Renowned interiors duo and twins Alisa and Lysandra have announced their next renovation project — a surprise makeover of their mum and stepdad’s property.
Taking to Instagram, the twins shared that their mum and stepdad, who are currently on a six-month overseas trip, are ready to sell their current property and downsize.
“While our mum and stepdad are away overseas, we’re taking the opportunity to surprise them with a complete renovation of their unit,” Alisa and Lysandra shared to their audience of over 231,000 followers.
“Growing up, our mum was a single mother who raised us entirely on her own without any family support. This renovation is our way of giving back to her, showing our appreciation for all the sacrifices she made for us.”
In the comment section, the twins also made it clear that social media wouldn’t ruin the surprise because they waited until their parents had returned to post the videos. This means that while we’re still waiting to see the different stages of the renovation, their mum and stepdad have already have the makeover revealed to them — and according to Alisa and Lysandra, that’s the video we’re going to want to see the most.
“The best part? Seeing their reaction when they walk into their transformed home,” Alisa and Lysandra shared.
The living space
Before
In their Instagram video, Alisa and Lysandra gave us a tour of their mum and stepdad’s property before the renovation and shared some of their plans for the upcoming makeover.
“As you can see, it’s pretty dark and dingy and it needs some love, let’s not lie,” the interiors duo said of the unit’s living room, which they described as “quite a big space actually, it just feels dark”.
To fix the lighting issue, the pair shared their plans to knock down one of the internal walls to open up the space and let in the light from the brighter room on the other side.
While sharing this part of the makeover, the girls gave us a peek into the renovation to come, sharing a picture of the room looking much brighter without the internal wall, and with the previously dark carpets now replaced with wood floorboards.
After
The new living room is a complete transformation of the space, with the biggest impact being the decorative wall moulding giving the room a greater sense of warmth and elegance.
For the décor and furnishings, the girls have opted for a modern boucle sofa from Castlery, a RJ Living round black dining table and a careful selection of coffee table books and artworks.
Above the sofa, a statement pendant from beacon lighting creates a cosy reading nook.
Removing the central wall has turned the space into a light, bright and spacious open-plan living and dining room, with lovely Autumn Amber timber flooring from Godfrey Hirst elevating the design.
The oversized pendent lighting from Beacon Lighting also nicely segregate the dining space from the rest of the living space.
The kitchen
Before
The kitchen was the first of the unit’s finished spaces to be revealed.
In their first video, Alisa and Lysandra gave us a few hints about the renovation to come.
“It’s a unit, but it’s still a generous size and we’re going to be able to make this kitchen so functional,” the twins said of the space.
However, this room is where the Alisa and Lysandra are already having to negotiate their different décor tastes, as Lysandra shared as she showed viewers a yellow patterned blind.
“I’m saying no and she’s saying yes,” Lysandra laughed.
After
It’s safe to say that Alisa and Lysandra’s renovation has completely transformed the unit’s small kitchen into a functional and stylish space.
In their reveal, Alisa and Lysandra share that they used kaboodle kitchens to give the space a light and bright makeover.
A marble benchtop in light Aella Arabescato Dolomite from CDK Stone breathes new life into space, while the old electric cooker has been replaced with a more functional electric benchtop version.
There’s also new white cabinetry and a new white sink and gold tap, as well as a sleek open shelf. And yes, the floral blind has been replaced with more modern Plantation Shutters from Luxaflex.
Bathrooms
Before
Alisa and Lysandra have shared their plan’s to combine to unit’s bathroom and separate toilet into one large room.
“Through here was the bathroom and separate toilet. We’ve knocked down the wall and we’re going to create one big room,” the pair shared, with a quick pan of the bathroom and toilet in its existing state.
“You can already see how generous the size of this space is going to be,” they added.
The pair also plan to create a separate laundry room — all within the time frame of eight weeks.
After
With a generously-sized in-built bath with a convenient storage ledge, the renovation turns a dated bathroom into a luxuriously modern haven.
See Alisa and Lysandra’s mum’s reaction
Alisa and Lysandra also treated their mum to an updated laundry space with plenty of storage thanks to the sleek cabinetry from Kaboodle Kitchen.
Stylish finger tiles from Beaumont Tiles and a Bosch washer and dryer complete the space.
Main bedroom
The girls will also be tackling the main bedroom, where they claimed that, “it’s really not hard to make a simple room look nice and feel homey”.
To do so, Alisa and Lysandra have decided to upgrade the walls with some characterful panelling, as well as some fresh paint, pendant lights, artwork, new curtains and a built-in wardrobe.
“You will be surprised at the difference,” they said.
See more ongoing celebrity renovations
- Inside Matty J and Laura Byrne’s dream South Coast holiday property renovation
- Inside Andy Lee and Rebecca Harding’s historic ‘Ravenswood’ mansion renovation
This article originally appeared on Home Beautiful and is republished here with permission.
