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A Sophisticated Re-Imagining Of A Tired Federation-Era Home
Architecture
Mary St, by Edition Office.
The kitchen sits at the joining of old and new.
Curved forms reference the arched doorways in the original home.
The arch in the original part of the home!
The ensuite in the main bedroom.
The main bedroom sits above the kitchen and can be closed off by a secret door to become an enclosed retreat.
Complete with private balcony!
The bathroom is private, and light-filled.
The staircase up to the main bedroom.
The side fence acts as a transitional element, stepping upwards to meet the new addition set towards the rear of the site.
Stairs leading to the studio above!
An elevated studio at the rear of the property sits above the garage.
The studio also features warm timber panelling.
The undulating brick wall continues around the house, replacing the low metal fence that once was.
The walls shelter the home from the traffic noise of the busy road.
From the side, you can see the raised studio addition.
When Edition Office was first presented with this home, it was an intact Federation bungalow with a number of flaws.
Most notably, there was a ‘daggy’, non-original low metal fence out the front, and a dilapidated wrap-around tiled porch — that had sunk beneath its solid bluestone boundary — with a number of tiles missing.
On further inspection, the inside showed signs of very poor-quality restoration work, the original Baltic pine floor had significant damage, and the previously renovated bathroom and kitchen had left it devoid of all original features.
Kim Bridgland, director of Edition Office, says their response was to complete careful restoration work on the building’s exterior, while designing new additions that spoke to the original parts of the home.
‘The new works were carefully designed to tuck behind the ridge of the original terracotta tile roof form, ensuring they are entirely concealed when the house is viewed from the front,’ he explains.
They succeeded in retaining most of the original home, only demolishing the rear corner of the house, and even managed to restore the tiled porch, sourcing replacement tiles from heritage salvage yards to identically match the missing pieces.
The resulting home is a lesson in respecting the past but looking to the future. Combining the two are curved details, softly finished custom brickwork and a new elevated level that sits tucked beneath the ridge of the original terracotta tile roof.
For a family of three growing boys, it was important for there to be privacy, yet connection; space for informal get-togethers, but also for sophisticated gatherings.
The boys bedrooms and a quiet social retreat are held within the stately rooms of the original house, while open-plan kitchen, living and dining are found in the new addition.
‘The design connects us to each other in a very clever way,’ says the homeowner. ‘The children can have their own space, yet they never feel remote.’
The main bedroom is upstairs, clad in warm timber. There’s a secret door that, when closed, turns the bedroom into a true retreat, yet when open, it still feels perfectly separate — and not too distant from the kids’ bedrooms below.
‘We’re still connecting to the house’s past in the front section, yet are — still now — excited everyday with the promise of what lies beyond.’
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