Inner-city living was the dream for this family of three and nothing, not even a small, dark, drab-looking terrace, was going to stifle their vision of the perfect, functional family home. Stepping into this cleverly renovated Richmond abode, you are instantly transported into a spacious escape far from its dim origins. From the copious amounts of natural light to the floor-to-ceiling window, each room of this bright and airy dream house has nailed the family’s original brief.
The soft timbers of the kitchen delicately contrast with the concrete and stonework of the bathrooms, giving the home a warm, inviting and homely appeal — a big plus for the owners. “The main inspiration of the house was the constraints and challenges of the site,” says Sally Timmins, co-director of Timmins+Whyte. “This included getting light into the darker central spaces and allowing air into each room, including the bathrooms.”
With a challenging brief from the owners to include two bathrooms, a new kitchen with scullery, laundry, three to four bedrooms and plenty of storage in the home’s small structure, Timmins+Whyte beautifully overlayed spaces and moved away from the common open-plan living design. “We did not try to cram everything in to achieve open-plan living,” says Sally. “There were further benefits in doing this as it allows for acoustic control, breakout spaces when entertaining, and the benefit of using the sunniest space with a connection to the outside where the owners spend most of their daylight time, retreating to the living room at night.”
While retaining the existing double-storey heritage building, the designers and builders demolished the existing kitchen, bathroom and outhouse that included a laundry and toilet, and added an addition that housed the new kitchen with scullery and a European laundry. A small powder room was created off the entry hallway and one of the downstairs rooms became the new separate living area.
In the new warm, spacious and relaxing home, each nook is purposefully used for both storage and aesthetic appeal, especially the open shelving in the kitchen that subtly sits across the large bronze mirrored backsplash. The mirror not only expands the room visually but also reflects the beauty of the outdoors. “The colour of the mirror changes throughout the day and adds warmth and depth to the space,” says Sally. “The palette of materials was chosen to be unfussy and promote a sense of warmth and relaxation.”
The home’s designers didn’t shy away from playing with unusual shapes, with each window lightly cupping the natural sunlight and cleverly bouncing it around the home’s white walls to create a sense of space and connection with the outside. The dramatic glass ceiling that casually stretches down the wall into the dining room gives the home an almost greenhouse feel, and the two large timber-framed doors extending into the back courtyard breathe new life into the formerly tight space.
“Our favourite parts of the addition are the pockets of light now coming into the heart of the house thanks to the frameless glass roof and window,” says Sally.
Continuing outside, a well-placed courtyard between the existing and new addition allows light and ventilation into the kitchen’s new scullery, two bathrooms, two bedrooms and the living room. “By building to the boundary on both sides and making the most of the north-facing rear wall with mostly glass, we could get light into the darker central spaces,” says Sally.
The home’s natural-toned Colorbond cladding ties the outside and interior tones together, emphasising the vertical nature of the addition and contrasting the heavy brick of the existing home. The rooftop garden softens the strong lines of the cladding as chosen plants gently cascade down the facade and create artistic shadows against the grey.
While tenderly blending with its surrounds, the home also has an eco-conscious design,
with both passive ventilation and heating major drawcards.
With a slight change in the kitchen and dining’s outdoor design — an awning had been cascading plants provide much-needed shelter and protection for the home’s external glazing throughout the seasons. The addition of ceiling fans in the main bedroom and an openable skylight also helps minimise heat build-up.
Given the site’s naturally long and narrow shape, the builders’ main challenge was restricted access for trades. The only two access points were the small front door and the tight laneway at the back. To overcome this, the builders from Align Concepts were able to coordinate with a friendly neighbour to allow the use of their property.
“We loved the build process when the clients could walk through the framework and start to feel the volumes and spaces, as well as see the views we framed through each window and opening,” says Sally. “We often hear the same remark: ‘Oh wow, we didn’t realise this was … quite so tall, large, framed’ etc.”
