On the hunt for a cheap, unique property with a renovation budget of just $13,000, what started as a short-term investment property project for this family has expanded into a fully-fledged escape to the country.
A shared passion for upcycling and reusing materials set interior designer Annie Brereton and her husband, Shane, on a path from Melbourne to regional Victoria, where they established several luxury holiday stays. Once there, they found their calling.
The regional church was updated and used for holiday rental accommodation. Picture: Nikole Ramsay
Moving to regional Victoria wasn’t on the couple’s radar initially, but while running their upcycling business, they renovated and styled a client’s holiday accommodation property – something they hadn’t done before.
Before: The character of the church remains. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
“We realised we loved what we’d done and decided to venture into accommodation properties,” Ms Brereton told realestate.com.au.
Not wanting to spend a fortune, they set up a real estate alert for properties priced at approximately $100,000. Adding to the challenge: “It had to be unique,” she said.
Soon after they started watching the market, a historic red brick church located in Lexton, north west of Ballarat was going to auction. Despite the termite-ridden floors and the work ahead, they bought it for $165,000 on the day.
It may have been imperfect, but when looking at properties, they sought spaces that would deliver memorable moments and knew the old church could become magical.
The striking red brick church was purchased for just $165,000. Picture: Nikole Ramsay
Ms Brereton has observed other holiday accommodation owners making the mistake of “marketing a bed”, but their plan was to be known for curating an experience.
While still running their Melbourne-business, they renovated and styled the property with a budget of just $13,000 and achieved 90% occupancy of their couples-only church retreat in the first year – despite that year being 2020.
“It has leadlight windows that you can’t see out of. People would come in on Friday, shut the door and not leave until Sunday. It had a cocooning effect.”
Before: The stained glass window now sits above the kitchen. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
After: The warm and inviting kitchen now hosts guests as a holiday rental. Picture: Nikole Ramsay
“We were able to provide a beautiful experience to people in times of need,” Ms Brereton recalled, but running the accommodation from the city also meant travelling from Melbourne three times a week to clean, change sheets and top up the locally-made breakfast ingredients for guests.
Making regional Victoria home
They bit the bullet and started looking for their own home closer to the church.
While Ms Brereton had imagined acreage; they settled on an overgrown bush block located in Mt Helen, 10 minutes out of Ballarat. The 1970s A-frame dwelling and surrounding site needed their touch.
The A-frame dwelling has since been completely transformed. Picture: Kirstie-Lee's Photography
After arriving in 2021, they painted everything white – a temporary enhancement.
“Everything can be made liveable and beautiful. It’s helpful to live in a place to know how you need it to function,” Ms Brereton said.
Having been widowed 10-years prior, Ms Brereton was designing a home with Shane for the first time, so they didn’t rush into a full refurbishment.
“It was important to be intentional about what we created. We wanted a slower pace, to be more mindful and to be nature-based,” Ms Brereton said.
Shane and Anne Brereton. Picture: Her Golden Point
While getting to know their own property, the couple purchased and re-imagined an apartment within a commercial building in Ballarat’s town centre, which they “renovated sympathetically to its history”, while also ensuring it was fit for the location.
An apartment in the heart of Ballarat was their third regional renovation project. Picture: Supplied
The design was sophisticated, a perfect base for exploring local restaurants and culture.
For a while, they also provided luxury caravan stays by the dam on their own property.
The curveball
The intention was to offer the three properties as distinct country, bush and city escapes, but life intervened. Someone wanted to buy the church and they faced some unanticipated hurdles with the apartment.
Prior to launching the apartment, they discovered a fire separation issue between the ground floor retail space and the dwelling above. Their ability to list it as holiday accommodation stalled.
Unclear direction from several advisors and a lack of clarity on the cost associated with finding a solution meant they had to re-assess the viability of listing the property.
While they considered their options, the couple realised that Ms Brereton’s interior design experience and husband Shane’s tradesman skills had already revealed where to go next. According to Ms Brereton, “The magic was in the creation.”
Rather than managing ongoing accommodation operations, the pair could show people how to do what they’d done, and offer clients anything from a colour consultation to decorating and renovating.
The couple now offer design services for people undertaking their own investment projects. Picture: Her Golden Point
They sold the church and the Ballarat apartment and focused on offering end-to-end design services that would enable more people to live in properties like theirs.
“We combined those talents to help other people create what we had created,” she said. Authentic Spaces was founded in 2023.
At the same time, they were walking the talk: re-creating their 1970s A-frame home to ensure it was an authentic reflection of their values and their way of living. A palette of soft pinks and greens gave them a warm and inviting space that connected with the surrounding gum trees. It has become their tree house sanctuary.
Their tree house sanctuary. Picture: Kirstie-Lee's Photography
Today, many of their clients say, “We’ve lived in this house for 10-15 years and we don’t know what to do.”
“We’re not taught how to create meaningful spaces, but if we’re not thinking intentionally about our homes it can have a detrimental impact,” Ms Brereton said.
Her approach is to “let the house talk” and observe the way light enters a room or how a window frames a view. It’s not a case of throwing everything out and starting again.
“It’s about making it authentic to you,” she said.
Her top tips for enhancing your home or short-term stay:
- Declutter not just for design but mental load. This also helps you to properly see your home again
- Build a colour palette – this helps you to narrow down your design choices
- A good home is not rushed, they’re built over time so you don’t have to style it all at once. Wait for the perfect artwork or statement piece of furniture
- Bring life into a home with something living – houseplants and flowers help to soften spaces
This article was originally published on 8 Jan 2026 at 7:01am but has been regularly updated to keep the information current.
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