Our main design move was to cut a deep vertical slot into the floor plate on the Western elevation to carry a sculptural open riser stair in a glazed light-well, and to tie the house together. The closed rear facade was replaced with operable glazing over a new deep window seat and bi-folding doors introduced to allow for ease of access and transparency. The kitchen was reorientated to face the garden and the old dining room bay window re-imagined as a terrace, reducing and clarifying the kitchen/living/dining space into a singular open plan space. New gables to match the existing fabric were added front and back to improve the spatial quality of the upstairs bedroom spaces and to reconcile the random roof scape / elevations of the original house into a cohesive expression.
We always consider it important to respect and enhance the character of classic federation homes like this, so interventions include familial elements like timber fretwork, arches and tessellated tiles. Otherwise the new interiors are light, soft and neutral with strong charcoal highlights reflecting the updated external palette, with modern interpretations of traditional elements expressed in the joinery, lighting and details.
