Double Bay: Real Housewives of Sydney star Krissy Marsh’s $23.9m home renovation

A Real Housewives of Sydney star’s $24m renovation plan, with ice bathrooms, cinema and wellness retreat, could become one of the largest reno projects ever undertaken in Sydney’s east.

A Real Housewives of Sydney star and her husband are planning to spend almost $24m undertaking one of the largest home reno projects ever seen in the city’s eastern suburbs in a move to meet the couple’s “lifestyle requirements”.

A cinema, gymnasium, ice bathrooms, wellness retreat, swimming pool and a cellar are among features of vast upgrade plans for a historic Double Bay mansion owned by reality star Krissy Marsh and her husband Johnny.

The development plans come three years after the couple bought the six bedroom home for $30m.

Three years on and the cost of the renovation represent is one of the largest single home upgrade projects ever to be undertaken in the Woollahra Council area.

By comparison, the $23.9m construction bill is more than half the projected cost of upgrading the entire Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs home ground in Belmore – a project granted approval from the NSW Government this week.

Krissy Marsh pictured at the Double Bay home in 2023.

Aerial image of the Double Bay home.

Development plans lodged with Woollahra Council stated the upgrade of the existing 101-year-old Victorian Gothic style home would ensure the property can meet the couple’s “current needs” and “lifestyle requirements”.

Features of the development include a wellness retreat with a sauna, an ice bathroom, treatment rooms, gymnasium, a cinema room, outdoor bars, a swimming pool, cabana, cellar, a herb garden and a commercial kitchen.

An artist’s impression of the TV star’s home renovation project.

Krissy Marsh has starred in the Real Housewives of Sydney.

Plans for the Double Bay home have been lodged with Woollahra Council.

There would also be new bedrooms and an entire new basement level with carparking spaces.

Plans to the council show around 2000 cubic metres of excavation work would be required for the build – roughly equivalent to the size of an Olympic swimming pool.

Ms Marsh – who starred in the first series of the Real Housewives of Sydney and recently returned for a third season – said the development would address some of the “necessary structural issues that come with an older property”.

“We plan to stay for a long time. This isn’t just a renovation, it’s about creating a home that truly reflects who we are and where we want to be for the future,” she said.

The existing home in Double Bay.

“We’ve lived here for over two years and we just love the Double Bay community.”

But not all neighbours are on board with the plans amid concerns the development could lead to construction vehicles clogging roads and “noise disturbances” on nearby properties.

It is understood multiple residents and the Double Bay Residents Association have written formal objection letters to the council outlining their grievances.

The Double Bay Residents Association, in its submission, claimed the “proposal constitutes a gross overdevelopment of the site that will have significant amenity impacts on the surrounding area”.

Plans to the council stated the development would have minimal impacts on neighbours and would ensure the home can “provide a contemporary living environment focused on improving residential amenity.”

The council is currently assessing the plans and a final decision on the project is yet to be handed down.

Despite the grandeur of the existing home, a heritage impact assessment undertaken as part of the development application described the property as “an ordinary large residence” which is therefore suitable for the upgrades.