A couple who spent two years travelling around Australia in a kombi van have finally settled down after purchasing a rundown brick property and transforming it into their dream home in just three months – without any renovation experience.
Elise Cook, 28, and her husband Domenic Palumbo decided to join the ‘van life’ adventurers popularised on Instagram in 2017, running their wine company Down The Rabbit Hole while on the road and posting incredible photos along the west and east coasts.
But after deciding to move back to their hometown of Adelaide, South Australia, last year to lay down more permanent roots, the couple struggled to find a property that matched their needs.
Elise Cook and her husband Domenic Palumbo (pictured) decided to join the ‘van life’ adventurers popularised on Instagram
That is, until a friend told them about a place he owned that they could move into the very next day if they wanted to.
Without even checking out the interior, Elise and Domenic bought the house in March 2018 and unknowingly signed up to 24/7 hard labour for three months when they got the keys in September.
‘We’ve never renovated anything before. In fact, we didn’t own any tools other than a screwdriver and a hammer until a year into our time on the road,’ Elise wrote on their blog.
‘It snowballed pretty fast. Probably because we had no idea what we were doing, and not much of a budget so we were doing as much as we could ourselves (Dom’s become a carpenter, a plumber, an electrician, a landscaper, and a diesel mechanic in the last few months).
‘But we’re pretty over the moon with the result. I LOVE this house now. And I love that we’ve created this together. We’ve done something I never imagined we’d be capable of.’
Without even checking out the interior, Elise and Domenic bought the house in March 2018 and unknowingly signed up to 24/7 hard labour for three months come September when they got the keys
BEFORE: This is what the South Australia-based home looked like when they first purchased the property
AFTER: And now it has a wrap around deck and a fabulous garden
OUTDOOR DECK
‘The back deck is my favourite zone of the house,’ Elise said.
‘It has such an inviting, calming feel about it, and I just love mornings sitting out on a rocking chair with my cuppa, listening to all the birds.
‘We created boxes in the deck for the plants to grow, and I planted peachy pink Bougainvillea which I hope to train up to frame the pergola. It will add a great splash of colour to the whole zone.
‘Our outdoor furniture on the big part of the back deck is from Australian brand Uniqwa Furniture. We first fell in love with the big daybed (originally thinking for our cellar door – but hey, I like it better here for us – and it’s so comfy!) and had it on our mood board – and then after hours scrolling their website I was in love with the whole collection.
‘Although we are South and they are based in Queensland, the women who we dealt with were amazing. The outdoor table is big enough for my big family, and is made from weathered, rustic teak – so much character!’
‘The back deck is my favourite zone of the house,’ Elise said of the incredible transformation
ENSUITE BATHROOM
‘With the little ensuite we pulled out the old vanity mirror and light, and then revamped the old vanity unit by changing the handles over, using an off-cut of the timber bench we used in the kitchen and mounting a new basin and tap (thanks plumber Dom!),’ Elise said.
‘We got the Jones & Jones Concrete basin from Highgrove Bathrooms, as well as their Brass tapwear, and gorgeous big brass shower head and taps.
‘I painted the wall tiles white (and here’s a tip from the man at Bunnings – if you want gloss use the tile paint and if you want matt use the laminate paint, both will work. I used the laminate paint).
‘With the floor tiles, we sourced these handmade encaustic tiles from Jatana Interiors and the new mirror I found at Family Love Tree.
‘And big bath towels (in blush and white) from The Beach People.’
The ensuite bathroom went from a dull blue colour to an edgy Moroccan brown and orange with gold accents
The drab and tiny ensuite in their main bedroom used to be uninspiring to look at (pictured here before the renovation)
‘With the floor tiles, we sourced these handmade encaustic tiles from Jatana Interiors and the new mirror I found at Family Love Tree,’ she said
MAIN BEDROOM
‘In our bedroom we put in the wooden wall and slim shelf instead of getting a bedhead, pulled out the old built in wardrobe, had to level out the floor as there was a slight ramp into the room,’ she said.
‘Patching up the wall where the built in wardrobe used to be was very tedious, but we got there.’
The antique Indian mirror featured in their room is from Alabaster Traders and the pair know the couple who run the business.
‘Karmin (who runs it with her husband) sourced incredible pieces from India and imports and restores them. This would have to be one of my favourite pieces in the house, it is so special,’ Elise said.
The antique Indian mirror featured in their room is from Alabaster Traders and the pair know the couple who run the business
‘Karmin (who runs it with her husband) sourced incredible pieces from India and imports and restores them. This would have to be one of my favourite pieces in the house, it is so special,’ Elise said
LIVING ROOM/DINING ROOM
‘This room is a favourite too. We wanted to create a cosy space for sitting around with friends or family with a cuppa or a bottle of wine… or somewhere to curl up with a book,’ she said.
‘After living on the road with no TV, and not missing it at all, we’ve decided to go TV free in the home.
‘We’re busy and whatever downtime we have we’d rather connect, read, or sit outside and for the nights we need it, or a special movie night, we have a laptop or even our little (amazing) smart projector that have Netflix and Apple movies for movie nights. But that stops us from mindlessly switching something on.
‘So far, it’s been a hit with having people over. It’s so much nicer to have a space that encourages engaging, rather than all facing a wall.’
‘This room is a favourite too. We wanted to create a cosy space for sitting around with friends or family with a cuppa or a bottle of wine… or somewhere to curl up with a book,’ she said
‘So far, it’s been a hit with having people over. It’s so much nicer to have a space that encourages engaging, rather than all facing a wall,’ she said
The living space is a great segway into the kitchen and allows the couple to entertain their guests
Even the kitten is a fan! Elise looks very relaxed in her brand new dining room
KITCHEN
‘Honestly, if we didn’t think, “we’ll JUST change the bench top over” this all may never have snowballed into what it is,’ Elise said.
‘We wound up pulling the overhead cabinets down, repairing the walls, putting a new oven in, changing the bench top over, and the sink and taps, painting the cupboards with laminate paint (which worked great and is such a good way to give a kitchen a facelift on a budget!).
‘New doorknobs, adding in two shelves, and changing the tiles over (which is when the wall fell down and we had to call in help to redo the wall again). This space definitely snowballed quickly but we know a lot of meals will be cooked in this space… a lot of time will be spent here, and we love it.’
The kitchen was the first place the couple thought they should renovate when they bought the house