The Nun’s Room: From a tomato grower’s shack to a glamorous tiny home

Sarah Andrews has a knack for turning tiny spaces into luxurious, intimate residences. With the Nun’s Room, she has turned a tomato grower’s shack into a glamorous home in Geraldton, Western Australia. Unlike her past renovations, including the Captain’s Rest, she can’t imagine allowing others to call this one home.

An original shack located on her parents’ property, the weatherboard building had been home to a family of five. It had stood in its original condition for over a century until Andrews felt emboldened to transform it into her own residence.

“Since my family purchased the property 35 years ago, the little home has always been mine: from a play room and a cubby as a kid, to my own retreat as a teen, then as a place I always return to when my life falls apart as an adult,” says Andrews.

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The moody, vintage aesthetic of the Nun’s Room is the ideal place for Andrews to busy herself with styling projects for clients, to read and spend time with only Jake the whippet for company. In the evenings, the fireplace is a homely and comforting central point of the Nun’s Room, which is easily and evenly heated due to its tiny size.

The kitchen houses an IKEA sink and basic cooking facilities, though Andrews usually joins her parents in their residence for meals. She also heads to their residence to use the bathroom, as the Nun’s Room doesn’t have one, yet.

Andrews sought comfort in restyling and updating the 25-square-metre residence following a recent divorce and health concerns. “These experiences left the future of my life and world very uncertain. I needed a place for safety, reflection, solitude and memories. A big warm hug from my soul really,” she says.

Andrews’ ability to transform small spaces into appealing and intimate residences makes sense considering her previous career.

“I actually started out my working life as a spatial scientist, studying and working with the science of space. A mid-life career change after a boating accident saw me go back to design school to take my science in a more creative direction. From here I dived head first into styling spaces,” says Andrews.

While many styling rule books and experts have touted the benefits of painting tiny spaces in bright colours and creating as much light as possible to give the illusion of space, Andrews bravely took an alternative route and has just painted the concrete floor black.

“If you have a really small space, dark colours rather than white make a space feel far bigger,” says Andrews. “They kind of recede, but you need to also paint the ceiling. Pull all your furniture a little bit away from the walls as well and the illusion is space.”

The floral print wallpaper was a lucky find. Andrews and her mother found the print in a bargain bin full of wallpaper, though it took them a week to figure out how to install it. Rolls were left to spare after covering the entire house and the ceiling of her bedroom nook.

Andrews spray-painted over the wallpaper and the ceiling with a semi-gloss deep green (Vintage Green by Dulux) to give a glossy finish to the 3D wallpaper.

She has cleverly curated vintage heirloom furniture, candles, vases, lamps and old photographs and drawings to suggest a history much more extensive than her own 35 years with the space. The majority of items are antiques and vintage finds that Andrews has discovered in her travels or in second-hand and opportunity shops.

About to purchase her seventh property, Andrews says she’s lost track of how many homes she has renovated and styled for clients. She is currently running masterclasses and online consulting on how to transform houses and investment properties into marketable venues for leasing.

“There has been a real shift to people’s properties becoming business for them, shifting them to a more nomadic, pared-back lifestyle,” says Andrews.

“I rent out my main house, Captain’s Rest – and it’s rented out every single day of the year, year-round – for top dollar. That’s a six-figure business annually, which lets me live the free life I want, and lets me rest in my tiny Nun’s Room when I need to be still.”

She has always sought small homes that invite solitude, but manages to find a balance between being alone, work that requires international travelling and teaching, and socialising.

“I’ve never really loved other people in my space,” Andrews says. “I leave the house, I love the balance of that, but my ideal house size has always been one-bedroom so I have a good excuse to turn away guests.”