Laura Byrne and Matty ‘J’ Johnson are dividing fans by delving into one of the most controversial and divisive topics known to the internet – their own home renovation.
The Bachelor power couple recently splashed out $2.19m on a rundown ‘blue chip’ home in a huge renovation project in Ulladulla, about 230 kilometres south of Sydney.
In two weeks, just shy of 80,000 curious Aussies have opted in to watch, and argue about, their journey on the project’s Instagram account @chante.mer.house.
The reality TV stars turned entrepreneurs expanded their multi-million property portfolio by purchasing the dilapidated oceanfront home last month.
The locale holds special meaning for the happy couple, as they tied the knot in 2022 at Cupitts Estate Winery, just down the road from their new holiday home.
‘So I take it you don’t like the tiles,’ Laura captioned a photo of her selection with a laugh-crying emoji.
The simple photo, that shows blush, deep purple, rust, and mustard coloured tiles intended to cover the living room fireplace, attracted thousands of fiery comments.
Laura Byrne and Matty J have started renovations on their recently purchased South Coast holiday home in Ulladulla
In one camp of opinion, one naysayer said the tiles looked ‘a bit like the urine chart at the doctors’, ‘will not age well’ and are ‘pretty terrible’ as well as ‘DISGUSTING.’
In the other, some design fans said they adored the colours and encouraged Laura to ‘go with her instinct’.
Somewhere in-between the two were the more polite critics who said they really, really didn’t like them…but that Laura should do what she wants with her house.
‘One of my favourite things about this house that we are keeping original is the doors,’ Laura revealed in a new video that she filmed as worked on the property on Sunday.
The Life Uncut podcaster is certainly keeping her hands full raising two children under five, designing her Toni May jewelry, hosting afternoon radio on Sydney’s KIIS FM, preparing to launch her baby blanket and linen brand Mae & Moo — and now, asking approximately eighty-thousand strangers to approve design choices on her renovation.
‘Look at how gorgeous this is,’ the mother-of-two exclaimed as she showed off the sunlight streaming through the front door’s original stained-glass.
‘Do we keep the doors with the wood and sand all this back so we have the stained glass and the wood finish, which I really love but the wood is quite damaged… Or do we paint it white?’ she asked her followers.
‘Currently the outside of the door is white and the inside is wood,’ she explained. ‘White would be easier, but I can’t tell what I like better.’
Meanwhile in the caption, Laura made her feelings about any suggestions to replace the front door known.
Laura asked her followers whether she should paint the inside of her original front door white, to match its exterior, or leave the original unpainted timber, which is damaged
‘If the beige brigade come for these doors… I will riot,’ she warned her followers in the video caption, taking a cheeky swipe at a certain group of home renovators who are often criticised on ‘home reno fail’ TikTok.
The ‘beige brigade’ is a reference to the mostly millennial generation couples, who buy up old houses, gut them completely, and replace all character features with white walls and cookie-cutter design features.
‘These old beauties are staying, but the big question is do we strip them back to all wood, or paint white?’ Laura finished her caption.
The house’s previous owner, who died at the age of 94, had the life motto: ‘Never economise luxury.’ Laura and Matty are understood to be working with brands to sponsor their major renovations of the house
In another video, shared two weeks ago, Laura provided a little tour of the bubblegum pink ‘time warp’ bathroom, which features ‘a bidet in the room NEXT to the toilet’.
‘How does one get to the bidet… do you shuffle around the corner with your pants down? I NEED TO KNOW!!!’ she captioned the video.
The clifftop house has sprawling ocean views and is appropriately called Chante-Mer, which is French for ‘sing the sea’.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom property is spread across two levels and was last sold in 1984 for $62,500.
The home is set on 746 sqm overlooking Racecourse Beach and previously belonged to United Nations simultaneous conference translator Valerie Barnes, who died in 2021 aged 94.
Valerie, who authored her memoirs and multiple books, was said to have the motto: ‘Never economise on luxury.’
Ironically, Laura and Matt are understood to be working with several brands to ‘sponsor’ the major renovations of the property.
The couple plan to completely overhaul the ‘old beauty’ to its previous standard but, per the house’s Instagram bio, will be ‘resisting the millennial urge to paint everything white’.
Laura and Matt have already shared photos of their daughters Marlie-Mae, five, and Lola, three, visiting their future ‘dream home’.
Laura and Matt’s daughters Marlie-Mae, five, and Lola, three, both want the bigger bedroom
The reality television stars currently live in a four-bedroom semi in North Bondi, which they purchased for $5.2million in 2023.
They also boast a stunning $1.8million holiday home in Bangalow, near Byron Bay.
After getting engaged in Fiji in April 2018, Laura and Matty finally tied the knot on the south coast in November 2022, five years after meeting on The Bachelor.
They are one of the most successful couples to come out of the show and welcomed their daughter Marlie-Mae in 2019, followed by Lola in February 2021.
