Country Home Rescue
with Shaynna Blaze
For 14 seasons we’ve seen Shaynna Blaze as a judge on The Block, as well as helping homeowners spruce up their spaces on Selling Houses Australia. Now, for the first time, Shaynna is doing it for herself and her family.
In Country Home Rescue, Shaynna, together with her children, embarks on the restoration of a dilapidated historical home in regional Victoria. Watch as they navigate through a never-ending maze of problems when their grand plans are sideswiped by building restrictions, frustrating delays and a huge budget blowout.
It will take every ounce of passion and persistence to turn this renovation nightmare into the forever home of their dreams. But, you’ll be amazed as room by room is revealed.
Click on a week below to jump to a room reveal!
Week 2: Laundry - Powder Room - Upstairs Bathroom
Week 3: Kitchen - Butler's Kitchen
Week 4: Downstairs Bathroom - Ensuite
Week 6: Carriage House Bathroom - Kitchenette
Week 1: Demolition
Shaynna Blaze dreams of turning a 130-year-old country house into her family’s forever home.
The run-down property was originally purchased as a film set for the family’s first filmmaking project. Now Shaynna wants daughter Carly and son Jess to chip in and build the dream together. She just has to convince them first!
As Shaynna plots out the renovation strategy, christening rooms with their very own ‘titles,’ we get a sneak peek into the complex (and sometimes off-the-wall) machinations of her design imagination. The plan sounds simple: renovate the existing house and features to create the perfect country home retreat, but the house, and its 1890’s DNA, has other plans for Shaynna’s workload and the budget.
The House
Sutherland House was built in the 1890’s and prior to Shaynna, has only ever had two owners. The family who owned the home previously raised all their nine children at Sutherland House. And so, whilst respecting the history of the house and also embracing the future it only seems appropriate this historical six-bedroom home in the country is rebirthed.
The main building will be restored in sympathy with its period features and the add-on renovations to the back of the house will be pulled down and replaced with a new modern open plan living area with a kitchen, lounge, dining and entertaining space.
The back of the land will have a ‘carriage house’ with a two-car garage/entertaining space and a one-bedroom recording studio for editing movies, podcasts and music recordings. The city of Kyneton in regional Victoria is full of artisans and musicians and the build will be a contrast of the old, the new and the quirky living side by side.
The home is the central figure and catalyst of positive change as Shaynna builds a new future.
Week 2: Laundry - Powder Room - Upstairs Bathroom
Tackling the Kyneton renovation in sections, Shaynna transforms a disused downstairs room into a laundry and powder room, creating the transition space to the upper level of the home.
Meanwhile she brings the upstairs spaces alive with a child’s room for her granddaughter, a main bathroom, a bedroom for ‘princess’ Carly, and a very special secret space for her son Jess to reveal.
Having dealt with more asbestos and demolition than expected, Shaynna already is feeling the pressure to omit some of the design features she’s set her heart on. This is a family project, and siblings Carly and Jess are all hands-on for making the dream come true, but is Shaynna being completely up-front with them about the home’s escalating budget?
Upstairs Bathroom
Floor Tile: Staccato Navy Matt 200x400mm (special order)
Wall Tile: Malibu Cotton 600x300mm (special order)
Made to order - head in store for more information.
While the downstairs of Sutherland House was built in the Victorain era, the upstairs came later so Shaynna wanted to incorporate elements of Art Deco in the design. That inspiration is evident in the doors of the ‘Regency’ vanity and linen cupboard, the trellis-style wall tiles, terrazzo floor tiles and the dado rail. Anyone who’s ever watched Shaynna judge a bathroom on The Block knows her two-bathroom priorities are storage and lighting. Hence the face-level shaving cabinet, plentiful drawers and cupboards, and extra linen cupboard, and the ample secondary lighting in the form of up-lights and spotlights, sconces and LED lighting – all the better to achieve flattering illumination! The brushed brass taps and fittings and saffron towels connect to the colour palette in Carly’s room, while the floor mirrors the baby blue interior of Olive’s wardrobe.
While the downstairs of Sutherland House was built in the Victorain era, the upstairs came later so Shaynna wanted to incorporate elements of Art Deco in the design. That inspiration is evident in the doors of the ‘Regency’ vanity and linen cupboard, the trellis-style wall tiles, terrazzo floor tiles and the dado rail.
Anyone who’s ever watched Shaynna judge a bathroom on The Block knows her two-bathroom priorities are storage and lighting. Hence the face-level shaving cabinet, plentiful drawers and cupboards, and extra linen cupboard, and the ample secondary lighting in the form of up-lights and spotlights, sconces and LED lighting – all the better to achieve flattering illumination!
The brushed brass taps and fittings and saffron towels connect to the colour palette in Carly’s room, while the floor mirrors the baby blue interior of Olive’s wardrobe.
This part of the house mixes Federation and Victorian styles and starts to take on a more modern look with a mix of a few design styles. Shaynna opted for a Farmhouse style in the cabinetry profile, fittings and hardware, while the ‘crackle’ and uneven profile of the tiles lends an organic feel to the space, and the colour palette connects with the adjoining powder room, kitchen, and butler’s pantry.
This is undeniably an entertainer’s house so Shaynna wanted to create a downstairs powder room for guests that enabled her to keep the downstairs ensuites private. She’s all about subtle connections when designing, and this powder room may be small, but it’s packed full of references that integrate it with the rest of the house. The 45-degree angled wall tiles also feature horizontally in the laundry. The black and white basin and pedestal links to the palette of the kitchen, and the shapes of the basin and mirror are a nod to contemporary Art Deco; the foundation style in this part of the house…you get the idea!
Week 3: Kitchen - Butler's Kitchen
Moving to the vast double-height extension at the back of her Kyneton renovation, Shaynna creates the kitchen, lounge, dining room and her very first butler’s pantry! Introducing a more modern feel to this part of the house she retains references to its period heritage, combining Victorian and Art Deco influences, while still maintaining a relaxed, country home feel.
While the house was first built in 1890, the kitchen featured some small Art Deco references that dated back to the 1920s, and the house also received a facelift in the 1950s.
Shaynna loves the synergy between the black and white palette and curves of the latter two periods and, from day one, made those Art Deco features from the original kitchen the inspiration for designing her dream kitchen.
Black and white is a classic, sophisticated, kitchen colour scheme. While the overall effect in the kitchen is contemporary, elements - including the country profile cabinetry doors, crackle-glazed handmade-look subway tiles, and textured, rendered rangehood column (which also visually links the kitchen to the fireplace in the lounge) - provide an organic earthiness that speaks to Sutherland House’s country heritage.
Butler's Kitchen
Wall Feature Tile: Craquel White Gloss 65x396
Shaynna wanted her butler’s to serve as the engine room of the kitchen, so she zoned it into three sections ‘breakfast, tea and baking,’ ‘pantry and storage,’ and ‘cleaning and prepping’ to ensure every wall and bench works to maximum capacity!
Key appliances are placed on diagonals from one another so that two people can comfortably work back-to-back without getting under each other’s feet. The glass doors on the bench-height cabinet are a nod to the face level glass doors in the original kitchen, and prevent the space from feeling claustrophobic.
Shaynna oriented the butler’s pantry so it is tucked away to keep any entertaining chaos out of sight, but at the same time feels connected to the kitchen with a wide doorway and shared bench, so it is never closed off from the fun!
Week 4: Downstairs Bathroom - Ensuite
How many artisan pieces can you fit into one home? Shaynna’s on a mission to find out! Design is her life, and she loves collaborating with other artists to see what magic they can create together.
This week Shaynna reveals heirloom furniture, a bell carrying her signature, and handcrafted leadlight. Then there’s the hand-moulded ceiling fit for a church that brings together the home’s main hallway, Shaynna’s bedroom and ensuite, and son Jess and his partner Emma’s bedroom and bathroom.
Downstairs Bathroom
Floor Tile: Adelphi Navy 200x200mm (special order)
Wall Tile: Windsor Chalk 200x200mm (special order)
Made to order - head in store for more information.
The navy palette from the bedroom carries through to Jess and Emma’s ensuite. This monochromatic approach meant Shaynna could have some fun with pattern, without overwhelming or crowding the space. She was able to match the colour of the Victorian-style floor tiles exactly with the colour of the vanity, to further enhance the spacious feel.
She wanted this ensuite to feel more relaxed than elsewhere in the house, creating a strong connection to the country location, so chose a ‘farmhouse’ profile vanity and gold-coloured fixtures and fittings throughout. Meanwhile, the wall tiles have the appearance of pressed metal, connecting the space to the heritage of the home.
Master Ensuite
Wall Tile: Fold White Satin Structured 300x600
Wall Feature Tile: Babylon Teal Crackle Gloss 70x185
Floor Tile: Marrakesh Charcoal 200x200mm (special order)
Made to order - head in store for more information.
Shaynna’s personal oasis, the ensuite shares its inspiration with her master bedroom. The green of the tile wall holds a special colour memory; a swimming pool overlooking the Atlas Mountains, with the associated peace and tranquillity. The Moroccan theming continues in the floor tiles, which she customised to carry through the neutral palette from the bedroom.
There are connections too to the Victorian heritage of the home, in the tapware, in the distressed paintwork about the fireplace, the cornices, architraves and heritage-inspired ceiling rose.
This ensuite is huge Shaynna included a gas fireplace, not just for the romance, but for the practicality of warming the space. It complements the gentle warmth provided by the under-floor heating. An essential in bathrooms!
Week 6: Carriage House Bathroom - Kitchenette
What do you do when your home renovation has nearly pushed you over the edge? You create a second building with a garage and mini apartment, and throw in a backyard crammed with more lifestyle zones than the local botanic gardens!
Shaynna saves some of her very best design work until this final reveal, transforming the newly-built carriage house into a multi-functional garage, entertainment space, apartment and work-from-home studio.
Bathroom
Wall Tile: Craquel White Gloss 65x396
Wall Tile: Craquel Grey Gloss 65x396
Floor Tile: Erupt White Textured 600x600
This little bathroom could have been a claustrophobic space, but thanks to the magnificent skylight, the space can breathe and is flooded with natural light.
The wall tiles are the same ones used in the kitchen and laundry in the main house, but Shaynna has stacked them this time and complimented them with a terrazzo look floor tile to create a completely different look.
The black statement vanity and shaving cabinet are from her Timberline Sutherland House Collection and she selected gunmetal rather than black tapware to soften the look in this small space.
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