Love It or List It: Whitaker’s green oven — hit or miss?

A Queensland couple walked into their completed renovation to find celebrity designer Neale Whitaker spent their money on a $9,000 olive green oven and $3,000 matching rangehood.

The green stove was risky, but Whitaker was confident with his move.

A Queensland couple walked into their completed renovation to find celebrity designer Neale Whitaker spent their money on a $9,000 olive green oven and $3,000 matching rangehood.

An olive green oven was the feature of celebrity designer Neale Whitaker’s makeover of a Gold Coast house on a recent episode of Love It or List It.

Whitaker took over Belinda and Craig Kingston’s Ashmore house in a bid to get the couple to “love it”.

BEFORE: The home’s “good room”.

AFTER: The good room is now part of an open plan living area.

While the couple were gallivanting around the Gold Coast with celebrity property expert Andrew Winter, who was showing them potential new properties, Whitaker was converting the dark, brick property into a bright beach house — and the green oven and matching rangehood was his secret weapon.

It could have been a risky move, but the Kingston family loved it.

“Everyone who comes in loves the green,” Belinda said.

“It matches with the stone benchtops, they’re a bit of a grey and could almost be green.”

BEFORE: The lounge room was a little dark.

AFTER: It’s amazing what a coat of paint, a feature light and more open spaces can do.

Whitaker told The Courier-Mail sometimes he received feedback from the owners that he was not ready to hear, although this was not one of those times.

“They’ll tell you — you’re spending their money,” Whitaker said.

“It’s not like we’re giving them the renovation for free, we’re spending their money, … so it’s very important they get what they want.”

BEFORE: The room felt very cramped.

AFTER: The wall was opened up and a door to outside makes the room seem bigger.

Craig’s desire to list the house seemed almost unwavering throughout the episode, while Belinda only came around to the idea toward the end.

“The more I learned from Andrew, I was convinced (listing) was the way to go,” Craig said.

“Just the financial sense and timing was spot on.”

BEFORE: Another living space was crammed next to the kitchen.

AFTER: The new kitchen is functional, and great for entertaining guests.

AFTER: There is a bar hidden in one of the kitchen cabinets.

A drastic increase in the home’s value following Whitaker’s renovation was what sealed the fate of 7 Lowanna Drive, with the couple deciding to “list it”.

“It added a lot of value to our house and that was the catalyst,” Belinda said.

“Knowing what the potential was for the sale, that really flipped me.

“Even though I’m still really sad to list it, it is a wise decision and in the long run it will be worthwhile.”

Casting for Season 3 of Love It Or List It Australia is now open. Contact [e-mail] or go to Lifestyle.com.au.

Andrew Winter, Belinda and Craig Kingston, and Neale Whitaker.

Originally published as Love It or List It: Whitaker’s green oven — hit or miss?