What could be described as Australia’s most average home has been turned into a red-hot Airbnb prospect
A young owner’s keen eye and impressive work ethic saw her transform a rundown Sunshine Coast home into a nice little earner
Anyone who’s ever renovated will tell you it can be quite a journey. You can plan the trip as much as you like, but there’s no telling exactly where you might end up. The route Hannah Williams took saw her buy a modest, rundown house on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast with the aim of doing it up and living there with her dog, and perhaps a housemate. “It was very dated, with salmon-coloured tiles and diamond-grille security screens,” says Hannah. “But its potential was immediately obvious – it’s a 10-minute walk from the beach.”
all hands on deck
Aged just 24 when she settled on the property, Hannah’s goal was to update the house with a tight budget of $40,000, so she rolled up her sleeves, hiring power tools, jackhammering tiles with the help of her sister, and painting the underlying concrete white. When it came to the kitchen, she had a couple of tricks up her sleeve. “I only spent a couple of thousand dollars by keeping the carcasses and adding new doors,” she says. “For the benchtops, I was able to find high-end offcuts. My benches might not have fancy waterfall edges, but they still look great.”
The bathroom and laundry required professional help, at which point Hannah brought in her cousin Rohan, owner of Total Building and Construction in nearby Witta, who was able to do her a great deal on gutting and replacing everything in those spaces. Decor-wise, she went for a Mediterranean vibe, painting the walls and ceiling Taubmans Snow Drop while sticking to black accents in the kitchen and natural materials in the living zones. Furniture was kept simple. “My mum bought me the bentwood dining chairs when I went to university and the dining table was my sister’s childhood desk.”
The renovation process coincided with a family holiday to Bali, where Hannah had linen curtains custom made. “That’s also
where I picked up all the door handles for the house,” she says. “I can still picture my mum precariously perched on the back of a motorbike with the enormous pendant light that’s now hanging in the main bedroom!”
labour of love
Keeping costs low was a key priority, but this didn’t take any of the fun out of the renovation for Hannah. “I absolutely loved the whole process,” she says. “To picture something in my mind and then see it become a reality was so exciting.”
From the beginning, Hannah had focused on the property’s strengths as a whole. Making the most of the 509-square-metre block, she added a swimming pool and a guest house (which was featured in the January 2019 issue of Inside Out) as a flexible space that could be used for visiting friends or paying guests. Hannah listed the guesthouse on Airbnb and found herself bowled over by the burgeoning interest in it. “Over time I realised so many
people were missing out on booking the place – it was really popular,” she says. The location was clearly a winner, as was Hannah’s beachy decorating style, which led her to wonder if it might be worth renting out the main house, too.
floor show
With that decision made, Hannah replaced the white concrete floor to get the house rent-ready. “It was a bit of a nightmare to maintain, so I started researching floorboards online.” This is where her budgeting skills finally met their match. “I came across these old French oak herringbone floors. They’re wire-brushed and imperfect, which I love. I had to have them, so I saved and saved – they cost $20,000. I blew the budget significantly.”
In February, she added the house to Airbnb and it was almost immediately booked up for months – sometimes by returning guests, at other times for photo shoots by brands and influencers. The main drawcard? Those herringbone floors. “They’re one of the things guests comment on most when they stay, so I’m really happy I went with them in the end.”
Hannah moved in with her boyfriend in Noosa, with no regrets that her home is now enjoyed by others. “It was never really my plan to move out and I love to go back and visit,” she says. “I’m completely hooked on the whole renovation process though, and I can’t wait to do it again.”