Husband and wife duo Kyal and Kara Demmrich are expert renovators living on the Central Coast. They are also celebrities – getting their start by starring renovation reality TV show The Block in 2014. The couple manage their small business while also juggling their two young children, Ziya and Vada.
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Their renovation of a weatherboard property at 82 Pacific Street in Long Jetty on the Central Coast makes for a great case study. The couple bought the home for $710,000 in 2017 and sold it at auction for $1.59million.
The Demmrichs were influenced by the architecture of mid-century Palm Springs homes in California – a design movement known as Desert Modernism. It’s recognised by its use of clean lines, glass, natural finishes and flow-on indoor/outdoor spaces.
The Long Jetty house showcases an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area.
“We wanted to create a really big beautiful family home with a lot of space,” Kyal says. “The way the [home’s] design works, you can entertain in the kitchen and dining and have a good view of the outdoor area.
“You really do feel like you’re connected to the outdoors and what’s happening out there; it’s very integrated indoor outdoor living.”
The two gutted most of the original home and transformed it from a “beach shack” to a lavish family home that sold for over double the price. It’s now a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home with high ceilings, light and airy spaces and a backyard oasis complete with an outdoor kitchen and plunge pool.
It sold to a retired couple from Sydney who were downsizing.
Kyal says the pair put themselves into every project, creating homes that are built to last. One of the couple’s goals when designing a home is to make sure they themselves would love to live there.
They are also influenced by the Art Deco design movement, so the Corinthian Deco oversized door was the perfect match for the property.
“The clean, vertical lines and geometry of the Deco door design added texture to the front facade,” Kara says.
They described the importance of having a clear and inviting path to the front door.
They described the importance of having a clear and inviting path to the front door.
“The original home was a small weatherboard cottage with lots of tack-ons, such as a carport, shed, back verandah and outdoor laundry,” Kyal says.
“Initially, you had to walk down the driveway and the front door was located on the side of the house – this is one of the first things we knew we had to update.”
The front façade is built with Blackbutt timber decking, blending with hand-laid limestone walls and white weatherboard cladding. The interior raked ceiling is 3.6 meters high with a neutral colour palette.
The couple went with CSR Gyprock as their plasterboard, a material they’ve had success with in past renovations. They like its impact and sound resistant benefits. Gyprock Supaceil plasterboard was used for the ceilings. They used Aquachek plasterboard in the laundry and bedrooms which is specifically designed for use as a lining in wet areas due to its moisture and humidity resistant properties.
“It’s great for families because it delivers better sound absorption and less noise transfer. This results in a noticeably quieter interior environment and creates a level of serenity,” Kara says.
The couple had a very deliberate vision for their outdoor entertaining space. They wanted Palm Springs meets Moroccan textures, and the mosaic-tiled plunge pool blends with the greenery and the breeze block wall.
They’re all about outdoor living; they installed a fully integrated kitchen and barbecue underneath a covered deck area with large skylights. An outdoor shower by the pool also adds to the coastal vibe.
Over the last five years the couple have renovated over 30 houses, and the house in Long Jetty was the fourth one they did themselves.