If you’ve ever stood in the middle of your place, scrolling inspo pics and thinking, “I have no idea where to start,” this episode is your shortcut to a home that actually feels like you live there – not like you borrowed it from a display village.
Design and real estate expert James Treble (yes…you’ve seen him give excellent advice on The Living Room and his own reno series) sits down with Editor Elle Lovelock to decode how to turn any house, yes, even the ugly red‑brick, asbestos‑ridden one, into a calm, character‑filled home with a story. He starts with the artwork he literally pulled off his own wall, explains why your partner’s signed footy jersey still counts as “art”, and shows you how to build an entire colour scheme from one picture, op‑shop find or kids’ drawing.
“I would usually leave the living, dining, kitchen area till last, especially kitchen, because it’s an expensive room…”
James Treble
James walks you through his Central Coast renovation: the bright yellow double doors, the breeze‑block wall, the terrazzo‑look tiles and the decision to completely flip the kitchen, bathroom and entry layout because “you do not have to stick to the original floor plan.” He breaks down which eras of Australian houses are secretly goldmines, how to know if a place has good bones within 30 seconds at an open home, and why you should almost always start with a hallway or bedroom before you even think about the kitchen.
“Go to little galleries and ask to go through their drawers and their backlogs, and you find things that are not overly expensive to get something that tells your story.”
James Treble
Listen now: This episode of The Edit is available via the iHeart app, homebeautiful.com.au, or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch below or listen here. /
The Edit podcast from the team at Home Beautiful is supported by OZ Design and Luxaflex.
A space to connect and belong to a growing group of our audience who want to go behind the scenes of our glossy pages to discover exactly what makes a house a home.
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