A handsome Edwardian home in Elwood which had suffered the common plight of poorly conceived rear additions. With a challenging southerly aspect the home lacked solar access to living areas, had a limited ability to connect with the outdoors and didn’t provide a level of amenity that a young growing family would need into the future.

Retention of the front rooms was important as they really set the classical tone of the frontage and the clients were happy with their scale and the heritage feel as you came through the front door.

Our approach was to bring light into the existing ground level living by inserting a small but effective light court at the transition from the old to the new. This also marked the location of the stairs to the new upper level.

From this point the design opens to an expansive new addition of a kitchen/dining/casual living zone, quite open plan with some key features such as the large box-seat window and the open fireplace. A laundry, powder room and bathroom are tucked to one side, discreet behind the kitchen cabinetry.

The new upper level is given over to a master suite zone, generous in scale with it’s own outdoor terrace.

The new exterior is expressed as a series of clean forms in contrasting materials which sets it apart from the existing dwelling. Brick on the boundary features a graphic insert of texture which mimics the size and shape of the box-seat window. Cedar battening contrasts with the heavy dark brick as a lighter varied surface which will age subtly over time.

The house now has a strong connection to the garden, generous casual living zone, separate quiet living room and study and greatly improved internal solar gain which answered the clients brief for a home to grow into

Completed: 2013
Location: Elwood, Melbourne Australia