Helene Fuller and Joe Geary have renovated Helene’s childhood home in Newtown after buying it at auction in 2022. Picture: Brad Fleet
When the auction board went up in front of a dilapidated Newtown home back in 2022 everyone assumed it was destined to be bulldozed for a new townhouse development.
The period weatherboard’s sagging front veranda was barely standing after years of neglect, while inside time had stood still for decades.
But those who wrote off the original house underestimated the emotional connection winning bidders Helene Fuller and Joe Geary had to the place.
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Helene spent the first 15 years of her living life at the Minerva Rd property, which her parents bought in 1964.
The family sold her childhood home back in 1983 but it retained a special place in her heart over the ensuing decades.
“I’ve been driving past here for the past 20 years and seeing the house slowly getting more and more run down,” she says.
“I had dreams of buying it and then I saw the sign up one day and I sent Joe a photo of the auction sign and said ‘I really want this’.”
The timing of the October 2022 auction wasn’t great as the couple was in the throws of organising their wedding.
But as luck would have it, they overcame multiple bidders to secure the four-bedroom house.
The house had seen better days when the couple bought it ahead of several other bidders.
A six-month settlement gave them time to tie the knot before moving in and embarking on a major renovation after quickly selling their place in nearby Manifold Heights.
The house was falling down around them but, remarkably, the interior had hardly changed since Helene was a girl.
Her father’s stamp could still found in the kitchen and other additions he made to the original four-room cottage, which was transported from Rokewood by horse and cart to its present location in the early 1900s.
Helene says the childhood bedroom she shared with her sister was still decorated with the same floral mid-century wallpaper.
Further memories, like a souvenir flag from childhood trip to Puffing Billy, were uncovered as Joe and a friend demolished additions in preparation for the renovation.
A section of timber wall from the original cottage is framed in the hallway in a nod to the home’s heritage. Picture: Brad Fleet
Wide bi-fold doors link the new living area to a deck and landscaped pool area. Picture: Brad Fleet
“Above the back door there was this little secret cupboard that my dad built, it was all panelled,” Helene says.
“They opened it and inside was a little set of hardwood table and chairs that were my brother’s. That was really special.”
The couple worked with Tufan Chakir from The Planning Professionals on renovation plans that would honour the home’s heritage.
Builders Smith & Sons delivered the home to lockup on a tight schedule, while Helene and Joe rented nearby, with the couple co-ordinating and completing the finishing touches including painting and landscaping.
The centrepiece of the new extension is a spacious open-plan living zone spilling out to decks with retractable awnings on the east and west sides.
Set under high pitched ceilings, the kitchen, dining and living area showcases blackbutt flooring, a built-in study nook and bi-fold doors onto a swimming pool.
Helene credits South Pacific Pools and Spas with pulling the couple’s outdoor vision together, including a built-in bench seat featuring breeze blocks.
There was also a pool at the house when Helene lived there as a child but this one is a big step up. Picture: Brad Fleet
Am ‘All you need is love’ sign, from the couple’s wedding, features in the main bedroom suite. Picture: Brad Fleet
Heritage-style tiles in the main bathroom are another nod to the home’s long history. Picture: Brad Fleet
“This space is really nice and we had 19 people here for Christmas Day, which was great,” Helene says of the living room.
An adjoining laundry doubles as a mud room en route to the garage, where workshop space was carved out for Joe.
Helene says she was keen to retain period elements in the original section of the house, now the bedroom wing.
But the decorative ceiling roses were in such poor condition they crumbled and had to be replicated, as did the external lacework and bullnose veranda.
She did, however, keep one section of original wall, once hidden under lath and plaster, preserving the timber behind a glass frame in the hallway.
Helene’s also framed pieces of the mid-century wallpaper from the old kitchen and her former bedroom, now a converted into a luxurious ensuite and walk-in wardrobe.
Helene decorates the family Christmas tree with her mother and sister at the house. The same wallpaper was still there when she purchased the property decades later.
The living area looked like this when Helene and Joe bought the house.
Her parents are big admirers of the transformation, but Helene and Joe are also grateful for the community interest in the project.
“There’s people that live up through here that lived here when my parents were here and they say ‘we thought you guys would subdivide and redevelop and we have watched the house all the way through’ so the support has been amazing,” Helene says.
In fact, the couple did subdivide off part of the backyard to fund the renovation project.
But, in a further strengthen of family ties to the address, they sold the block to Helene’s daughter and her partner to build their first home.
Helene says they chose colours and styles to in keeping with the original home to create a cohesive look.
“It’s two-bedroom and has a big walk-in pantry because they cook a lot,” she says.
“It’s really lovely and it’s got them a foot in the door.”
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