Sarah Godenzi and Lee Vella sold the house they renovated at 22 Bowmore St, Hughesdale.
Lee Vella and Sarah Godenzi faced plenty of adversity while renovating their Art Deco Hughesdale house including injuries, six months without a kitchen and mischief from their dog.
However, their efforts and hard work paid off when the four-bedroom property at 22 Bowmore St sold for $2.126m yesterday, a figure $126,000 above their $2m reserve.
The husband and wife purchased the house for $1.08m in 2018, CoreLogic records show.
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They moved in during 2019 with their rescue pup, a staffy and mastiff cross named Kermit.
Mr Vella said they decided to “flip” the clinker brick house built in the 1940s by the father of a lady who lived there until she was 101 years old and well-known in the area for driving an old-fashioned Valiant car.
“We loved the original Deco features like the cornices, fireplace, ceiling roses, deco corners and we have got beautiful leadlight Deco doors,” Ms Godenzi said.
The landscaped rear garden and entertaining deck.
Dog Kermit was so enthusiastic about helping the renovation that she accidentally injured her paw on a bit of steel. Picture: Instagram/makerandhound
The kitchen has limestone surfaces, a 4m long waterfall-edged island bench, Bosch appliances and soft closing cabinetry.
A former joiner who now works as an audiovisual technician, Mr Vella did a lot of work on the house himself along with Ms Godenzi, a wedding photographer who runs Sarah Godenzi Photography.
“What we did – it was our architect’s idea – was create a modern side of the house to join with the period side, a bit like a house mullet,” Mr Vella said.
“We sort-of extended the house in way, so we could live in the front part while renovating the back part.”
One of two bathrooms. Mr Vella made all the vanities and shaving cupboards himself.
Floor to ceiling windows and the Black Butt baton ceiling.
Arched grace.
Challenges included living without a kitchen and no running water for six months, washing their dishes in two buckets and showering at the local gym.
In the depths of Melbourne’s winter, they had no back on the house and installed plywood and tarps to keep the cold out.
“I accidentally put a knife through his hand after we first bought and severed a nerve,” Mr Vella said.
Ms Godenzi needed a spinal fusion after injuring a disc and at one stage, Kermit broke through a barrier separating him from the reno area and knocked over a stack of cabinets which toppled over “like dominoes” and left a hole in the floor.
Part of the open plan living and dining zone.
A glassed garden area links the modern kitchen and living section of the house to the period bedrooms and bathrooms.
Cook up a storm in style.
Mr Vella and a carpenter friend spent two weeks handcrafting the Black Butt baton ceiling.
By the time they finished the main renovation in August 2021, the house had a modern open-plan living and dining area linking to the bedrooms and bathrooms via a glassed garden area.
Floor to ceiling glass windows look out to a landscaped rear garden and alfresco deck.
The pair said they would be sad to leave the home but wanted to renovate another property.
They documented the progress of their Hughesdale house on Instagram for their almost-2000 followers under an account named “makerandhound”.
Even the fitted laundry looks chic.
A showcase kitchen snap.
Ray White Carnegie sales consultant Jin Ling said about 250 groups inspected the house, which was viewed more than 12,000 times on realestate.com.au
“What captivated people is the quality of the renovation,” Mr Ling said.
“We had three building inspectors who said, ‘It’s the easiest job I ever had’.”
Ornate vintage ceilings in one of the bedrooms.
A potted plant adds a touch of greenery.
Bidding for the property began at $1.8m with six bidders participating.
A couple planning to get married early next year were “over the moon” to purchase the house.
Mr Ling said that despite interest rate rises, he had sold 14 Hughesdale homes at auction this year, totalling about $20m in value.
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