Regardless of being greater than 100 years previous, Heatherbrae was in largely unique situation when Julie and Vincent Fodera noticed it come up on the market final yr.

Constructed on over 3000 sq. metres in Caulfield, the non-public residence is a neighborhood landmark, full with a towering palm tree that’s doubtless as previous as the home itself. All the pieces from the elegant marble fireplaces to the stained-glass home windows, cellars, stables, and secret passageways tells a narrative concerning the previous, and stepping inside looks like stepping again in time.

It was sufficient to captivate Julie and Vincent, who’ve a shared ardour for renovating previous houses. ‘By no means in my wildest desires once we went there did I feel we’d find yourself shopping for it,’ Julie says on the newest episode of TDF Talks.

However when one other purchaser fell by way of, the couple ended up strolling away with the keys — and have since launched into an intensive restoration of the property, which will likely be their household’s ceaselessly residence. Additionally they have plans to share the residence with the neighborhood for historic fundraisers, occasions, or as a ‘dwelling gallery’ area, they usually’ve already gained an Instagram following of virtually 16,000 who’ve fallen in love with their renovation journey!

Hearken to the complete episode to listen to Julie and Vince reveal the complete story behind this spectacular venture, and browse the highlights under.

How they’re respecting the house’s historical past

Julie says their method is all about respecting Heatherbrae’s historical past and restoring its integrity. ‘I’d prefer to consider that I’m strolling the steadiness between celebrating what the house is, and offering among the comforts and performance that we count on in modern-day,’ she provides. All the pieces will likely be extra habitable, and the one new additions to the positioning will embrace a storage and a shed (enabling solar energy), however making certain the ensuing design nonetheless feels ‘interval particular’ is a precedence.

The couple have labored painstakingly to search out craftspeople to assist deliver the constructing again to its former glory — together with a talented plasterer who has labored on landmarks like Authorities Home to create ceiling roses, cornices, and mouldings!

What they’ve achieved to this point 

Since April, Vince, Julie and their staff of specialist tradespeople have been cautiously ‘dismantling’ broken ceilings, render, and termite-damaged flooring within the entry and the hallway. ‘We basically pulled every thing out that was falling aside, or not unique, after which we’ve began to place issues again,’ Vince says. ‘We stripped out all of the previous wiring, stripped out all of the previous plumbing, and we’ve now accomplished the rewiring and the re-plumbing of the house.’

Julie’s been overseeing the interiors, engaged on creating some customized fittings for the house, and shortly they’ll transfer onto the ornamental components, joinery and tiling.

Their renovating recommendation

As a former lawyer who now runs a water remedy enterprise, Vince realized most of what he is aware of about renovating from his dad, who was a builder, and was continually turning fixer-uppers into their household houses. He says the easiest way to study is on the job!

The couple are managing the venture themselves, with the assistance of a gifted staff of craftspeople, lots of whom specialize in misplaced trades and interval structure.

Vince additionally has some attention-grabbing recommendation for working with tradespeople, notably when renovating heritage houses — ‘I’m not asking folks to cite’ he says. ‘I’m paying these folks as we go, and the explanation for that’s that in case you ask a tradesman to cite, they should put a buffer in there, as a result of they don’t know what they’re going to search out, notably in these previous houses, so in case you attempt to get it quoted you’re going to search out that the quotes are all elevated.’ As a substitute, he says he has saved a substantial sum of money by paying his trades on a day-rate foundation, and dealing intently with them to know the scope of the job because it progresses.

The significance of preserving heritage houses

It’s been an unlimited and exhaustive enterprise, however Julie says say they’ve been impressed by the venture, and have cherished attending to know the ‘soul’ of the previous residence. Much more so, due to all of the help and encouragement they’ve obtained on social media. Their Instagram account has turn out to be a strategy to ‘fly a flag’ for heritage structure, and Julie says ‘Melbourne has among the most lovely buildings on the earth, and there’s nonetheless just a few left, so we actually have to activate and protect these as a lot as we will.’

Hearken to the complete episode with Julie and Vincent under, or discover TDF Talks on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!