When AFL footballer Cody Weightman bought this Brunswick warehouse conversion final yr, he knew he needed to be concerned within the course of of creating the home really feel like dwelling.
‘That is my first dwelling, so I actually needed to make it really feel like mine,’ Cody says.
Having performed 80 video games for the Western Bulldogs, the athlete additionally has a ardour for artwork — having dabbled in portray murals, canvas, and even exhibiting his work at Melbourne Design Week 2026.
With an preliminary imaginative and prescient to transform the storage into his artwork studio, Cody approached inside designer Jessica Bettenay of By R.A for steering. However like most renovations, the transient rapidly grew to embody all three ranges of the transformed warehouse dwelling.
The revamp enhanced the economic bones of the ‘quirky’ three-storey residence, retaining the present flooring, uncovered blockwork, brick, and ceiling rafters that nod to the constructing’s 100-year-old historical past.
‘I’ve at all times liked warehouses, so we drew a variety of inspiration from eating places round Melbourne like bistroX in Fitzroy,’ Cody says. One other Melbourne venue, Disuku within the CBD, additionally influenced the atmospheric vibe of the brand new interiors, with loads of temper lighting and graphic artwork layered all through.
On the bottom flooring, the storage now doubles as a practical studio, laundry, and haunt zone. Upstairs, a DIY beauty refresh introduced new life to the bedrooms and loos, the place Cody cleverly refaced the joinery and painted over the tiles.
Jessica says the largest transformation occurred throughout the open-plan kitchen, residing, and eating room on the highest flooring.
The kitchen was reimagined with deep pink joinery and a stainless-steel island, designed particularly for gathering and meal preparation, whereas an ungainly, ‘unusable nook’ was additionally repurposed right into a secret powder room, hidden behind a sliding door.
‘Outdoors, the indoor-outdoor zone grew to become among the finest components of the home, with a pizza oven and Weber — one other area constructed purely for the boys [Cody and his housemates] to take pleasure in,’ Jessica says.
For Cody, who managed a lot of the venture himself in between taking part in soccer full-time, overseeing the logistics was the toughest half. Getting supplies as much as the third degree was one other problem, and when the scissor elevate broke down on the stone supply day, they needed to cautiously carry every slab up the steps.
‘I barely underestimated the quantity of labor and complexity of organising trades and supplies. Although nerve-racking and at occasions expensive, it was general extraordinarily rewarding seeing one thing you envisioned come to life,’ he says.
Now, the eagerness venture is one thing to be happy with — a house that’s tailor made to Cody, with areas for coaching, creativity, meals, and friendship, all below one roof.
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