Transforming The Beach House at Killcare: A Q&A with Megan Rose

In the heart of Killcare, a coastal village on the central coast of New South Wales, nestled among greenery and the calming sounds of the ocean, stands The Beach House at Killcare. This Killcare beach house is a great example of a sleek renovation, its refined exteriors giving onlookers a peek into the project's scope. This stunning home is available for relaxing getaways on Airbnb, allowing guests to experience the picturesque nature of Killcare in style. 

Behind this beautiful transformation is Megan Rose, the founder of The Connect Agency, and a seasoned renovator with a story to tell about creating a dream space amidst the chaos of life and the unexpected twists of home renovations during Covid. Let’s enter into Megan’s world to discover inspiration, gain home renovation tips and tricks, receive advice on the challenges that come with renovations, and celebrate the triumphs of the breathtaking Beach House at Killcare. 

Q: What sparked the idea to renovate The Beach House at Killcare?

A: This was our 3rd home renovation – 3rd on the same street! The first house was too small for our growing family, and the second felt too big and disconnected with no yard — which was more of an impulse purchase we jumped on when our neighbour decided to sell. We had always loved that home and the yard for the kids was just perfect. Such a sweet home. The house needed some love and was a little small hence why we undertook the renovations. Due to the structure being in such bad shape what we thought would be a simple extension and makeover ended up being a complete rebuild – only foundations and ceiling remain of the original house – all other walls/structures had to be rebuilt.  

Collaboration and Design

Working closely with Fabric Architecture, Megan was clear about preserving the classic beach house's authentic vibe while mixing modern comforts and her personal style. "Having been our 3rd home, we knew exactly what we wanted and needed so the briefing part was clear and the result… It’s just perfect," Megan remarks. 

As this was Megan’s third renovation alongside her husband, they decided to put their faith in the experts and simplify the process. They knew what they were after and found the right people to make it happen. “We were pretty exhausted from everything else in our life going on, so really trusted Fabric to guide us with all selections and we are thrilled. We did other houses ourselves with inspiration from Pinterest and magazines so having Fabric lead the design was refreshing and really elevated everything. It pays to trust the experts!” The renovation's success was a mix of professional expertise and Megan’s personal touch, ensuring the home resonated with warmth and inviting energy. 

Wall Tile | TILECLOUD NEWPORT MATTE MIXED WHITE SMALL SQUARE TILE
Floor Tile | TILECLOUD PALM BEACH PEACH ENCAUSTIC LOOK TILE

A bumpy road 

Despite the success of the renovation, it didn’t come without challenges like renovation delays, overblown budgets and even Megan’s husband having to get on the tools himself to finalise their Killcare beach house; “My husband had to finish the stonework as the stonemasons decided to not show up to finish and we had a Home Beautiful shoot coming up.” Renovating during the height of COVID-19 presented unique challenges — Megan and her team faced construction shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, and unexpected structural issues.

Q: Were there any delays during the renovation process?

A: If you could pick a worse time to renovate we did it – right in the middle of covid.  There was the construction shutdown. There was a huge outbreak following our steel works causing more delays, and then with the shipping issues into Australia. We lost our floorboards, having to choose something last minute that was readily available or had further delays while we sourced more. The cost was double what we had budgeted for too – to be honest all of it was a nightmare. 

Rangehood Tile | TILECLOUD COOGEE ANTIQUE WHITE KIT KAT MOSAIC TILE
Island Bench Tile | TILECLOUD COOGEE ANTIQUE WHITE KIT KAT MOSAIC TILE

Q: What was the most challenging part of the renovation? Did anything go wrong? How did you adapt? 

A: It all went wrong! The walls were crooked, unsafe and rotting so had to be taken down and rebuilt. We also had huge construction and shipping delays due to covid, and problems getting building products. The builders kept things going, we just had to breathe and borrow a lot more money than we had planned.

TileCloud Touches

When it came to choosing tiles, Megan relied on Fabric Architecture's recommendations and TileCloud's refreshingly simple product range that captures the Australian design aesthetic. “Fabric suggested the tiles and what samples to order online – we had a stack sent and then made decisions from there.” We love that Megan and her team found the process of ordering our tile samples so easy and convenient — this is part of our commitment to helping simplify the property renovation process for homeowners and helping them find the perfect tile to incorporate into their dream spaces. 

Wall Tile | TILECLOUD NEWPORT MATTE MIXED WHITE SMALL SQUARE TILE
Floor Tile | TILECLOUD PALM BEACH PEACH ENCAUSTIC LOOK TILE

Q: Why did you choose TileCloud / What did you enjoy best about the TileCloud experience? 

A: Online, sample boxes and the tiles are good quality but also reasonably priced. Lots of on-trend options. Traipsing around to tile shops on a weekend is a drag (we did it that way for the first two homes!) this was easy! Loved it. 

Advice for Aspiring Renovators

For those looking for inspiration for their future or current property renovation, here are some of the experts who worked on Megan’s enviable beach house. For laying the foundations and taking care of all things building Megan relied on the incredible team at BBM Constructions. For architecture and interiors, the talented team at Fabric Architecture Studio lead the charge in creating a refined look. To take care of all structural considerations Megan put her faith in Partridge Engineers. Finally, for all things styling the fabulous team at The Beholder Styling helped to elevate the space with eye-catching interiors. 

Q: Any advice for first-time renovators? 

A: Not only to put together a mood board but also to collect images of spaces you love and look at the entire palette of your project. Warm or cool tones? Repeating tones and themes throughout the home. Get samples – tiles, paint, timbers everything and have them lay in the space for a few weeks before you commit. They change in different lights and you may find you love it after staring at it for a while or not. We had 5 x whites painted on our wall while the renovation was still in progress before deciding. The whites (Lexicon) that looked good in our previous home next door, with cool tones looked terrible in this house! So it's mostly all warm tones and different whites! 

That’s a wrap