A pair of tradie brothers, who tripled the value of the worst house in a rough neighbourhood, now love it so much they can’t imagine ever leaving.
Carpenter Liam Almond, 28, and his tiler brother Rhys have been tradies since they were teenagers and a month ago walked away winners of Channel 7’s smash-hit renovation show Dream Home.
The $100,000 prize went to Rhys who put it towards his mortgage, but the real trophy was adding more than a million dollars to the value of Liam’s Deception Bay home – bought for $555,000 in 2022 in Greater Brisbane’s north, which was about $85,000 below the suburb’s median house price. The area has seen prices rise 54 per cent in the past three years, but their renovation beat that in one TV series jumping about 200 per cent.
Rhys and Liam Almond won Dream Home on Ch7 2024. Picture: Instagram/@liamalmond
Liam Almond’s home was bought for $555,000 in 2022 in this condition.
How the home looks now. Picture: Instagram/@liamalmond
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Liam Almond said value estimates were between $1.6m and $1.8m for his home after renovation – a phenomenal result.
“Anything over that million mark, I’m jumping out of my socks,” he said. “They just did a renovation down the road at the shopping centre of about $11m. It does have that knock-on effect. Even the neighbours are like ‘god you make us feel like our house needs to be renovated now too’.”
An immediate neighbour was so impressed with the Scandi-coastal style, he asked the brothers to do the same next door. “It’s definitely put the reno bug in a lot of people’s hearts in the street now,” he said. “I’ve actually had the pleasure of helping the guy who lives right next door to me, his name’s Michael. We’re renovating his house. He’s a bit of a Dream Home fan.”
Their new kitchen and butler’s pantry fully kitted out with top of the range LG appliances.
One of Liam Almond’s favourite spots.
A stunning laundry for the Almond family.
The Almond brothers grew up in nearby Redcliffe so they were not fazed at all by D-Bay’s rough reputation. When he took on the fixer upper, Liam had a child on the way and simply wanted to set down roots close to their childhood haunts.
“This is my 12th year of being a builder. I started when I was 16,” he said.
“We bought in Deception Bay before even knowing that we were going on the show. By the time we bought and moved in, she was about two weeks away (from childbirth).”
“So it was kind of a rough situation, but it was more so we can have our own home or own space while having a little one.”
How the back of the home looked before renovation.
Looking towards the back of the home now from the newly built firepit area. Picture: Instagram/@liamalmond
Part of the dream backyard. Picture: Instagram/@liamalmond
A cubby house has now been added for daughter Remi. Picture: Instagram/@liamalmond
The brothers signed up for Dream Home after being told they’d be great on the show – and they’re still blown away by the renovations and upgrades that occurred.
“The transformation was crazy. It’s not just the building but all the appliances that we put into the house as well. Some of the appliances I could never fathom buying – the LG TV we got was unreal, and the steamer I didn’t even know that existed before this.”
“Being a bloke, I think my favourite two products in the entire house have to be the LG TV and the fridge because that’s where we keep the beers.”
The brothers worked on the backyard at the property but “the rest of the home was all in the hands of the other contestants – and the house they gave us is amazing.”
“Now we’re loving it so much and I couldn’t imagine moving. It really is a dream home.”
Rhys and Liam Almond reaction after seeing the completed house with Dream Home host Dr Chris Brown. Picture: Instagram/@liamalmond
Neighbours are now also considering renovating. Picture: Instagram/@liamalmond
Some of the stunning internals. Picture: Instagram/@liamalmond
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His recommendation for home renovators was not skip out on planning time.
“Definitely think out the plan of the home, the appliances, smart technology, make sure things are in the right places and at the right heights.”
“The more planning you can do on a renovation, you’ll get a better outcome. It pays to take a bit of time and not just rush – unless you’re on Dream Home and you’ve got a matter of hours to plan the entire house.”
English (US) · 