Home renovations Sydney: Bowerbird ‘scavenge’ approach made this Bondi pad one of airbnb’s most popular

The ‘Bowerbird approach’ to homemaking revolutionised this Bondi pad, and has turned it into one of airbnb’s most sought-after stays.

The incredible beachside reno apartment by Yolande Gray.

One of the earliest memories Yolande Gray has of her nascent obsession with home decor and design was as a 10-year-old child.

“I was at a market or fair and I remember finding this dinner set – a matte black dinner set. And I just thought it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen,” says Yolande.

“I bought it, and I came home and took all the books off my bookshelf and just set it up like a dresser, with all the plates and things laid out.”

These days, the Sydney-based artist and creative director remains a self-confessed ‘bowerbird’ with a passion for thrifting. It’s an interest boldly on display everywhere you look in the converted beachside garden apartment she’s parlayed into a hugely successful Airbnb offering.

Warm, bubbly and generous with her enthusiasm for design, Yolande laughs as she describes the “intense” building process behind the project.

The things you can find …

HOME RENOVATION: ‘THE BOWERBIRD APPROACH’

“In 2019 I decided I would completely demolish the whole space and the landscaping as well – I had to have the retaining wall moved back about three metres,” she chuckles.

“Oh, and we had about four months to do it, so yes, it kind of ended up being quite a big deal.”

And while the build might have been a quick one, some of the elements of the project were actually years in the making.

“I knew I wanted white bricks,” explains Yolande, “and maybe four years ago now, there was a 1930s apartment building going down in Bondi, and they were just giving away the bricks for free. I went down there, and I was the first one to show up, so I just nabbed them. We emptied out one of the garages and the bricks completely filled the entire garage. And then they sat there for three years until we were ready to start on the build.”

The result – a cool, breezy haven reminiscent of a seaside villa in Puglia, Italy – has been well worth the heavy lifting.

BYO trade skills.

Likewise, the palladiana terrazzo flooring was inspired by Yolande’s love of travel, but unwilling to leave it to chance, the Gumtree aficionado did it herself.

“I went around and found many, many sheets of marble. I knew the colourways that I wanted for the kitchen and the bathroom, so I literally smashed the marble myself.”

Yolande is matter-of-fact when I express surprise at her hidden trade skills.

“Well, you kind of have to, I mean, the tiler can’t see the exact vision you have, and when you’re on a tight budget, it forces you to get creative. So I smashed it, then laid it, then the tiler came and filled it in and the polisher came and polished it back. And it’s like silk. It delights me every time I walk in there.”

Another item Yolande loves is her bathroom door, thrifted on a trip to Orange with her son, when they stumbled upon the old door from a local pub in a junk shop.

Yolande and pup Harvey at their apartment.

“It was from the Gentleman’s Parlour, so it was this fantastic big door with a circular piece of glass, and it had a top-hat and gloves in the etched glass,” she smiles.

“I have this theory – if you love something and you find it, say in your travels or at a flea market – I think, just don’t think about the practicality of bringing it home. That’s kind of how I roll. I see something, and I say ‘yeah, that’s coming home with me’.”

This theory explains the three large cobblestones – one from Rome, one from Paris and one from New York – displayed proudly among colourful glass carafes in a charming shelf vignette.

RENOVATION IDEAS FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS

It’s these little pops of colour and beauty that tend to delight Yolande’s Airbnb guests most of all, proving that having the courage to create a space filled with colour and curios certainly does pay off.

“I wasn’t sure whether I’d enjoy doing Airbnb, but it turns out I love it. I really love meeting the guests, looking after them and making sure they have a really great time,” she explains – and it appears the feeling is mutual: Yolande is a ‘superhost’ on the platform.

“I really wanted to create a space that I would like to walk into, with beautiful knives and cups and things to look at – everything you might need and more.”

The highly-sought after short term stay.

The resulting environment – warm, soothing and artistic without being overly self-conscious or ‘themed’ — is the reason that pre-pandemic, Yolande’s little slice of tranquillity was almost constantly fully booked.

“Ultimately, I love hosting. I love dinner parties, having people over – everything like that. I think that’s the main thing that makes or breaks an Airbnb experience,” Yolande explains. “You want to know someone really cares about the place. That they care about you.” Words: Bek Day  Pictures: Louise Lister

It appears the terrazzo trend is sticking around for a while so if you love it you can be confident it won’t date in a hurry. You could get someone in to create this look for you, or, you could follow Yolande’s lead and do it yourself.

CREATING THE IDEAL BEACH HOME RENOVATION

Here’s how Yolande created the look and how you can, too.

First, Yolande scoured Gumtree, garage sales and factory seconds for marble pieces in the colours she was after. It took time but she got there in the end. As will you.

When Yolande was confident she had the right variety of marble slabs, she set about smashing them into smaller pieces, which she carefully arranged in an array of sizes, shapes and colours.

Be bold with your choices.

After positioning into the pattern she desired, a professional tiler poured concrete into the spaces between the marble pieces, effectively cementing them in place.

Finally, Yolande enlisted a floor polisher who worked for several hours to smooth back the surface of the now beautiful floor until it was soft and “as smooth as silk”.

Colour cues

● Be bold with colour choices that invoke the kind of energy you’re looking to create.

● Pick a colourway for things like flooring or countertops, and gently reinforce that with decor that calls it out.

● There’s no need for matchy-matchy: you’re going for a feeling as opposed to a set limit of colours.

How to style a gorgeous vignette

It is a contagious joy for beautiful things that defines Yolande’s style.

Her artist’s eye has filled the space with interesting objects with a story in a kind of inverse Marie Kondo ideology. Everything in the space sparks joy – but rather than using this as a criteria by which to turf things out, the superhost has curated an energy that declares: everything is welcome here – and so are you.

At Home magazine cover May 15

Don’t miss our new-look At Home magazine, for all your home inspiration, with your Saturday metro paper or visit us online At Home.

Originally published as Home renovations Sydney: Bowerbird ‘scavenge’ approach made this Bondi pad one of airbnb’s most popular