These are the most eye-catching and unusual home renovations you will ever see.
They’re homes made from old barns, warehouses, grain silos and even police and fire stations.
Across NSW, a wave of homebuyers are rewriting the rules of real estate by transforming historic or forgotten buildings into one-of-a-kind residences.
At a time when many are battling the brutal reality of the traditional market, visionary buyers are snapping up disused or rundown residences, transforming them into striking living spaces or accommodation.
Gerringong Police Station
In the Illawarra region, once the original Gerringong Police Station, 89 Fern St is being offered on the market for the first time in over 90 years with a price guide of $3.5m to $3.7m.
Currently listed on the market is 89 Fern St, Gerringong, originally a Police Station
“It was the old police station built in 1882 and used as a police station and jail until 1933,” Listing Agent Angie Ritchie of First National Coast & Country Gerringong said.
Ms Ritchie said the residence was sold in 1933 and later transformed into a private residence.
“It’s been meticulously renovated, it’s quite amazing,” she said.
“The original features, the fireplaces, original jail cells are still there with the metal doors, there’s also all the bars and there’s a peep hole through one of the walls where originally you would have been looking to see the prisoners.
“Where the living area is now, that actually used to be the old exercise yard.”
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Innisfallen Castle
Sitting on a sprawling park-like grounds, the heritage listed estate known as ‘Innisfallen Castle’ is the namesake of Castle Cove, one of only five castellated mansions in the inner Sydney ring.
One of five castellated mansions in the inner Syndey ring, 14 Cherry Pl, Castle Cove is currently the market
Currently listed, the residence at 14 Cherry Pl was constructed from sandstone and features a crenellated tower on the northern side, three stories high with a separate staircase used for maid quarters at the time.
With only two owners in the 120 years, the eight-bedroom, four bathroom offering is designed in English Gothic perpendicular.
“Built in 1902, it’s truly a historic residence,” said Biller Property listing agent Ben Torban. “The home also comes with a tennis court and over 8000sqm of grounds.”
The agents reportedly have interest above $30m.
In April 1999, the residence was added to the NSW Heritage Register ensuring the preservation of its history and grounds.
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The Silos Accommodation
NSW farmers Nicholas and Amber Heffernan now own and operate The Silos Accommodation, a quirky and sought-after accommodation offering converted from their disused grain silos.
The Silos Accomodation was converted from two grain silos. Picture: Jarrad Di Mauro Photography.
“It was in the back of our mind for probably more than 20 years,” Mr Heffernan said.
“There were two silos situated on that hill and just in a really good position with a nice view up there.”
The pair saw conversions online where people in America where turning silos into homes which encouraged them to follow the idea.
“We had to deconstruct and put a new foundation down and use the silo as the cladding and on the outside of the building once we built it,” Mr Heffernan said.
Utilising both silos to create the one accommodation for guests, Ms Heffernan said there’s about one and a half used for the residence.
The Silos accomodation.
“Every part of the silo was reused in some form … the panels as the cladding, the old base of the silo and the doors off the silo were used on the old entrance,” she said.
They started dismantling in December 2023 with the projects completed at the end of September and opening to public in October 2024.
Cooee Architecture Sarah Lebner helped with the designs. Inside, a loft-style bedroom, multiple windows, kitchenette, bath and cosy fireplace and outside, paddock outlooks, fire pit and woodfire hot tub under the stars.
Former Salvation Army hall
Transforming the bygone Leichhardt Salvation Army hall and stables on Sydney’s Lower North Shore into a commercial establishment combined with a family home was the job of Hunt & Design creative director and principal interior designer Maryann Schmidt.
Citadel conversion project, former old Salvation Army hall. Picture: Hunt & Design / Schmidt Construction / Tom Ferguson
Ms Schmidt said the conversion completed in 2024, took a few years with the clients engaging her in 2021.
“The owners came in and fell in love with the building – they wanted to convert it to a home and residence for themselves but also have a commercial site as they’re in the creative field, they wanted to create a commercial component that suited their work in film and photography.
Ms Schmidt said part of the conversion was to create a multitude of meeting rooms and spaces for people to hold events, a podcast studio and cyc wall that could be rented out for production, film and advertising businesses.
“For the residential side, we created an upstairs area that was a beautiful three bedroom home with ensuite, huge kitchen which they also hire out for commercials and TV shows and things like that,” she said.
Inside the converted Salvation Army Hall. Picture: Hunt & Design/ Tom Ferguson
“It was really important when we were doing the design that it was pretty wow, but it also had to stay true to the spirit of the home and really accentuated all those beautiful heritage features.
“It’s actually two heritage items, the front is the Citadel which is the Salvation Army hall but the back is actually a stables which was built much earlier and the stables is where the kitchen and the cyc wall reside.”
Unable to change the roof lining in this space, Ms Schmidt said they included trusses in the kitchen and living space using old railway beams to support the roof but maintain the aesthetic look
“For us it was always going to be about the history of the home when we put together the design and that was really our guiding light and our principles when we were developing the spaces within,” she said.
Artist’s warehouse conversion
An artist’s striking warehouse conversion on Barr St in Balmain hit the market for the first time in 40 years, selling at the end of 2024.
An artist’s converted warehouse in Balmain sold in 2024
“It was owned by quite a renowned artist by the name of Sandra Leveson, who I’m pretty certain purchased it in the 1970s and she did a pretty big conversion of it in the 80s which probably fair to say at the time would’ve been very futuristic,” CobdenHayson Selling Agent Danny Cobden said.
“During the selling process, because these large warehouse residences are very rare in Balmain I had people looking at it who were potentially going to spend anywhere between $2-5 million on renovating.”
Mr Cobden said it was a huge expansive space, integrating the artist’s working area for her painting, mezzanine levels, an indoor pool and a separate self-contained area which was almost a separate one bedroom apartment on the ground floor.
“The shell of the warehouse still remained and it had that industrious type feel, but when it was renovated in the 80s it was obviously very cutting edge for the time,” he said.
Petersham Fire Station
Built in circa 1886, the converted two-storey Petersham fire station at 308-314 was snapped up for a price above $7m in 2018.
308-314 Stanmore Road is the old Petersham fire station which has since been converted
The two-storey building maintains its heritage features with its unmissable facade sitting on an 891sqm corner position boasting two street frontages.
In 2022 the residence which was operating as a luxury Airbnb came to the market once again via Colliers team of Harry Bui and James Cowan have the exclusive listing, with price expectations of over $10 million.
The residence at the time boasted offices, a boardroom, bedrooms, seven bathrooms and water closets.
The Petersham fire station now has a pool.
The property was the first fire station to be erected in metropolitan Sydney after the establishment of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade in 1884, reportedly ceasing operations in 1991 and since upgraded to include residential and hospitality uses.
Barn conversion
Another conversion saw a farm shed and barn turned into an unusual home.
A former hay shed turned home which sold in December, 2024
The six-bedroom, two bathroom home in Hinton was a former hay shed in the 1880s which features vintage steel, heritage ironbark timber, exposed steel beams and polished concrete floor.
The home last sold in December 2024 for a reported $1,565,000. The residence includes several separate living areas and six large bedrooms, sleeping up to 12 people.
Church conversion
A home converted from a church also sold in Bondi Junction in February for $4.25m.
The landmark Mill Residences church conversion fused gothic revival architecture with cutting edge design.
A converted Bondi Junction church sold in February for $4.25m
Inside the church is an upmarket home.
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