Home renovations: The ugly duckling Australian home that became a swan

It’s not unusual for strangers to knock on Jo Mitchell’s door inquiring about her stunningly updated period home, but it wasn’t always that way.

Illustrator Jo Mitchell at her renovated Adelaide home. Picture: Nick Clayton.

It’s not unusual for strangers to knock on Jo Mitchell’s door inquiring about the colour of her home’s window trims, front door or the roof, hopeful of replicating the look themselves. And while imitation is the greatest form of flattery, it wasn’t always that way.

When Jo and husband Dan bought the 1890s sandstone-fronted villa a decade ago, they recall that even the local real estate agent was filled with dread.

“Oh my God, it was horrendous,’’ Jo says. “It was the most rundown house you could get. The kitchen was an early ’80s monstrosity and the bathroom was a glass atrium attached to the back of the house – the walls were glass, the ceiling was glass. It was so bright that you needed to wear sunglasses in the bath. The balustrade was enclosed in concrete and the whole house was painted peach with brown carpet.

“At first, we just looked straight past it and said, ‘No, that house is not for us’. It was so ugly – even the real estate agent told us we weren’t going to like it.’’

What the house looked like when they bought it.

And after … house illustrator Jo Mitchell’s renovated Adelaide home. Picture: Nick Clayton.

BUYING A RENOVATOR

Despite its flaws, the home did have some redeeming factors. It had many of the original features Jo and Dan were looking for, including fireplaces, timber floorboards and ornate ceiling roses and cornices.

 The home was also elevated and located on a sloping street within a heritage conservation area, providing a lovely view from the veranda to the front yard and beyond. Given the couple could not afford to buy a “finished’’ house with the same original features, in the same inner northern Adelaide suburb, they took the plunge and purchased the three-bedroom home – and then promptly got to work with a sledgehammer.

“We took down all the original iron lacework (around the veranda) and put it in the shed, and all the iron feet off the veranda posts, and just knocked down all the concrete around the balustrade to open up the front,’’ Jo says.

At the same time, a carpenter, who had trained in the UK on old oak-fronted homes and was gaining a solid reputation for work he was doing on other homes in the street, agreed to help restore the cross-timber balustrade. “It gave the house a massive facelift,’’ Jo says.

The original kitchen.

The facade is repaired and restored.

Two children later – Sophie, now eight, and Tom, now six – Jo and Dan decided it was time to embark on an internal renovations as well. They demolished the much-maligned bathroom, as well as the laundry, and built an expansive, open-plan kitchen and living area that opens to a timber-decked alfresco and rear yard.

What the home looked like before.

The former kitchen was converted to a new bathroom, while the home’s original living room became a luxurious master bedroom suite with a walk-in robe and ensuite.

“We basically kept the original part of the house and knocked off the (old extension at the) back,’’ Jo says. “The (new) extension is huge and gives us a great living space that opens on to the garden and has really big, floor-to-ceiling windows. We just love it.’’

Illustrator Jo Mitchell at her renovated Adelaide home. Picture: Nick Clayton.

INSIDE TRANSFORMATION

Jo, an occupational therapist, has delighted in decorating her beautiful new space, opting for vintage furniture and rugs from iconic Adelaide homewares store One Rundle Trading as well as GlobeWest and Armadillo Rugs, and treasures sourced on Gumtree, to create a timeless look. A fan of neutrals – Antique White USA is a particular favourite when it comes to wall colour – Jo doesn’t shy away from dark colours either, opting to paint the fence in black, which pops against the home’s facade.

 Jo’s attention to detail is not restricted to renovations. During the pandemic, she picked up pen and paper and, with no training except for her high school art classes, started creating line drawings of

old buildings.

 After posting a few of the illustrations on Instagram, word of Jo’s talent spread and she now runs a successful side hustle doing commissioned drawings of people’s homes, with clients across Australia, as well as New Zealand, the US and the UK.

 “I keep (the drawings) pretty simple,’’ Jo says. “They’re just a bit wiggly and wobbly, and not perfect but I think people like that.

I do a lot of drawings for people as gifts for birthdays or Mother’s Day. Quite a few people also want (illustrations of) their family home that was sold and demolished.

 “People sometimes surprise me that they clearly have a long-term view for that picture – they ask me to write the address on it so generations down the track will have an idea of where the house is, particularly if it’s not the house they live in now or it was their mother’s childhood home. It’s nice to know the memory of that home will go on.’’

Line art.

Jo’s drawings.

DRAWN TO IT

As for Jo, there are no plans to leave the home she and Dan have poured their heart into. “We’ve put so much energy into this house,’’ she says. “All the jobs around the house that have been done when we’ve had holidays from work and all the effort that’s gone into it. But it’s not the money – you bring the kids home from hospital to your house so it’s hard to say goodbye.

“I want my kids to be here for their entire childhoods so they have that childhood memory of this place and this town … and getting to know the locals. We had people (living nearby) that stopped in yesterday to get lemons from us … that’s what I love about our home – it’s the sense of community.’

Jo has been commissioned to draw homes all around Australia as well as New Zealand, the US and the UK.

JO’S TIPS FOR CREATING A LINE DRAWING:

■ Start by taking a photo of the house or building you wish to draw. If you can’t take a photo, search real estate sites or Google Street View for an image.

■ Use good quality pens and paper – don’t be tempted to skimp and use printer paper. Jo finds cartridge paper perfect for illustrations or, when more texture is desired, she uses a medium watercolour paper. She also prefers to use a fine ink liner with a 0.4mm point.

■ Sketch a rough outline of the building in pencil, using a light touch. Take your time, study your photo carefully and work on getting the basic shapes and proportions down on paper. “Most houses are just a combination of rectangles and triangles – just like we used to draw as kids,’’ Jo says.

■ Ready, set, draw. Jo often starts by drawing the roof and then works down. After the outline, fill in the details such as windows, doors and brickwork.