Andy Lee’s insane find in $8.5 million home

TV star Andy Lee has made a wild discovery inside his $8.5 million Melbourne home during renovations.

TV star Andy Lee has made a wild discovery while renovating his 148-year-old home.

The 43-year-old and his fiancee Rebecca Harding, 32, snapped up the home for a whopping $8.5 million and are currently in the process of restoring it to its former glory.

The property, located the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn, has layers of history that they are peeling back throughout the renovation, leading them to uncover many “weird” finds.

They are in the process of renovating it. Picture: Instagram

“We’ve found a couple of trinkets as we’ve started cleaning up the place,” Lee told 9Entertainment.

“Mainly it was just cleaning out pigeon poo and seaweed because they used seaweed as insulation back in the year which is pretty weird.”

Seaweed was the go-to method for insulation over a century ago.

Amid the mess, a treasure was found. Lee revealed he had made an incredible discovery after ripping out the home’s fireplace.

“We found a coin from 1897, I think it was, which is pretty cool,” he said.

In May, the TV host for The Hundred revealed he would be building an entirely new mansion closer to the river and will connect the property to the original house via an underground tunnel.

They have already found some insane treasures. Picture: Instagram

The home is 148 years old. Picture: Instagram

We gave the architects a few broad rules. 1. Honour the old house and 2. We’d like to live in the new,” he explained.

“Flack Studio came up with this. The historic house sits proudly on its own and will be restored.

“The new part makes the most of the river views. All connected underground below the piazza.”

He joked that his fiancee’s wardrobe was going to be “pretty much that entire back building”.

The couple won council approval for their development application in June 2023.

The couple bought the home for $8.5 million. Picture: Instagram

Plans for the site include adding a second building to be connected by a tunnel to the original Italianate mansion, which was built around 1876.

Other highlights for the 1950 sqm home include a theatre, gym, a swimming pool and a “mega bedroom”.

Historically, the front of the property faces the river, as it was the original arrival point for residents.

The home was last occupied in 1992.

The couple revealed that the previous owners left the property in a horrid state for over a decade after their own renovations ceased for unknown reasons.

Originally published as Andy Lee’s insane find in $8.5 million home