Once modest now marvellous, check out this timeless transformation

A TOTALLY transformed 1940s worker’s cottage has fetched a record price after causing a buzz in the marketplace.

No.90 Gepp Pde in Derwent Park was listed with Peterswald for property and priced at $695,000-plus. One week later it sold for $861,500, per realestate.com.au.

Peterswald property representative Ed McKay described the strong sale price as a great result for a great family.

“It was above our expectation, however there were three offers at that level — they were all very similar,” he said.

“When we took this home to market, there was really very little to compare it with. There is nothing similar in Derwent Park.

“But it is a special property, it’s exquisite, and the market reacted to that.”

Per Real Estate Institute of Tasmania figures, Derwent Park’s highest residential house sale price before this one was $675,000.

When Rosa Hollows and Matt Anderson purchased the modest Derwent Park home a few years ago, it looked vastly different to how it does today.

In 2018 when they first found it, the couple’s property had been a long held family home. It was neat and tidy in many ways, but thoroughly needed a makeover.

For Ms Hollows and Mr Anderson, it was exactly what they were looking for: a renovation project that they could sink their teeth into.

However, friends and family were not as thoroughly convinced. Some suggested that the gardens needed just as much work as the house.

“When we bought it in 2018, it needed literally everything,” Mr Anderson said. “The yard, for example, was completely overgrown.”

Ms Hollows, a carpenter by trade, said a neighbour had called it “the jungle”. “It was chaos,” she said.

“My sister asked us why we even wanted to buy the house. But we were fully aware of the job that was ahead of us and excited to see what we could achieve with full creative control.”

The husband and wife team said the previous owner, while house proud, had not upgraded the property in decades. However, its potential spoke to them.

“There were brass door handles, picture rails, high ceilings, wide Tasmanian oak floorboards — it had good bones,” she said. “It also had mustard-coloured carpets, and was far from open plan.

“When working on a renovation, we never throw stuff out just for the sake of it. We like to salvage and maintain features where we can.

“We have done a lot of heritage work, but this is the first time we have fully renovated a home of our own.”

The couples’ interest in architecture and construction naturally leads them to drinking in everything that is new and interesting in their industry.

But Mr Anderson said one thing they steer clear of is items that are on-trend, which can be a challenge.

“We prefer to keep to a timeless aesthetic, to highlight the charm of a home,” he said.

The three-bedroom two-bathroom residence features timber accents, wainscot panelling, light-filled open-plan living, water views and an Esca WI-FI controlled gas fireplace.

The modern kitchen boasts black steel benchtops finished with a beeswax rub, a 900mm Smeg freestanding stove and custom cabinetry.

Each bedroom is generous in size, including the master suite with an ensuite, a bespoke Tasmanian blackwood vanity and a crafted Tasmanian oak walk-in wardrobe.

The main bathroom contains a luxurious bath and a frameless shower.

When this reno commenced, the couple — whose business name is Hollows & Grain Collective — had goals in mind beyond creating a nice family home.

Ms Hollows said they wanted to show people what could be done with a fairly cookie cutter worker’s cottage.

“It was a chance to show people how much potential these homes have,” she said.

Just like any building project, there were challenges along the way.

The couple lived in the house through 90 per cent of the construction phase.

“There was a moment when we had no hot water,” Ms Hollows said.

“I was heavily pregnant toward the end, which meant moving the timeline along, doing both bathrooms at the same time — that sort of thing.

“On the night our son was born, I was on the drop saw until about 6.30pm. I’d been working with the plumbers all day.

“But we moved in the next day and almost everything was finished.”

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