Well, there’s no turning back now! Last time we spoke, we were about to begin demolition… and now it’s done. For a while, the house looked more like a dump site than a home. Smashed tiles, plasterboard, old decking, kitchens, bathrooms and toilets… all gone. Thankfully, no snakes in the walls! Just a couple of dead rats and black mould, which we expected and isn’t a major concern as those areas are being removed.
With the mess gone and demo complete, we can finally start to see the vision. We’re pouring concrete and I’m onto the fun part: finishes. I recently travelled to Sydney with our interior consultant, Dominee Gessner, to look at tiles and finishes. It was equal parts overwhelming and inspiring – there’s so much choice!
We’re working on a custom walnut stain for our oak cabinetry, which makes it feel unique to the home. Cabinetry is one of those areas I think it’s worth investing in, and I love Farmers Doors’ ‘Virginia Oak Lattice’ joinery doors. The lattice has a nostalgic feel that works well with our farmhouse direction. I can’t wait to show you where we incorporate it!
When it comes to tapware, we’re leaning into classic finishes to create a home that feels traditional and lived in. The Raw Brushed Brass in Faucet Strommen’s ‘Cascade’ range at Reece is giving me all the country vibes. We’re also looking at stone for the kitchen, main ensuite and laundry, and I keep coming back to the burgundy Rosso Levanto marble at CDK Stone. I can’t stop thinking about it!
As for my daughter Lulu’s bathroom, I want something feminine that can grow with her. The zellige Moroccan square tiles in Ecru from Teranova have the perfect soft, peachy pink tone, while the handmade finish brings beautiful variation and imperfection. It feels earthy and timeless rather than overly girly. I’m obsessed!
Faucet Strommen ‘Cascade’ basin mixer in Raw Brushed Brass, $1119
Teranova zellige Moroccan terracotta tiles
in Ecru, $269/sqm
Rosso Levanto marble, from $649/sqm, CDK Stone
Farmers Doors ‘Virginia Oak Lattice’ joinery door in Walnut
It’s still hard to believe the torn-down walls will become our home, but with every decision it’s feeling a little more real. There’s a long way to go, but it’s slowly coming to life.
The journey begins: Meet the team
Before we get started, I have a confession to make: I have never, ever renovated a room before, let alone an entire house. And yet, here I am, about to embark on a home renovation so big that I have, on more than one occasion, wondered whether it might have been easier to just knock the whole thing down and start again. But where would the fun be in that?
So, welcome to the very beginning of our renovation journey. Over the next 12 months, I’ll be taking you along as we transform our house in the Gold Coast hinterland into our family’s forever home. I’m sure there will be plenty of beautiful moments, a few questionable decisions, some budget conversations I’d rather avoid and, if renovating folklore is anything to go by, some unexpected surprises along the way.
My husband and I spent more than a decade in Sydney, but once we started having children, we craved more space, less rushing and for our kids to grow up connected to nature. And so began the search for our little patch of acreage.
It took us almost two years to find it. Then, midway through last year, just months away from welcoming our third baby, we drove onto a property in the Gold Coast hinterland and just knew. We made an offer the following day and, within a week, the papers were signed. They say when you know, you know, and this was definitely one of those moments.
Today, we live here with our three children and an ever-growing collection of animals: seven geese, ducks, chickens and a couple of miniature horses. It’s busy, slightly chaotic and very rarely quiet, but we feel like we’ve found our happy place.
Now comes the small task of creating the house to go with it. Thankfully, while I may be a complete renovation rookie, I have an incredible team around me. Reece Keil is our building designer, Ben Rochford and his team at Tidal Constructions are bringing it all to life, and Dominee Gessner is working alongside me on the interiors. Together, they’re somehow taking hundreds of saved images and all the ideas floating in my head and turning them into a home that feels so us.
Demolition is now well underway and we are deep in the world of finishes, fixtures, flooring, stone, lighting and millions of tiny decisions I never knew existed until now. At times it feels completely overwhelming, but I’m also loving it. This process has become such a wonderful creative outlet for me and there is something incredibly satisfying about thinking through how our family will actually live in each space.
“This home and the life we’re creating is something I’ve dreamed about for a long time.”
Jesinta Franklin, homeowner
I’m learning as I go, which is exactly why I’m so excited to share this column with you. I certainly won’t be writing as a renovation expert. Think of me more as your friend who has somehow found herself knee-deep in demolition dust and is reporting back from the other side.
Over the next 12 months, I’ll share all of the decisions we’re navigating, the things I’m learning, the mistakes I’m sure we’ll make and all the beautiful details that will eventually go into transforming this building into our family home.
For now, the walls are coming down and the adventure has officially begun. I’ll check back in next month, hopefully with progress to report and not too many stories about what we’ve discovered hiding inside the walls. Snakes included.
Follow the ‘Behind the Build with Jesinta Franklin’ journey by subscribing to Home Beautiful magazine to read Jesinta’s monthly column and follow us on Instagram and YouTube to catch her video updates.
Before the renovation: See inside Jesinta and Buddy Franklin’s country home
After selling their luxurious Gold Coast home at the end of 2025 (which was previously owned, designed and built by Dominee Gessner and Ben Rochford, with Reece Keil also part of that project), Jesinta and Buddy snapped up a semi-rural estate in lush hinterland. Their new home is a 3.2 hectare Queensland property, with plenty of space for the couple’s three young children to play.
The existing house is a generous five-bedroom modern farmhouse, with a wraparound deck, gazebo and infinity swimming pool. The property’s country lifestyle is the biggest pull for the family. With an insulated barn, stables, three dams and a large chicken coop, the family have already started living their rural dream.
Jesinta and Buddy decided to embark on a major renovation to turn the five-bedroom abode into their forever family home, and are bringing Home Beautiful along for the ride.
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