Andrew Winter’s Mermaid Beach house is finally completed. Photo: supplied by Reece
Property guru and TV presenter Andrew Winter has finally put the finishing touches on his Mermaid Beach home.
Mr Winter, who presents Selling Houses Australia and Love It or List It, bought the property just off the suburb’s “millionares’ row”, with his wife Caroline for $1.525m in 2019.
About eight months in, they decided they didn’t like the house, so lodged a DA to have it knocked down and rebuilt.
Andrew Winter in his powder room. Photo: supplied by Reece
More than two years on and the house has now been completed after what Mr Winter admitted was a difficult build.
“The biggest challenge was the block size and width, it is just 10m wide,” he said.
“Building in urban locations and going up three floors, plus a roof terrace on top of that, means headaches for the construction process.
The master suite is Mr Winter’s favourite place to relax. Photo: supplied by Reece
“As the build fills the block the space for materials and machinery gets very challenging, but good neighbours allowed scaffolding on their land, and building supplies to be temporarily placed on their drives.”
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Not your average suburban family home
Mr Winter said the design of the home evolved substantially from initial drawings but all the changes were done pre-construction to avoid major cost implications.
With the project now complete, Mr Winter said he would not change a thing about it and described the home as a “keeper”.
The house utilises cool coastal tones and textures.
“The Winters would consider a ‘keeper’ a home for three to five years. Does this one make the grade? It certainly does right now,” he said.
“The problem with us is we actually love the challenge of the whole process of renovation or building. We only ever buy or build a brand new home, or take on a total renovation project. It’s a rule I’ve never broken since buying home No.1 at the age of 18.”
Mr Winter, who originally hails from England, moved to the Gold Coast 17 years ago and has owned property in various locations, including exclusive Sanctuary Cove, Paradise Point and also Brisbane.
The house was a challenging build on a tight 10m wide block.
When looking for a home, Mr Winter said location was key.
“You can change a building, but you can’t move a location. This was our first time ever being so close to a beach, so it was a unique opportunity for us,” he said.
“We believe the home embraces its location. This is another rule I always follow. A house should always compliment and work with its area and position.”
The three-storey white-washed beach house with a rooftop terrace that allows views of the sea, has been finished with only the finest fixtures and fittings and fits in with the coastal vibe of the beachside suburb.
Gold tapware has been used throughout the build. Photo: Supplied by Reece
But what Mr Winter loves most about his new home is the master bedroom suite.
“It depends of the time of the day and who else is in the house but, who doesn’t love to escape to peace and quiet, away from everyone else, and enjoy a refreshing shower on a hot day or hot shower on a cold morning,” he said.
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