INSIDE STORY
WHO LIVES HERE? The cottage is a country getaway for Melbourne-based voiceover artist, singer and designer Gemma-Ashley; her husband Ben, a business strategist; toddler Darcy and pooch, Clover. A new baby will join the family later this year. LOCATION: Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. ORIGINAL PROPERTY: A two-bedroom, rundown cedar-wood cottage on one hectare. TIME FRAME: Eight months. WHY THIS HOUSE? After a two-year search for their home-away-from-home, Gemma-Ashley and Ben couldn’t resist this old cottage and its beautiful established gardens. “It reminded me of an English country garden and that appealed to me as we’ve travelled to England often to visit Ben’s family,” says Gemma-Ashley. “I love the quaintness and feel of an English cottage.” WHY THE RENO? With two renovations behind them, the creative couple were keen to put their own stamp on the cottage. “I love reimagining old homes,” says Gemma-Ashley. “The cottage didn’t have much character, so we injected it, brought the outside style inside, then mixed it with some modern Australian open-plan living.” MUST HAVES? “A really amazing quality kitchen was always a priority, and because we are bath lovers, I was pretty determined to have a freestanding tub,” explains Gemma-Ashley. With the budget stretched, they opted to spend big on the kitchen fit-out and appliances, transforming it from a very basic space to a much more family-friendly zone for meal times, with plenty of extra storage. After a lot of searching, Gemma-Ashley was able to squeeze the much-desired tub into the budget as well. THE WORKS: “We virtually demolished the inside, though kept the layout fairly similar, aside from turning one bedroom into a bathroom and vice versa,” explains Gemma-Ashley. “After that we realised we needed to fix the outside to match, so we reboarded the exterior and added decking and landscaping.” BUDGET BREAKERS? “The floorboards and the kitchen were the only splurges, but they were things that we knew would last forever and create the vibe I was going for,” says Gemma-Ashley. “The richness of a deep timber floor sets the tone for a cosy but luxurious home.” >