Dreamers and doers are twin forces — powerful alone but unstoppable together. Sarah Godden and Mike Trappett are such a duo.

Sarah, founder of online vintage furniture store Soft Focus House, is the visionary,  while Mike, a music teacher, makes it happen.

Yet each possesses a touch of the other’s strength, making their partnership all the more formidable.

‘Mike is so amazing — basically the best “yes man” in the world,’ says Sarah. ‘He is endlessly enthusiastic and solution-focused, and we work really well together.’

The couple have transformed their open, former warehouse apartment into a truly unique family home — entirely DIY.

‘We had a very tight budget and time constraints, and high expectations of what we could achieve aesthetically — the perfect storm!’ says Sarah.

The former art director originally came across the apartment, which is part of the 1880s Acme Shirt Factory, in mid-2024, dismissing it in the moment due to its ‘terrible photos’.

But, when their previous lease ended in early 2025, they revisited the listing. This time, the vast open space, patched brick walls, 4.5-metre timber ceilings, exposed beams, and metal factory windows drew Sarah in.

‘It had always been our dream to turn a warehouse space into a loft-style home to live and work in,’ explains Sarah. ‘It felt like the right time and an amazing opportunity.’

They leased the space and set about turning it into a family home.

‘I treated the whole thing like a shoot production: lots of planning, mock-ups, Google Docs and very strict timelines,’ she says.

Their first mission was to make the space (previously used by an art therapy institute) liveable in just six weeks.

They removed office partitions and plasterboard cladding around the bathroom; ripped up the carpet and flooring; and — after much deliberation and number crunching the price of polished concrete (out of their budget) — decided to pour a self-levelling concrete floor, and paint it.

Once they had converted the twin cubicle toilets into a separate toilet and shower, they moved into the home, using a small kitchenette, separated from the rest of the space by clothing racks, as their cooking area.

Inspired by a house they’d visited a few years prior in St Andrews Beach that was clad entirely in Twinwall polycarbonate roofing, Sarah and Mike fashioned internal ‘walls’ for the bedroom and bathroom pods in a similar style.

‘We wanted to use semi-translucent materials to let the light in,’ explains Sarah. ‘The dream would’ve been glass bricks, but it was beyond our budget… Instead we chose clear polycarbonate, but left the protective film on one side for privacy.’

The resourceful duo also repurposed the timber framing from office partitions to create their new bedroom and bathroom ‘pods’, only needing to buy one new length of framing timber to complete the project.

‘Mike even reused the screws and nails!’ says Sarah.

A stainless steel bench was also out of budget. Yet, you’ll notice they have one anyway. Not to be thwarted by this vision for the house, the couple had a custom sheet of stainless steel cut to size with two bends (transported in the back of a GoGet van), which Mike glued to the island bench made with Ikea cabinets.

‘It’s probably our favourite thing we did, though I was so stressed through the whole process,’ says Sarah. ‘I cried when it worked out, it was such a relief and so exciting.’

The total cost for the kitchen, including the oven, cooktop and sink (all found on Facebook Marketplace), tiles, lighting, tapware, tools and materials came in under $8000.

Mike’s increasingly expert hand also saw him give furniture design a go, creating the plywood dining table and Donald Judd-inspired chairs.

The curved wall lamp in the living space is another DIY project — made from steel conduit from Bunnings and finished with a vintage glass shade sourced by Sarah, while the kitchen scones are made from scallop shells from the fishmonger.

‘They were inspired by something I’d seen in a restaurant in Copenhagen and had always wanted to recreate,’ says Sarah. ‘They’re so quirky and give off the most beautiful light.’

In fact, the finished home wouldn’t look out of place in Scandinavia, with its minimalist feel, carefully considered accent pieces, and loft-like warehouse setting.

‘It was a real joy to focus on what was originally here and build from there, to honour it,’ says Sarah. ‘I like the creative boundaries that come from working as much as we can with what already exists, not to mention it’s more sustainable and hopefully more timeless.’

Filled with Sarah’s vintage finds and Mike’s custom furniture and lighting, the home feels unique, warm and welcoming, despite its industrial roots.

‘The decision making was the hardest part,’ Sarah reflects. ‘It was a constant balance between budget, timing, design choices, liveability, and availability of materials. Professionals know about these things of course, we had to learn as we went along.’

We know every aisle of Bunnings Collingwood too well!’

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