When Maggie and Pete bought their West Brunswick home it looked and functioned like two mirror image single fronted Victorian homes squeezed into the house, with two kitchens, two dining rooms, two laundries, two everything! This curious setup was the design of the previous owners, two brothers and their wives who lived side by side in the double-fronted, double-story Edwardian.
While very cute and unique, the dual-living nature of the home created a rabbit-warren feel when consolidated with many doorways, hallways and extra rooms and several ways of getting from the front door to the back, none of them intuitive and one that passed through the main bedroom! This maze of a floorplan meant that despite the generous size of the home our clients, a family of five, were finding the spaces closed in and pokey.
Our brief was to unite the spaces with a practical flow that would create a sense of openness and connection to the north-facing backyard. Our clients wanted the renovation to feel warm, filled with natural light and materials. Cosy and comfortable interiors and a big beautiful deck, would make the house welcoming and ready to be lived in.
As usual we sought to resolve all of the functionality issues with the minimum of new build, focusing on reconfiguration and revitalising the existing home. All that was added onto the Blue Larnoo footprint is this 2.5m2 bay window that opens the living area out to the deck and breaks up the rear elevation of the house that looked like ‘Peppa pig’ face with its twin windows and doors.
A projector screen hidden in the ceiling of the bay window pulls down to transform the space into an evening entertainment area meaning there is not need for a TV in the space.
In the rear of the home, the two kitchens were removed and onsold for other projects. The central dividing wall between these twin kitchen/ living dining areas was removed and replaced with two gently curved apertures to open the spaces, creating a connection while maintaining a sense of specific use.
On one side a new kitchen revolves around a blackbutt timber island bench with a curved tiled return. The benchtop is a porcelain panel made from natural materials and contains no silica or sealants. There is enough space to seat all three kids and their respective homework assignments.
The kitchen draws and cupboards are finished in a smokey green-grey toned laminate on birch plywood with subtle waves of graining. Overhead cabinets are an eco-certified blackbutt veneer, induction cooking has replaced a gas cooktop. All the kitchen storage and appliances have been designed to our client’s exact specifics of living, resulting in a kitchen that is a joy to use but also looks good from all the angles it is visible from.
The clients wanted the kitchen to directly access the garden and the spotted gum deck was also built connecting the indoor kitchen to a custom-designed outdoor kitchen, with its own sink and BBQ. A covered pergola was used for summer shade and to screen a neighbouring house.
Sliding doors connects the kitchen to an outdoor dining area on the large sunny deck.
We love the sense of connection to the outdoors. The outcome of the project exceeded our expectations, both in terms of function for our family and how much pleasure we derive from living in such a beautiful space. We feel incredibly lucky that this is our home!
- Maggie and Pete
Existing homes often provide unexpected opportunities in their little nooks and crannies. The space below the staircase serves to divide the kitchen and living, and we created double-sided storage for the day-to-day clutter, a corkboard and a fold-away ironing board. It is now one of the most used and hardest working areas in the home.
During the demolition care was taken to preserve intact even materials that would not be reused in the renovation, such as the kitchen bench, for the owners to resell, limiting waste created.
Existing materials, features and appliances were reused and repurposed wherever possible; original hardwood floors and stairway, sanded and resealed and given a new lease on life. Skirting, cornices architraves that were removed were saved and reused. The sink and mixer from the laundry were reused in the laundry and bbq area, the ensuite toilet was kept in place.
All new windows were double glazed the entire home insulated and the home has a 6.6 star rating.
Beyond the kitchen is a dining area where strategic windows capture garden views while avoiding close-by neighbours. Double-glazed windows are installed in careful locations throughout the home to maximise natural light, ensure privacy and provide cross ventilation.
A hand-woven Pop and Scott Dreamweaver pendant sits above the dining table and creates a beautiful ambiance. Pop and Scott is a Carbon Neutral Melbourne-based business, a tree is planted with every purchase.
Many elements were given a transformative cosmetic lift rather than being replaced, and colour and paint was the key tool in this. A complex paint scheme for the whole home inverted the previously tired walls and yellowing hardwood timbers. A palette of blues, aquas, teals and greens was created by the team at BNE to really deliver on Maggie’s brief of blue, blue and more blue. Paired with paired with blackbutt timbers, neutrals and pops of orange, the spaces are both calm and fun. The internal stair was opened up and daggy banisters were painted to give them a new lease of life.
Two interconnected front rooms, acting as a TV lounge and a study had a very different mood to the rest of the house. We leaned into these by painting them two shades of moody teal is a dramatic yet tranquil touch for rooms intended for both work and rest.
We love the cosy and inward-facing aspect of the TV room
- Maggie and Pete
Blue tones follow you into the ensuite, wall tiles in a mixed gradient of light blues are again paired with custom designed solid blackbutt timber vanity. A custom resin showerbase manufactured from natural minerals sits transparent and flush with the floor tiles, the non-toxic material is durable, hygienic, repairable, renewable and easy to clean. Low-flow tapware will save thousands of litres of water every year.
Outside the laundry window is a green screen of bamboo, inside three different types of tiles add texture and colour in contrasting white and green wall tiles and floor tiles in terrazzo with rounded stones like a river bed.
The laundry opens out to a clothes line for maximum convenience and when the weather turns an inside hanging drying rack can be used to save the dryer usage. Two new 4000L kingspan water tanks collect rain water to run the washing machine and toilets and irrigate the garden.
Upstairs, attic space was reclaimed to create a larger bedroom for the families eldest child. The step up in floor levels here was used to create a nook for sleeping, with a big skylight to watch the stars and could from. Yet another lovely blue was chosen for this room. Next door the rest of the attic has become a band rehearsal hang out zone!
A large shed was replaced with a smaller but much more functional multi-purpose room that is both bike store/ workshop/ studio and rumpus area in the backyard. The bespoke osb timber lined shed is set back from the rear laneway to allow to access with bikes with a handy keypad, improving the laneway amenity for the owners and neighbours alike. The back of the shed is fitted with a roller door, ready to charge a car in the future.
The OSB lining, a large polycarb skylight and cement flooring give a cool and contemporary touch to the casual space.
What stands out to us is not one aspect but the way in which a multitude of small smart design decisions, tailored to the specifics of our family life, have enhanced not only the way we live in and use our spaces but also our overall enjoyment of them- given how beautifully they have been resolved
- Maggie and Pete
6.6 Star Energy Rating
Minimal 2.5m2 extension to original footprint
New efficient BINQ double glazed windows added for improved solar access
Skirting, cornices architraves that were removed were saved and reused
Added additional insulation
Energy and water efficient appliances
Induction cooktop replaced gas
Lowflow tapware
Stainless steel kitchen mixer to avoid toxic chrome, reused laundry troughs and mixers in bbq and laundry to avoid waste. Reused existing toilets in new ensuite and powder
LOW VOC paints and timber sealants
original hardwood floors and stairway, sanded and resealed
Two new 4000L kingspan water tanks collect rain water to run the washing machine and toilets and irrigate the garden
New solar operated double glazed skylight in upstairs bedroom
Australian Radial sawn silver top ash shiplap cladding to extension