When he's not hosting the hit game show The Hundred , host Andy Lee is busy being a renovator! Two years ago the TV personality, along with fiancée Rebecca Harding, purchased 'Ravenswood' – a beautiful Melbourne River property built in 1876. Catch up on the latest episodes of The Hundred with Andy Lee on 9Now. Now, the star couple have decided it's time to not only begin but share their mammoth renovation journey.
There have been a few surprises along the way – including Andy's romantic proposal at the property. As they journey through their transformation in the months ahead, scroll through to see some of their incredible heritage home photos..
. Andy and Bec may be prepping for the Logies this weekend , but that doesn't mean their renovations have stopped. In August 2024, Andy shared quite the discovery after demolishing parts of the house.
"Who's up for a game?" He wrote alongside a snap of the exisiting fire place. "While demo-ing some of the dilapidated parts of the house, we stumbled across these playing cards behind one of the fireplaces," he said. But there was more to the story.
.. "It turns out it's a card game from 1948 called 'I COMMIT'! Andy added in the comments.
The duo also stumbled up what appears to be an old tag and a vintage newspaper. Andy posted a tear-out of an old ad from one of the newspapers. "Bec is also trying to save up her 12 pounds, 9 pence to buy a new hat," he continued.
"She's got her heart set on the 'fluted bonnet'." Fans in the comments section all had the same idea, suggesting they had to preserve the "treasures" somehow. "You MUST keep all that, frame it and put it on the wall!" one fan insisted.
"Please keep then and frame together...
wow so cool!' said another. In July 2024, Andy shared an update on the inside the building and safe to say, he's got a long way to go. "Dusty work makes for great lighting!" he captioned a series of snaps of rubble filled rooms.
"The spotlight created from the porthole has been used by possums to do stand up comedy which has been pretty cool," he added. Confused? Click through to see what he meant! On the left is a photo of the unique "porthole" window Bec and Andy discovered in one of the upstairs rooms. While a builder chipped away at the plaster, a natural spotlight was seen shining through.
On the right, is the unfortunate damage they discovered in the ceilings. "Water damaged ceilings in complete disrepair removed, leaving these original cross beams that we are keeping," revealed Andy. "The wood would have been dragged to site 150 years ago by horse and cart and still sits structurally sound ready for it's next life.
" Not bad for a 150 years! Fans seemed to agree. "Amazing bones for some plaster work," said one follower. "That's amazing 🤩 when we renovated our Carlton North terrace, the beams were in pristine condition and we also kept them.
🤩," wrote a second. While a third commented: "What a stunning home. It must be so exciting and exhausting at the same time!" Let the renovations begin! In June 2024, Andy shared an update with fans as excavation began in the front yard, and what a mammoth task that is.
"New (Old) House Update," he captioned the snaps of their home, currently a construction site. "The start of our driveway taking shape," he described the first photo. "I love the sifting function on the diggers.
Shake dat thing!" he said on the right. Andy revealed it's taking 10 trucks a day to take all that rock away. He also spotted the "best dressed machine operator [he's] ever seen".
Click through to see. "@rebeccalharding ❤️," he revealed. Here's Bec rugged up in winter gear, leaning against a much smaller excavator.
"Have a rest little digger buddy," Andy added. "Big few months ahead." Fans were keen to see snaps of the progress.
"Genuinely so excited to see what you do with this place 😍 so much potential," said one follower. "Hope you bought the neighbors some ear plugs 🤣," joked another. Other fans however, were eager to know more about the secret tunnel Andy mentioned last month.
He revealed their new modern home and existing historic home will be "all connected underground". "Finally getting started on that tunnel??" asked one excited fan. "So is the underground tunnel starting from the road or?" queried another.
Read more about Andy and Bec's renovation plans in the next slide. Renovations have officially begun! In May 2024, Andy shared the initial design plans for the stunning property and we were quite intrigued. "We gave the architects a few broad rules*," Andy captioned a digital mock of the property and façade.
"1. Honour the old house 2. We'd like to live in the new.
Flack Studio came up with this," he continued. Andy said the historic house will sit proudly on its own and will be restored, whereas the new structure will be their home, overlooking the river views. "All connected underground below the piazza 😊 🏡 👌🏼," he revealed.
As for Bec's specific plans...
"Bec had some other specifics about wardrobes but that's not reflected in this drawing other than to say her wardrobe is pretty much that entire back building," wrote Andy. Some fans had mixed feelings about the separate designs and questioned why they didn't want to live in the old house. "It was actually a possibility to have the old house demolished as it's in such disrepair," Andy explained.
"We didn't want that. We are passionate about keeping that bit of Victorian history..
. It didn't feel right to include the modern things we hoped for and try to create more space in the old house so we are thrilled to have that in the new part with better access to the river," he said. Most fans were simply excited.
"Connected underground! That's wild!" commented one follower. "Ten Pin bowling alley between the two?" suggested another idea, to which Andy replied: "Nice idea. I'll see if it's not too late.
" Scroll through to see its current state! Andy is on the tools and the build team has been officially chosen! We can't wait to see what they make of this Victorian treasure, especially now that it holds such a special place in their hearts...
Andy Lee announced his engagement to long-time partner Rebecca Harding in an episode of The Hamish & Andy Podcast that dropped at midnight on May 1, 2024. "I asked Bec to marry me on Sunday," Lee announced. Andy revealed some details about the romantic proposal including the location – their Ravenswood home.
The comedian said that he took Rebecca to their "new old house" under the guise they needed to film videos for social media before they start the build. Andy went onto explain that he pretended to see something inside of the old marble fireplace and went to take a look before producing a napkin, in a nod to he and Rebecca met. "When I was down there, I stayed on one knee and I gave her another napkin — because when I first met her at the café, I wrote on a napkin my details — and I gave her another napkin," Andy said.
The couple have been together for almost 10 years after meeting in October 2014 at a Melbourne café where Rebecca was a waitress at the time. During their first meeting, Andy famously gave Harding his details on a napkin. Hours after Andy broke the news of their engagement on the podcast the pair showed off the beautiful emerald-cut engagement ring in a joint Instagram post.
"People keep saying we rushed into this, but we don't care what people say," they cheekily captioned the picture. The pair where met with plenty of congratulations including from Andy's bestie Hamish Blake. He commented: "Momentous.
Ultimate Wingman is finally, officially retired." Scroll through to see inside Andy and Rebecca's Ravenswood home..
. Before: Upstairs House renovations often uncover some unexpected things, but Andy didn't quite anticipate what he discovered in the attic. The host was stunned when he decided to examine the state of the building's ceiling to see if there were any "treasures" inside.
But what he found? Mountains of pigeon faeces (right). "Checked whether there were any hidden treasures in the ceiling today. If you consider pigeon poo treasure, there was heaps of treasure!! HEAPS!!" he captioned the post.
Shocked followers were worried about the find, with one writing: "Hope you had a mask on. Pigeons are the top carrier of viruses!" "Oh yuck. Don't breathe that stuff in.
The roof 😮 🌧️," said a second. "Good Lord!" another commented. Before: Front yard and front façade We can already see how stunning this house will become! The home's front façade boasts grand floor to ceiling windows on both levels, but as you can see, it needs quite a lot of work.
The home has been untouched for 25 years, the couple revealed when they met their neighbours. A magical transformation waiting to happen! Before: Front yard and front façade This is the stunning heritage house back in the late 1880s, according to Andy. Fans were stunned by the vintage photo that Andy and Bec got their hands on.
"Always wondered if there was a balcony. What a great pic to have," wrote one follower. "WOW that makes so much more sense now.
I always thought half the house was missing when I walked past!" joked another. Before: Front room The couple shared a glimpse into the front left room of the old heritage house. "When was the last time someone lived in the house?" asked one follower.
"1992 I believe," Andy and Bec replied. The room told the most beautiful story with worn blue wallpaper, hanging downlights and wooden floorboards just waiting to be bought back to life. "These old wall lights are beautiful against the wall discolouration.
The wall grass is less appealing," the couple commented. Before: Front room A close up to the window on the right of the front room. Lots of paint work that needs to be done – and a big clean too! " Miserable day in Melbourne.
Even the grass wants to come inside 🌧️," they captioned this photo. Before: Living room Not exactly a renovator's dream – due to the chimney being removed and never replaced, Andy revealed that rain water had poured in causing the ceiling to collapse. "One upside is the joy Henri 🐶 gets when she jumps rubble.
.. can you spot the levitating dog?" he captioned the snap.
So how will this space turn out? The couple confirmed that the room's layout will remain pretty much the same, but with "less ceiling on the floor" they joked. Before: Upstairs bedroom This is a 'before' snap of the upstairs north-west bedroom as it currently sits. "The fireplace had been ripped out and now sits against the side wall wondering to itself what it is doing without a chimney attached," the couple captioned the photo.
"Like a snail without its shell, it's feeling rather naked," they added. So poetic! Before: Upstairs window It's not unusual to come across some interesting design choices when renovating an old building, but this one sure tells a tale! "This extremely unusual port hole window sits top left of the house as you see it from the street," Andy captioned the photo. "I have no idea of its history but I do feel extra safe in that room if the Yarra River decides to flood," he joked.
The window even comes with its own mini curtain. "Suuurely you're keeping this in place," commented one follower. The star admitted he loved it, but doesn't love it on the front of the house.
"The front of the house faces the river as that's where they used to arrive from," said Andy. "We'll definitely find a cool place for it. It has to live in Ravenswood.
" Before: River facing façade Peep the tiny window in the top left corner! Andy and Bec are in for quite the challenge turning this old treasure into something magnificent. Before: Living room When Andy and Bec took this photo, they arrived to see more of the ceiling had caved in. "I guess we'll save some costs on demolition if the house continues to demolish itself," they joked.
While they intend to keep the room's layout fairly the same, the couple revealed plans to add an extension and keep the existing mantle piece. "She is staying 😍," they confirmed to fans. .
