Anita and Cameron Wallace have a common property conundrum: do they renovate their cramped family home or do they sell it?<\/strong><\/p>\n Cameron is keen to keep the memories this family of five\u00a0have enjoyed in the three-bedroom house alive and stay.<\/p>\n \u201cI love this house very much. We\u2019ve spent such an important part of our lives here, bringing up our children in this place,\u201d says Cameron.<\/p>\n Yet Anita feels they should have moved years ago and is fed up with the property\u2019s warren-like network of rooms and lack of space.<\/p>\n The living room is cramped and dated.\u00a0Picture: Love It Or List It Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n So should Anita and Cameron open up the separate living spaces to create a modern home, or are they better off moving?<\/p>\n Andrew Winter and\u00a0Neale Whitaker hosts of\u00a0<\/span>Love It Or List It Australia\u00a0<\/em>take a look at the property and offer<\/a> their advice.<\/span><\/p>\n The Wallaces live in the leafy suburb of Donvale which just 19km from Melbourne\u2019s CBD.<\/p>\n The median price for a three-bedroom house like this one is currently $968,000. Their current home is valued at around $1.12m.<\/p>\n The split-level property dates back to the seventies. It has small rooms in an odd layout, says Winter who believes the Wallaces could buy a better home.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is really, really tiny,\u201d says Winter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has low ceilings, a narrow corridor, poky kitchen and some kind of kiddie room,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Winter believes this family of five has simply outgrown the home.<\/p>\n At the moment, the family are often squeezed into a small living area.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly the weirdest house I\u2019ve seen in a while,\u201d admits Whitaker.<\/p>\n Reconfiguring the home will be \u201ca real challenge\u201d he says, but the current space can be maximised and opened up to suit the needs of a modern family.<\/p>\n A brand new, spacious kitchen would make a big difference.\u00a0Picture: Love It Or List It Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe key will be creating two big communal areas so the whole family can blend when they want without tripping over each other or the treadmill,\u201d says Whitaker.<\/p>\n By creating a new informal living area\u00a0with an open-plan kitchen and skylights plus adding a new laundry with more storage, this house would be transformed.<\/p>\n A master bedroom like this would provide a\u00a0retreat for these parents.\u00a0Picture: Love It Or List It Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The second more formal living area would open up the current lounge room to create a much larger space with more natural light, giving the family another living zone.<\/p>\n \u201cBy blocking in the door to the entrance, they now have two distinct\u00a0zones \u2013 one for living, one for dining,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n This house might pull the pair in opposite directions but one thing Cameron and Anita do agree on is the property\u2019s location.<\/p>\n They both love it. So will they stay or will they go?<\/p>\n Watch\u00a0Love It or List It Australia\u00a0now exclusively on Foxtel\u2019s Lifestyle to see what Anita and Cameron did with this home.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n For more Love it or List It Australia videos and expert advice go to\u00a0lifestyle.com.au<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nList it: Why now is a good time to sell<\/h2>\n
Love it: reviving a retro home<\/span><\/h2>\n
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