2 in Twelve

A growing family, not enough space, an outdated home in need of some serious TLC – it’s a story as old as time, and it’s exactly the situation that interior stylist, Catherine Heraghty, recently found herself in. Working with builder, Neil Hipwell, the pair came up with a plan to flip her 70-year-old property from one home to two in, wait for it…just 12 weeks!

The goal was to build a duplex on Catherine’s existing block of land in South Caringbah, Sydney. One was to be Catherine’s home, and the other an investment property. “We wanted to extend our family and, as we were only in a two-bedroom home, we needed more space and more bedrooms,” says Catherine. “We felt that building a duplex on our existing block was the smartest decision for us financially.” Cleverly, by building one home to live in and the other to sell, Catherine will be able to cover all the build costs and halve her mortgage.

The project included four bathrooms, two powder rooms, two laundries, four bedrooms, two kitchens, two living areas (and, presumably, a partridge in a pear tree!). Both buildings were designed and built to feel big, warm and open. To achieve this and flood the rooms with natural light, Catherine and Neil opted for beautiful doors and windows from local AWS fabricator, Hanlon Windows.

Energy efficiency was also an important requirement, so AWS skylights are a key feature, both for their ability to control interior temperatures and because the lights rarely need to be on during the day.

The result is a functional and beautiful space, both indoors and out. If you’d like to know more about this ambitious project and get some great renovating tips, you’re in luck! It’s been recorded for posterity in the online series 2 in Twelve. Check it out!