Share Your Space: A couple with two kids who completely rebuilt their dream beachside home.

Mamamia's Share Your Space series asks everyday women to share all the juicy, specific details about their home. How much do you pay in rent? Who do you live with? Where did you get your furniture? It's pulling back the curtain on real estate in Australia, and allowing us to really see how the people around us live. This week, a 43-year-old living in Sydney shows us around her home.

Age: 43

Job: NSW Sales Manager

I live with: My husband Tom, daughter Lucia, 9, son Nick, 6, and our 10-year-old Staffy, Ivy.

Mortgage: Two years ago we knocked down our old house and built a new home with G J Gardner Sydney North.

Location: Seaforth on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Lifestyle: We moved from the Inner West when our daughter was 12 months old to get more space and to be closer to the beaches. We live 10 minutes away from Manly and love the relaxed lifestyle of the Northern Beaches. And we have appreciated it more than ever in 2020 during these crazy COVID times!

So, take us inside: 

The real beauty of building a new home is that we could totally tailor the floor plan to exactly how we wanted to live. For us, it was really important to have an open and relaxed living space that led to a level garden and pool so we can always keep an eye on the kids, while entertaining the adults!

Image: Supplied.  

Bedroom/s: 

We intentionally designed the house so all four bedrooms are upstairs and away from the noise that comes from the main living area. My husband is English so it was really important for us to have a generous guest bedroom for all visitors to stay in when they are allowed to come and visit again that is?!

Image: Supplied.  

Image: Supplied. 

Bathroom/s: 

There are three bathrooms in the house. We decided to include a freestanding bath in addition to a shower in the main bathroom. A good decision as it really adds a touch of luxe at the end of the day. 

We found one of the hardest things about a new build, as opposed to a renovation, is that you don’t get to stand in the space you are making. Instead you have to try and visualise it all from drawings, and ultimately trust what your builders are saying it will look like, and just hope that you are making the right decisions that will result in each room/space being the best it can be!

Image: Supplied. 

Lounge/dining area: 

Our number one aim was to make sure the living area flowed and that the kitchen/lounge/dining areas all effectively felt like one big open space that our family and friends could all enjoy together. Nearly two years on and the decorating of all these spaces is still very much a work in progress. 

We have really only bought one big piece of art so far from Jai Vasicek which I absolutely love and really brings the space to life. We have also bought a lot of indoor plants, the various types of greenery make a big difference to the space. Some of my favourite plants and pots are from Captain Monstera.

In terms of style, I originally wanted a real Hamptons look, but decided I actually prefer a more relaxed coastal feel. Some of my favourite pieces of furniture are from Ruby Star Traders, Emporium Avenue and Alabaster Trading. 

Image: Supplied. 

Kitchen: 

Cliche but true, for us our kitchen really is the heart of our home! We spend the majority of our days in it, around it, or in the “snack cupboard” as my kids like to call the butler’s pantry! Of all the living spaces this is where we did the most upgrades during the build, including our kitchen island which is over three metres long and has multiple uses. 

It took us a while to find the right kitchen stools, but in the end we found the perfect cafe style stools from Provincial Home Living. Now we eat most meals at the island, the kids do their homework and we work from home at it, as well as enjoying countless coffee catch ups and wine and cheese platters with friends and family.

Image: Supplied. 

Pool/Garden: 

Our kids are the perfect age for a pool, so it was a big priority for us to put one in when we did the build. Again, it meant that we could choose the position, size, colour of the surface, tiles etc which was great. We were tempted to put in a bigger pool, but knew we wanted a decent-sized backyard. For the kids, and the dog!

We also put solar panels on the roof - our builder advised that this is a must-do for anyone building a new home under the great Aussie sun. The pool is also heated via the solar which gives us extra months of swimming time. The only negative I guess is that we don’t spend as much time going to the beach as we used to!

Image: Supplied. 

Image: Supplied. 

Final thoughts: 

When we built the house in 2018 we never imagined that we would spend quite as much time in it as we have this year. We really love living here, my husband often calls it our "forever home". Me, well... I kind of like the idea of doing it all again somewhere new... so I guess we’ll see!

You can catch up on our previous Share Your Space stories here:

• Share Your Space: A couple in their 30s who completely renovated their old Victorian terrace.
• Share Your Space: Inside a $650 one-bedroom terrace in Sydney, with a puppy who likes to eat everything.
• Share Your Space: Inside a beach-side apartment in Sydney, with second-hand buys and lots of plants.
• Share Your Space: Inside a $650 two-bedroom house in Sydney, with a lot of Ikea accessories.

Feature Image: Supplied.