Home renovations Sydney: Trick to turning your home into the ultimate airbnb

Lean on all of your senses to create the most peaceful hideaway possible.

Kirsten Walker has always known that home is exactly where the magic happens.

While it took a global pandemic and multiple, stressful lockdowns for people to catch on to the idea of home as a haven, Kirsten Walker has always known that home is exactly where the magic happens.

It is, after all, where she (along with her brother and the help of her parents) started successful scented candle brand Palm Beach Collection in her family garage.

The backyard candle-making business has since expanded into aromatherapy, bath and body and wellness products, and is now in more than 1000 stores across Australia and New Zealand.

Kirsten Walker of Palm Beach Collection.

And while she no longer works out of her garage, Kirsten’s belief in the sanctity and sanctuary of ‘home base’ has only strengthened.

“I’m really into the whole ‘holiday at home’ thing,” she laughs.

“Which is why when we decided to renovate in 2019, I wanted it to feel like a warm, welcoming Airbnb where you could snuggle up and never have to leave.”

NEED FOR A CALMING HOME ENVIRONMENT

According to clinical psychotherapist Julie Sweet, from Seaway Counselling and Psychotherapy, the need for calming environments within the home has never been more pressing.

“Research shows everything from natural light to the space we occupy can alleviate anxiety and improve depression,” says Julie.

“Staple decor pieces, simplicity and an open, uncomplicated home can cultivate calmness and nourishment,” she explains.

“This is imperative during lockdown as it’s not only a protective factor, it can also be self-soothing.”

A soothing environment.

As it turns out, Kirsten was unwittingly ahead of the curve.

Her six-month renovation was completed just before Covid forced all of us to spend a lot more time indoors with our families.

“Even pre-Covid, we spent an awful lot of time at home, but particularly after the renovation,” says Kirsten.

“The outdoor fireplace was finished just a few weeks before we first locked down, which meant that we all had this safe, Zen place to drink wine, and for the kids to toast marshmallows. In a way, it felt like we were on holidays.”

Pretty in pink.

Before the reno, Kirsten was sharing a one-bathroom, three-bedroom weatherboard bungalow on Sydney’s dreamy Northern Beaches peninsula with her husband, two kids and the family hound, just down the road from her business’ eponymous landmark, Palm Beach itself.

“We were really lucky in that the layout was already very open and inviting, and the living area kind of flowed out into the backyard,” she says.

“The timing couldn’t have been more perfect,” adds Kirsten, who created an additional three bedrooms and two bathrooms via a second storey, just before Covid sparked a frenzied rise in home improvement projects across the country.

Research from Rate City found nearly a third of Australians (31 per cent) were redirecting funds they would previously have set aside for travel, into decor and renovations for the family home.

It’s summer almost every day.

MAKE YOUR HOME A SAFE HAVEN

Now, having lived in their renovated home through several lockdowns, their tranquil home is very much their safe haven. Flooded with natural light and boasting classic coastal design elements (limewashed Tasmanian oak floorboards run the length of the house, providing a beachy yet hard-wearing backdrop to life with a dog and two energetic kids), Kirsten’s love of soothing textures and her minimalist philosophy shine through.

Considered and peaceful, the beachside home is a testament to what has become a lifelong connection to the way surroundings interact with the senses. It has a calm vibe built on practice and patience.

“I’m the kind of person who believes in keeping a space inviting, simple and peaceful,” says Kirsten.

The new must-have: a fire pit.

The canines are super content here too.

“I’m a ‘buy once and get it right’ kind of person. I’d rather go without something if I don’t really love it. I’d rather save my money and wait for a couple of years to get it, and get it right.”

Like the bench she’s had her eye on from Great Dane Furniture.

“I’ve found so many options that are sort of similar to it, but not exactly it. But I just keep thinking, nope – I want that one! So I’m going to have to wait.”

It’s this eye for ‘just right’ that can be credited with the serenity that imbues each room in Kirsten’s family haven – which, even as uncertainty rages on outside, provides the perfect peaceful hideaway to connect to who and what matters most.

Colour, texture and, of course, scent, are her fundamental touch points for creating the perfect space.

It’s only in hindsight that Kirsten realises both her career and design philosophy have been shaped by engaging with the world through all of her senses. Colour, texture and, of course, scent, are her fundamental touch points for creating the perfect space.

Gentle scents “Coming into winter I love the clove and sandalwood scent we have,” she shares. “It’s a beautiful, earthy fragrance, but it’s also really soft – it just fills the house with warmth.”

Tactile textures “I am a textures person through and through … Interesting linens, natural fibres and raw materials add layers of detail that don’t detract from the calm environment.”

Nurturing colours “I’m not really a colour person, but I can’t resist a pop of pink,” says Kirsten.

“I would never wear pink in my fashion choices, but in the home, I just think it adds that warm, feminine nurturing element that you can really lean into.”

Originally published as Home renovations Sydney: Trick to turning your home into the ultimate airbnb