My Houzz: A DIY Queen’s Sweet Suburban Dream
A resourceful Australian homeowner shares her tips and tricks for a colorful and creative living space
This yellow-brick home is a treasure trove of creations by Sarah Borg, an urban designer and dabbler. When Sarah and her husband, Mike, bought their home, they could see a lot of potential, as well as a lot of challenges. But instead of being daunted by the work ahead, Sarah and Mike faced it head-on. They have since managed to completely personalize an old home to suit their creative life, with clever DIY projects and repurposing.
As soon as you enter the home, it’s easy to get swept up in their joyful sense of style. “I love color-blocking and being surrounded by color,” Sarah says. One of the couple’s favorite items is a wacky (and fabulous) side table in the shape of a half-eaten corn cob from Third Drawer Down in Fitzroy.
Many of the items throughout the home have a similarly distinct style, unique to Sarah’s decorating taste. One such item is a wood coffee table that she designed herself, using scraps of MDF for the surface. She made it at a woodworking class in north Melbourne.
Velvet pillows: Castle and Things
Many of the items throughout the home have a similarly distinct style, unique to Sarah’s decorating taste. One such item is a wood coffee table that she designed herself, using scraps of MDF for the surface. She made it at a woodworking class in north Melbourne.
Velvet pillows: Castle and Things
Sarah and Mike have furnished their home with several items from Ikea. To individualize these pieces, Sarah has often added fun details. The couch was customized by sewing buttons into the upholstery for a tufted effect, and the standard legs were swapped out for a different design.
While she is almost always up for any DIY task, Sarah had to call on a professional to help with that one. “DIY lesson No. 1: Be prepared to pay someone else if it doesn’t work out,” she says.
Most of the frames on the living room wall were found at thrift shops or on bulk-pickup days, when large items are put out for trash collection. Sarah has painted them for a fresh new look. Bulk-pickup days make her “go a bit crazy,” she says. “I slow my car down to a crawl around my neighborhood.”
While she is almost always up for any DIY task, Sarah had to call on a professional to help with that one. “DIY lesson No. 1: Be prepared to pay someone else if it doesn’t work out,” she says.
Most of the frames on the living room wall were found at thrift shops or on bulk-pickup days, when large items are put out for trash collection. Sarah has painted them for a fresh new look. Bulk-pickup days make her “go a bit crazy,” she says. “I slow my car down to a crawl around my neighborhood.”
One of Sarah’s most treasured pieces is her 1970 HMV record player, which she received for her 21st birthday. It sits in the living room, where the wood nicely contrasts a red rug from After Online.
Sarah’s most recent purchase is her set of Jean Prouvé-inspired dining chairs. “If I buy something new, it’s because I really like it,” she says, “or I’ve had my eye on it for a long time. The rest I will try and make myself.” The pendant lights were bought in Bali.
“With my cushions, sometimes instead of buying the really expensive inserts, I just buy the covers and then go to [a thrift shop] and buy a $3 cushion there just for the insert,” she says.
Pretzel pillow: Kip & Co.
Pretzel pillow: Kip & Co.
Above the dining table hangs Sarah’s favorite print — a photo of Mike at the beach. She took this herself and then framed it in one of her hand-painted frames.
The dining table is close to the kitchen and is where the couple have most of their meals.
The dining table is close to the kitchen and is where the couple have most of their meals.
The original kitchen was gutted during the renovations, and the cabinets were replaced with Ikea designs that Mike and Sarah installed themselves. Sarah says in retrospect they should have paid someone to install them properly, as they both feel they didn’t do the best job — refer back to DIY lesson No. 1.
Shelving: Ikea
As true Melbournians, Mike and Sarah have a soft spot for anything Melbourne-related, as seen at left.
Melbourne poster: Australian Vintage Posters
Melbourne poster: Australian Vintage Posters
One of the home’s main shortcomings was the lack of storage space. Sarah worked with Laz Fogas of Total Joinery to add built-in cupboards in several rooms. The duo created these units in the living room, and the wall between the kitchen and the living area was knocked down to open up the space.
Sarah used her urban design background, with the help of AutoCAD, to design the cabinets, then Fogas built and installed them.
Sarah used her urban design background, with the help of AutoCAD, to design the cabinets, then Fogas built and installed them.
Sarah and Mike rent out the guest bedroom through Airbnb. The bedside tables, floral pillows and tan throw were bought at thrift shops. “Things don’t have to be expensive if you plan to DIY or upcycle,” Sarah says. “Half of the satisfaction comes from doing something on the cheap.” To add storage in this bedroom, Sarah fitted it with a bank of Ikea closets.
Bedding and pink velvet pillows: Adairs; yellow velvet pillows: Kip & Co.
Bedding and pink velvet pillows: Adairs; yellow velvet pillows: Kip & Co.
Above the bed, thrift shop finds hang in a small gallery feature. Though searching for the perfect piece when thrift shopping can be overwhelming for some, Sarah suggests giving it a go. “Bring things home and see how they fit in your space,” she says. “If I see another object that can be upgraded, I get rid of the old thing. I put it on eBay or Gumtree, and I do the Camberwell market two to three times a year — I am a bit of a hoarder.”
This hallway leads to the bathroom and main bedroom, and acts as another much-needed storage area. The wall features a multihook rack inspired by the Eames Hang-It-All.
The bathroom was originally an all-pink affair. The couple decided on a timeless design when they redid it, after they were reminded to think of the property’s resale value. “I was going to go a bit cool and crazy, but it’s one of the most expensive things to change if it dates,” Sarah says.
However, she still tries to maintain her own sense of style and personality with the Keep Resin pendant light, color-blocked towels and greenery. Once again, Sarah worked with Fogas to design the cabinets and vanity in the bathroom, to add more storage.
However, she still tries to maintain her own sense of style and personality with the Keep Resin pendant light, color-blocked towels and greenery. Once again, Sarah worked with Fogas to design the cabinets and vanity in the bathroom, to add more storage.
The main bedroom is bursting with personality. The Ikea Malm bed frame appears here, finished with a headboard Sarah made with wood, padding and soft gray upholstery. She advises anyone interested in giving this project a go to measure carefully. She also plans to make the same-style headboard for the guest room.
The bedspread is from Urban Outfitters. Though Sarah is a lover of color, she says: “I’ve had this bedspread for ages. I just really like the simple black and white print.”
The bedspread is from Urban Outfitters. Though Sarah is a lover of color, she says: “I’ve had this bedspread for ages. I just really like the simple black and white print.”
“The ’70s were big on DIY,” Sarah says. “I always look for retro DIY books in [thrift shops] for sources of information.” Sarah made the macramé plant hangers strung up throughout the home. She bought rope, then watched YouTube videos and read ’70s DIY books to learn how to make them.
Sarah loves devil’s ivy and fiddle leaf figs, which are both easy to care for. Over the years, she has been taking cuttings from the original devil’s ivy plant and growing more plants to spread through the house. She also gives them to friends and family as gifts.
Sarah recommends buying self-watering pots for those who tend to fail as plant parents.
Sarah loves devil’s ivy and fiddle leaf figs, which are both easy to care for. Over the years, she has been taking cuttings from the original devil’s ivy plant and growing more plants to spread through the house. She also gives them to friends and family as gifts.
Sarah recommends buying self-watering pots for those who tend to fail as plant parents.
The duck lamp shown here is a Heico design. The cup is from Keep Resin.
The Moroccan boucherouite rug was bought on Etsy.
The courtyard originally consisted of a concrete slab, a Colorbond steel shed and a Hills Hoist-style clothesline, all surrounded by Colorbond fencing. Removing the shed meant the garden needed an alternative storage space, so Sarah’s dad built the wood one, which fits around the windows to avoid blocking light inside the house.
Mike and Sarah covered the existing steel fence with timber and laid tile flooring from Ikea to warm up the courtyard. The garden also boasts a worm farm and a retractable clothesline that replaced the previous one, to save on space.
Mike and Sarah covered the existing steel fence with timber and laid tile flooring from Ikea to warm up the courtyard. The garden also boasts a worm farm and a retractable clothesline that replaced the previous one, to save on space.
Sarah built the brick retaining wall around the garden, in her first-ever brick-laying job. The garden beds are also handmade additions by the couple. Sarah thinks her next outdoor project will be a garden tidy-up, “though we both agreed overgrown gardens are gorgeous!” she says.
After the couple’s recent wedding, Sarah had a lot of leftover vases. Instead of throwing them away, she turned them all into terrariums to use as gifts.
Along with gardening, Sarah spends free time doing pottery. She says she can often be found out in the front of the home with her pottery wheel.
Along with gardening, Sarah spends free time doing pottery. She says she can often be found out in the front of the home with her pottery wheel.
“I feel proud and love being surrounded by expressions of the things I like,” says Sarah, seen here with Mike, of her DIY-decorated home. “It’s great to have things around the house that I can go and fix up and create if I get bored.”
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
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My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Sarah Borg of Bangin Hangings; her husband, Mike, cofounder of EMC Digital; and their cat, Leroy
Location: Coburg, Victoria, Australia
Size: About 860 square feet (80 square meters), two bedrooms, one bathroom
Sarah says the property was in a terrible condition when they bought it. There were cigarette burns on the carpet, broken tiles in the bathroom and grubby walls throughout. It definitely needed some tough love. The couple knocked down walls, put in a new kitchen and added custom storage systems of Sarah’s own design.
They pulled out the front lawn, and Sarah used her green thumb to convert the space into a garden with vegetables and herbs. They replaced the awnings out front with these cheerfully striped ones.