When house hunting for their current property (and second personal renovation project), Shell and Brodie Stewart were seeking the ‘total opposite’ of their previous house, to suit their new stage in life as parents.

They were attracted to this Wamberal property on NSW’s Central Coast not for its 1970s ‘Pizza Hut’-style roof (although it had charm!), but rather its practicality and potential. ‘We would drive around the local areas drooling over flat blocks with easy access while we were building on a slope,’ says Shell. ‘When I came across this “renovator’s dream” with good bones on a dead flat block with a big backyard (hello kid-friendly) that was walking distance to a park, a local set of shops, and the beach… I had this gut feeling that it was our next move.’

Sure enough, Brodie, who owns Ocean Road Building, had already enquired about the property, and within three days it was theirs.

2.5 years later (and some updates for liveability along the way), the family made a decision to embark on a major renovation of the house, with construction starting the same week as Leni (child number three) was born.

Shell recalls that time, ‘The thing that definitely helped us with this taxing year was having quite an honest and frank conversation before we started building… We discussed that the year ahead would not be typical of any type of “baby bubble” bliss. It was acknowledged that it was going to be hard work for both of us,’ she says.

‘Understanding that we were working towards a common goal — playing on the same team, just in different positions — meant there was never any resentment from either one of us; not from me when he didn’t see the kids for days at a time sometimes, and not from him when I’d serve up eggs on toast for dinner again! This blatantly honest chat before it all began was crucial to getting through it unscathed.’

The family moved into a neighbouring rental property for the bulk of construction, while Brodie went to work in Sydney three days a week around building his own house.

The couple worked with Craig Farrugia Building Design on the plans, and Shell made all the interior design decisions. Together, they settled on a simple but functional floor plan, with plenty of indoor and outdoor space, bedrooms for all the children, and views of the new pool where possible.

‘Except for a few walls of the existing home, it is basically a new home,’ says Shell. The rear extension largely contains the private spaces (bedrooms and bathrooms), whereas the original footprint hosts the new and improved living, kitchen, dining area, laundry and garage spaces.

With no client to appease, Shell gave herself permission to go ‘a little rogue’ with the material and color choices. ‘It allowed me to follow my gut on my selections,’ she explains. ‘I worked a lot less along the lines of asking myself “does this go with that?” and a lot more along the lines of, “that’s cool, we’re using that!” — even if it didn’t all match.’

Polished concrete floors, recycled bricks, and cedar cladding serve as the foundation, with colourful accents applied across pastel Laminex joinery, bathroom tiles, and a peach concrete kitchen benchtop. ‘Aside from functionality, the vision was to have some fun with the design selections and to really step completely away from the very popular and expected coastal vibe in our area,’ says Shell. ‘Away from “whiteville” and into the land of colour!’

The styling is still evolving, with Shell and Brodie increasingly giving themselves permission to splurge on furniture now that the build is done. The Oh Paddi Wiggly Dining Table is the first major piece of furniture they’ve ever purchased outside Facebook Marketplace! ‘While the house is beautiful, it is lived in by small children, so I can’t have too many nice things floating around!’ Shell says. ‘Much of my styling or finishing touches still exist only as screenshots in my phone for now.’

Shell says the house functions incredibly well thanks to the thoughtful floor plan and incredible amount of storage. There’s now a place for everything (shoes, bags, jackets, raincoats, hats, swimming gear, sports gear, and Christmas presents), so cleaning up at the end of the day doesn’t feel like such a chore.

Outside, they worked with landscape designers Luxe Exteriors to add a pool, sandstone crazy paving, and bring in Kentia palms to the previously tree-less block.

The kid’s domain is the open front yard, which in some ways, exists as an homage to the previous owner of the property. Shell explains, ‘It belonged to an old bloke who spent all his time sitting out the front of the house in the sun saying hello to everyone who walked past. Everyone knew him.

‘He sadly passed not long after we bought the house, but I think we have maintained a little piece of his legacy, because we too spend a lot of time out the front of the house talking to neighbours and passersby…

‘We actually ended up designing the house so that we could continue living/being social on the street front.’

The entire build was completed in 10.5 months. Shell and Brodie made plenty of sacrifices to make it happen within that timeframe, but the house is exactly as they always hoped, and has even inspired a career change for Shell (who was previously a writer and nurse) to found interior design practice, Newport Road.

The new house encourages Shell, Brodie and three daughters Heidi (6), Josie (4.5) and Leni (22 months) to find joy in everyday moments. Shell says, ‘We love waking up in the morning and being able to see from our bed, across the pool and down into the kitchen, and seeing the two older girls making their own breakfast and sometimes even emptying the dishwasher unasked!’