me to garden, and for both Rob and me to be creative. This home ticked every box and has slowly evolved."
Fast-forward 36 years and the couple now have four grown-up children, two grandchildren, eight family dogs, and have recently completed the third phase of their sympathetic renovation. Their dream has become a reality and the original two-bedroom, the weather-boarded cottage has been transformed into a light, bright, four-bedroom, memory-filled home that their children regularly return to.
"To us, home is everything,' says Sharon. 'We have spent such a huge part of our life together in this little cottage.' Rob, a self-taught carpenter, restorer, and maker, has completed all the building work himself, turning his hobby into a passion, 'enabling us to create the home we imagined,' says Sharon. 'It has absorbed everything that we have and love, and in harder times has become our comfort and haven.'
This story is from the January 2023 edition of Homes & Antiques.
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This story is from the January 2023 edition of Homes & Antiques.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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