A historic landmark retains its tradition charm

A large family preserves history, creates a modern setting for family life, and gains a supplementary income through Airbnb.

When Sue and Andy decided to purchase their family’s dream home, they knew the historic building would pose unique challenges. Set in the Hunter Valley, the schoolhouse was heritage-listed but required extensive renovations. Since the upgrade, Airbnb guests have enjoyed the space, leaving glowing online reviews which have increased occupancy and the family’s return on investment.

View Video Transcript

We bought ourselves an investment property in the Hunter Valley, it was on an old schoolhouse site. So, we wanted our property to stay true to the original theme.
I went online and just put in 'design ideas' and Designbx popped up! I went in and had a look at the site, I liked what I saw.
So, we started with a design brief, we were sent some style boards with the floor plans and once we were happy with the sorts of images selected we picked particular products.
It was really enjoyable experience, it was really nice to chat to the designer to hear their ideas. I think our designer just really focused on what we wanted and listened.
Because we wanted it to have a schoolhouse theme we asked for some traditional pieces of furniture that would replicate what you would find at a school - old chairs, blackboards leather seats, things that perhaps would have been around and made it sort of authentic.
So, there was a lot of build-up waiting for the end result, because it was a whole house being done for us, it took two and a half hours to drive up there (Hunter Valley) and the excitement built as we drove up. We couldn't wait to get in there and have a good look around and when we arrived it just took our breathe away. It was just stunning - a beautiful lounge room, beautiful romantic four poster bedroom, we just felt relaxed and wanted to go in and enjoy the space.
The property has been on Airbnb and the feedback we’ve had since it was styled by the Designbx team has been really positive. People comment all the time about wonderfully warm and comfy it is, it feels really homey but it's beautifully presented, the rooms, colours - we get a lot of very positive feedback from our customers.
We saw a big increase in the amount of people who started booking with Airbnb which was great for us.
If you are weary of the whole interior design process, you feel like it’s out of your reach; for really wealthy people, Designbx is a means that you can design one room at a time, it means you can stick to a particular budget, and pick a style and work with an amazing designer.

"The property has been on Airbnb and the feedback we’ve had since it was styled by the Designbx team has been really positive. People comment all the time about wonderfully warm and comfy it is, it feels really homey but it's beautifully presented- we get a lot of very positive feedback from our customers. We saw a big increase in the amount of people who started booking with Airbnb which was great for us." — Sue & Andy

A beautiful transformation:

After:

Project details:

Budget$20,000+
Location Hunter Valley
Styles Coast, Traditional Chic
Package Multiple Rooms
Designer Geena Fife

Love this look?

Start a design