With Balinese decor, design and furniture, the house - and every corner within it - tells a story.

Glen's an electrician and Cathie's a pharmacist.

This is their third and final home renovation. It's their forever home.

Their previous house also had a Balinese theme.

They've visited the island 17 times and have several friends there.

Over many years, they've shipped and physically brought back from Bali as much art and decor as possible.

"The big challenge was we both maintain full-time work," Glen says of the renovations.

"It was weekends, after work, long hours, but it was worth it.

"We achieved what we wanted."

They bought the house seven years ago. They owned a rental property nearby and noticed that an auction was happening.

They hadn't even seen inside the house, but bought it anyway.

They knew the property needed a lot of work, but it turned out to be their forever home.

They rented out the house at first, then decided to remodel it.

The renovations took about nine months and the pair moved in five years ago.

The house was built in the 1940s.

When they bought it, the home had two bedrooms, one bathroom, a "funny sunroom" and carpet.

Now it has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, which is handy when their sons, grandkids and guests visit.

You enter the house up a small staircase, which leads to an open lounge, beautiful kitchen and out to the enticing back deck.

The back verandah and garden previously contained vegetable patches, grass, a clothes line and an incinerator.

Now it's a stunning, detailed barbecue area with statues, tiles, dining table, cane furniture and, of course, the pool.

You can sit in the pool and look through the house and beyond to Lake Macquarie.

The couple recommend visiting at night when the outside is lit with fairy lights.

"All the lanterns light up through the garden," Glen says.

"It's incredible. We love it at night, especially on a hot night."

The kitchen opens up, blending with the outdoor area.

"When you've got people here you're not shut away in the kitchen, everybody's around. We designed the stack of doors behind the pantry," Cathie says of the foldable glass doors.

Along with plenty of space for dining, there's a Balinese hut beside the pool and tall bamboo growing for privacy.

They flew to Bali to pick out a lot of the accessories and imported furniture, vanity bowls, Buddha statues and tiles.

The bamboo is the non-invasive and clumping gracilis. It has grown fast in a few years

They were already big plants when the McIntoshes brought them home from the growers market.

Cathie remembers being wedged in the front seat with bamboo filling the car.

"This is our Balinese villa," Cathie says.

"Everyone who comes here says the same."

It's also their sanctuary and refuge.

They both love renovating, but now they feel like it can't get any better.

"I don't know how many times have we sat here and had a beer and gone 'How lucky are we?'," Glen says.

"There's nothing we'd change and there's nothing more that we'd really want."

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