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We have spent over 18 months transforming the front facade, front yard, roof , fences all around and the general vibe of this once tired old 1950's weatherboard. We saw the potential when we bought this back in 2019 but put in a heap of work to get it looking like this.
This is the end product:
When we purchased this house back in 2019, the facade was a typical 1950's green, very poor quality roof, metal fences, weeds and overgrown rose bushes and shrubs with a wonky front path and crappy old grassy area.
We began clearing out some of the weeds/shrubs/rose bushes for fun to start seeing more of the house which helped us visualise what we wanted it to look like at the end. Bunnings products used: shovel, pick axe, gloves, wheelbarrow.
It had an old weedy arch entranceway and the whole vibe was dark and very tired looking.
We started testing a whole bunch of different colours with test pots from bunnings. We tried out a range of colours for the weatherboards, windows, plinth, facia, downpipes and balcony. Most of the weathboards were intact on the facade and just needed filling and sanding. Bunnings products used: weatherproof filler, orbital sanding discs, scraper tool, sandpaper, sanding block, ladder.
Once we had finished painting the weatherboards, windows and plinth boards (which we ended up changing the colour down the track), we got the escavator in to level the block. Bunnings products used: Grey pail taubmans for weathboards, vivid white taubmans for windows, frog tape for windows.
This gave us a blank slate for the front yard.
We then laid fresh turf (tiff tuff) and built form work for the front path. Bunnings products used: treated timber for form work, nails, cordless drill, concrete, shovel, edging for turf, edging pins.
Did a whole heap of planting and established the turf with a lot of aftercare throughout the seasons! We also replaced the front door to solid timber and changed the plinth board and balcony colour to better suit complement the grey pail. Bunnings products used: Composte, soil improver, mulch, hose, hose head, sprinkler, front door, cabots timber sealer, paint brush, paint tray, woodland grey taubmans for balcony and plinth boards.
This is the final product, we are super happy with the results and it has completely changed the vibe of the house. We also had new fences installed all around the perimeter with all fences being painted by ourselves with a trusty spray gun. The roof was restored (professionally) which looks as good as new in black. We filled in the path with screenings and painted the formwork to match the rest of the house. Bunnings products used: Screenings, woodland grey taubmans paint for form work, monument taubmans paint for fence, undercoat for fences, dropsheets for spray gun overspray.
Hi @Dinny,
First, let me extend a warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community! It is wonderful you have decided to join and share your house transformation with us. You'll find Workshop to be a great source of inspiration and advice on all things DIY and garden. You did such a great job, you might even see your transformation pop into our Top Ideas page one day.
Your paint job and landscaping work are spectacular! Are you able to share the paint colours you used? For members who are inspired by your project and want to tackle their own transformation, do you have any suggestions to help them plan it out?
Katie
Hi @KatieC thanks for the feedback 
some great projects on the workshop!
We used the following colours:
- Dulux grey pail for the weatherboards and downpipes
- Dulux vivid white for window and door trims
- Colourbond woodland grey for the balcony, facia, path form work & plinth boards
- Colourbond monument for fences
- Charcoal (paint code unknown) for the roof and gutters
- Merbau stain on the deck (can't see it in the pics but really brought an old deck back to life)
With regards to planning out a facade transformation, this was a long process due to having two young kids however I'm sure this could be done much quicker with the right sequencing of events. For us, it was important to start with a clear slate in order to visualise what we wanted to achieve. Hence excavating as early as possible really allowed us to see what would/wouldn't work in the space we had. Then stripping the house right back to its bones and making sure it was structurally sound before doing anything else. We made sure the floor levels were right (new stumps & packing existing stumps), stripping and filling weatherboards where required (sides of the house needed new boards but the facade was salvageable!) amongst other things.
We experimented with lots of different colours to mix and match the palette and get the best combo, however we also repainted our original colour choice on the balcony as it didn't look right. Don't be afraid to re-do something if it doesn't look right at the end!
Our focus was the bring us much energy and good vibes into the block as it was so tired for many decades by the looks of things when we purchased it. Having good suppliers/trades to support us along the way for the tougher jobs (building fences, roof restore) was key to the overall success as well.
Happy to answer any other questions anyone has
Hi @Dinny,
You chose some great colours and definitely brought good vibes! You took on a big task, especially with little ones but have done such a fantastic job. Out of curiosity, what colour did you originally select for your balcony? Thank you for the additional information and tips!
Katie
Hi @lewismon,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community! It is great to have you join us and if you have questions about the community feel free to reach out at anytime. The awning that @Dinny used is super cute and matches the 50s style beautifully. Our resident DIY guru @EricL will be online later today and may be able to also suggest some options. Are you currently renovating your home?
Katie
Hi @lewismon thanks for your kind words
We bought the awning from Alfresco blinds who are in Epping. It looks great, hasn't faded at all in 2 years and complements the style of the house nicely.
Thanks, yes the Reno’s seem to be an ongoing process for us. I’m an electrician so there is always something we are working on. My most recent project was also doing the front fascade of our house too. Still a bit of landscaping to do to finish it off but it’s almost done. Pretty happy with the results. Have attached a before and after for reference.
