Bay Builds: Kyal and Kara reveal media rooms, laundries and entryways
So far in the Bay Builds journey, Kyal and Kara Demmrich’s latest property adventure, the couple have revealed bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices and their first-ever wine rooms in two, mirror-image new builds on the NSW Central Coast.
This week, they reveal beautifully textured stone entryways, cosy media rooms and laundries with personality.
While the interiors of both houses have distinct and differing styles, the couple wanted to keep the facade of the homes consistent.
“We wanted that continuity from the street and we didn’t want it to look mismatched,” Kara says. “Also, it’s a nice surprise when you walk into each house because it looks so identical from the front and as you walk into the entries [the difference] is such a surprise.”
Consistency doesn’t equate to boring, though, with meticulously crafted stone lining the entryway walls and drawing you through the large, timber front doors and into each home.
The finished product is one of Kara’s favourite stone walls. “I just love how textured it is and when you see it up close, there are pieces that actually look like bits of coral.”
Seven months of patience and hard work went into perfecting the placement of the stone, with its varying textures, shapes and thicknesses.
Stonemason Gary Stewart, who is Kyal’s stepdad, became a constant presence at the building site, Kara says. “I feel like he was there from the start to the end just because it took so long.”
Hidden among Gary’s exceptional craftsmanship is a sentimental touch that will see a small piece of the Demmrich family live on when the new owners eventually move in.
“Gary actually asked our kids to choose some shells from the beach across the road and he put the shells in the wall for them,” Kara says.
In the media rooms, Kara played with colour and texture to create a space that feels like a welcoming hug.
“I wanted them to feel cosy,” she says. “I love the escape of a movie night or that rainy-day, chilled vibe – I think painting the whole room in one colour really helped create that feeling.”
If you have a room that doesn’t receive much natural light, Kara says to lean in and embrace it by playing around with warm colours and making bold choices like “colour drenching” – painting your walls and ceiling the same colour.
“Use that to your advantage and really create a feature in that room,” she says.
“When it’s a media room, a family room, a kid’s toy room, even a bedroom, play on the moodiness in there. In comparison, the other rooms are going to look brighter.”
While moodiness was the brief for both rooms, they retain the signature feel of each home. House One leans into the French-inspired style of the rest of the house by mirroring the sandy tone of the couch with the colour of the walls and ceiling. Light timber finishes, cream curtains and a soft rug complete the fresh but cosy feeling.
House Two goes bold again with olive walls reflecting the Spanish-inspired theme of the home. A rug Kara repurposed as a wall hanging acts as a focal point, tying the whole room together.
Not everyone was initially on board with the idea of mounting a rug on the wall, Kara says, but she stuck to her guns. “Kyle was like, ‘What? You’re gonna put this on the wall? He just didn’t get it and he loves that room now.”
A statement leather couch anchors the room and a projector screen that descends from the ceiling brings a cinema-quality to everything from family movie nights to watching weekend sports.
While Kara says there’s still a place for a television in the home, “a projector is so good because you can just tuck it away or roll it up”.
Like the media rooms, other spaces designed with functionality front and centre are the laundries.
“They’re like the quiet workhorse of the whole house,” Kara says. But despite their highly functional nature, “there’s no reason why they can’t be as chic as the rest of the house”.
The design choices of the bathrooms and powder rooms are echoed in the laundries. House One pairs a light-hued stone bench and travertine-tile splashback with champagne-coloured tapware and neutral walls and cabinetry.
House Two is bolder, with dark timber cabinetry, copper tapware and cinnamon-toned tile splashback.
House Two is bolder, with dark timber cabinetry, copper tapware and cinnamon-toned tile splashback.
Both rooms have luxurious fluted basins that offer functionality as well as impact – especially the black basin in House Two.
“I wanted to walk into each laundry and go, ‘I know what house I’m in.’ They have personality,” Kara says.
Bay Builds is Kyal and Kara’s latest property series, with new episodes and room reveals dropping weekly. We’ll be covering every room reveal and you can watch the episodes here.
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