About this home

The brief

The clients first approached us with a clear idea of how they wanted additions to their existing home to feel rather than look. They told us they liked to read, cook, eat, talk, listen to music, play on the floor, be outside in the garden and have people to visit. They had ambitions to grow vegetables, have fruit trees and lots of running around space. They wanted a place to read the paper outside even if it was raining.

The design

Throughout the design process we focused on simple rather than fussy and timeless rather than trendy. The design provided a light-filled, airy home for the growing family, with views to the outdoors from all rooms of the house. An oversized sliding window in the living room frames views of the grassed outdoor area which is at eye-level from a seated position. Existing roof rafters and brick walls surround the exterior courtyard and outdoor living area.

Leaving exposed remnants of the original house and introducing extensive planting has created an inward-looking feeling of seclusion and privacy, which is hard to come by in the densely populated inner city suburbs. The contrast between existing and new creates a richer home by enhancing the history of the site and the identity of the home.