Cindy Mead was no reno rookie when she joined Three Birds Reno School last year. She and hubby Dan had already completed 2.5 renovations, documenting them on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok and helping thousands of people with their reno journey along the way. As well as DIYing most of their projects, this busy Brisbane couple also works full time, making for busy weekends.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CURRENT HOME

We bought our current home in 2018 after a 5-year journey, flipping two properties beforehand, to build enough equity to afford it. This was our dream home - a big white original Queenslander in the suburb of Brisbane only 5 kilometres from the CBD centre.

This is a 4 bathroom, 4 bedroom house, so it's a big house for two people and one dog, but we always wanted enough room for a big home office and guest rooms for our family to come and stay comfortably all year round. It's nice to finally have achieved that after years of living in tiny cottages.

THE DREAM HOME VISION

We've been dreaming of a white Queenslander for many years, we just couldn't afford it straight away, because, in Brisbane, the character Queenslanders cost a lot more than post-war cottages, so for years now we have been planning this renovation, saving inspiration from Pinterest and the Three Birds projects and we had a very clear vision for the theme for this property before we got started. Our previous renovations had been focused on the trends at the time, focusing on the sale of the property and the design and styling 100% catered to our target market. We knew that with this home, it would be catered solely to us, so we planned a neutral palette with hints of the Amalfi Coast in our styling.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS HOME TO RENOVATE?

We fell in love with this home at first inspection. It sits right at the top of the hill in our suburb, overlooking a beautiful neighbourhood with lovely character homes and a famous Brisbane house across the street! Being so high up the hill, there are beautiful breezes blowing throughout, which we noticed as soon as we walked in on that hot November day. The house has a wide frontage, with the house situated to the front left corner, allowing us to capitalise on the space in the backyard. It had a beautiful entryway that was crying out for a Mead makeover, and so much potential throughout with french doors and windows on almost every wall, a beautiful wrap-around verandah upstairs and plenty of space to add a pool in the north-facing corner of the property. It's safe to say all our boxes were ticked, and we were absolutely stoked when we won the auction only a week later!

What are your top 3 renovated spaces so far?

We are so proud of everything we've done here at Casa Bella, but the top zone would have to be the pool - it was a real challenge given the slope of our block and the endless roadblocks and stress we encountered during that build process. We are so happy with the design we came up with, which was inspired by Mon Palmer and the Three Birds for Bonnie's outdoor space (in Episode 5). By adding a sunken fire pit seating area we were able to counteract the challenge of our sloped block where the out of ground pool construction meets the alfresco decking. We literally feel like we are on holiday every day with this little oasis just outside.

The second would have to be the alfresco area, where Dan has built everything by hand, from the curved concrete bench to the timber decking and concrete sunken fire pit seating. I couldn't be more proud of everything he has done.

And number three would have to be the recent master bedroom renovation. We did something a bit controversial and added not one but two ensuites to the room, but it's been so practical - like having the toilet completely separate and a beautiful open feature bath space, and it feels like every day we are staying at a hotel.

Why did you join the Reno School?

I signed up to the Reno School this year and a lot of people asked me why, because we are already seasoned renovators with 2.5 houses under our belts.... but the thing is we are not professionals, and we've already learned so much over the last 8 years of renovating, there have been so many light bulb moments along the way that I know we have so much more to learn.

“We have always looked to the Three Birds for inspiration, every time we embark on a new project you can guarantee I will be on the Three Birds website, watching their videos and reading their articles for inspiration, so it made sense to go the whole way and learn as much as we could from some of the women who inspired me the most on my journey to date.”

The timing was perfect too, as we were just about to get started on our laundry renovation and one of the biggest tips we've got, which will be a game-changer for this space, came from the Three Birds!

What are you enjoying most about the Reno School?

I am a busy woman, I work full time in another industry in a Senior level role, plus running the Reno Diary which is a busy Instagram account helping thousands of people with their reno journeys, so finding time to research and plan our renovations isn't easy. I love that the Reno school can be done in your own time, at your own pace and the modules are so easy to follow and to come back to at any time.

The Three Birds have considered everything, so it's the checklist that I've always needed for every zone, I wish I had joined earlier. The Reno School gives me a lot of peace of mind knowing I haven't forgotten anything and I've been able to pick up lots of great tips that I'd never considered before. Even as an experienced renovator, I am getting a lot out of it and I am not even finished yet!

The other invaluable part is the Facebook group, I have been blown away by the amount of support and kindness in the group. It's so lovely to have a huge group of like-minded people to bounce ideas off and to celebrate your wins with. It's been such an added bonus that I never considered before joining the school.

What's next for the Reno Diary?

We are currently embarking on a home office renovation, shortly followed by our laundry, the fourth bathroom, 2 guest rooms, the second lounge room, garage and side gardens. It's safe to say we have plenty more to come and I'm so excited to share our Three Birds inspired laundry with everyone in just a couple of months' time.

Follow Cindy & Dan: @reno.diary on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok