Before & After: A Tiny Australian Beach Cottage’s Blah Kitchen Gets a Bold Dose of Color

Name: Trish Daley and my husband Rob
Location: Kiama, NSW, Australia
Type of home: Beach Cottage
Kitchen Size: 75 square feet
Years lived in: 10 years, owned

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: Our rundown home, with a great location, only a short walk to the nearby beach, was bought with the intention of a quick flip by my hubby, a builder, after his first marriage had broken down. The home had great bones but was seriously lacking personality. But then he tried “online dating for 50 plus” and along came me. I sold my cottage down south, moved in, married him, and we promptly set about creating our love nest. Ten years later, here we are. Bliss.

I’m loud, bold, and very adventurous with color and ideas. Hubby tries his best to tame my taste, but knows he really fights an uphill battle. I do try to meet him half way. I’ve always loved vintage and recycling everything as much as possible. Hubby is more of a perfectionist and clean lines. Somehow we gel, and whatever I envision he helps put into play.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Coastal beachy shabby eclectic vintage

What is your favorite room and why? Our kitchen. Hubby built it before I moved in, and over the years I’ve helped color it in. I love to paint murals. I love color. I love textures mixed together. I feel our kitchen has personality, but is also so practical. The kitchen setting is a magical score off Facebook Marketplace. Hubby built the hood for the exhaust fan as I just couldn’t keep looking at the steel frame.

I repurposed an old dresser and hubby magically “added” it into our kitchen to give us the eclectic look I love, plus for extra counter space and storage. We changed up the handles on all the kitchen cabinets. We also got the handles off Facebook Marketplace and then I decoupaged the backing plates that hubby made. We put in a sliding door and added shutters.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The shutters are from a Melbourne company diyblinds.com.au. The utensil hanging thingy is from IKEA.

Any advice for creating a home you love? Go with your heart. If you love it just do it. Trends come and go. Be you. Marry an awesome human being.

This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before and After: A Tiny Australian Beach Cottage’s Blah Kitchen Got a Bold Dose of Color