Beachside builders reveal affordable tricks to improve your home

News.com.au

21-05-2025

With millions of views online and millions of dollars spent on their houses, influencers Corinne and Shane Wynhoven have learned how to make a home stand out from the crowd.
After selling a business of theirs in 2020, the owner-occupiers left their corporate careers for the home building profession. Despite taking care of a new child and dealing with the sudden arrival of Covid, the two finished and sold their first house in Mermaid Waters for $4.35 million, making a suburb record.
Now living in their second build and working on their next two projects, Mr Wynhoven said they'd have never built their dream home if they didn't put the work in themselves.
'We don't come from a construction background,' he said, 'but we just got stuck in and weren't afraid of those challenges.'
'The key is, one: having the confidence to do it, [and] two: having enthusiasm and the know-how to get into it. Because it can be a bit daunting and a bit frustrating at times, but the risk is certainly worth the reward.'
Through making their houses together, the couple have gained a combined 53,000 followers across Instagram and Facebook.
The two lived in their first Mermaid Waters home before they sold it, and planned to do the same with their second, named 'The Sanctuary'. However, personal touches like their hotel-style home bar and other user-friendly features made them realise they wanted to keep it as their forever home.
Mrs Wynhoven said many of those features were possible on a much smaller budget. 'We really focus on the key rooms,' she said, mentioning areas like the kitchen and the laundry.
'People mentally move in when they fall in love with these spaces … we always want to bring a wow factor, but we want it to be practical as well.'
One example of this was when she positioned the laundry machines and baskets to be at standing level, making chores that little bit easier during the day.
'I just wanted to seamlessly go through from one side to the other,' she said. 'That was, for me, important.'
Meanwhile, Mrs Wynhoven said large artworks, no matter the price tag, could set the tone for a room by its presence alone.
'I was always scared of artwork – I thought, 'I don't know anything about art,'' she said. 'But now I just see such value in how much it brings colour; it brings a vibe.'
Mr Wynhoven added that while good furniture and flooring are always valuable in a home, the fittings and handles can be underrated features.
'We use a supplier called ABI, which do these brass fittings,' he said, and added he found it shockingly affordable. 'Upgrading your fittings and handles and so on … is a really easy win in those spaces.'
The number one piece of advice the couple had for people working on their own homes is to commit to the improvements.
'Don't be afraid to go big,' Mr Wynhoven said. 'You often see people skimping in areas where they could have easily had, if they'd just went with a little more effort, come up with something a lot more grand.'
'Just be bold and go for it.'