Gundaroo's Katie and Alex representing NSW on 2019 House Rules

With no-one from Sydney, Katie and Alex Middlemiss, who have an 1880s cottage in the Southern Tablelands, are the NSW representatives on the new season of House Rules which premiered on Channel 7 on Sunday evening.

They moved to Gundaroo from the ACT in 2016 when they paid $470,000 for the near derelict two bedroom 70 square metre cottage on its 1900 square metre block (pictured below). 

Photo from listing in January, 2012

She's billed as the stay-at-home mum, Katie, 29, and her Federal Police officer husband, Alex, 32.

They told host Joanne Griggs they desire a working kitchen and a master bedroom that doesn't leak.

She's been a personal trainer, done midwifery and founded Fudie, which provided nutritious meals to busy individuals around Canberra. 

Despite their obvious renovation failings (she's set to be the brains and him the brawn), the couple admit the series has been a crazy ride with many sacrifices - the hardest being away from their 14 month old daughter Haillie.

So far, social media has been kind to the couple, with most queries about where she gets her hair done (she responded its over the border at Hair by Molly in Canberra), and we've already seen strong social influencers backing her efforts.

The seventh season of the show features an expanded judging panel comprised of designer Jamie Durie, international design guru Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and local style expert Wendy Moore.

Designer Carolyn Burns-McCrave will again mentor and help the six state teams as they travel around the country transforming each other’s homes.

This article first appeared in The Sunday Telegraph.