The intricately panelled doors of the entry to this renovated home were softened with Porters Paints Wattleseed to blend with the contemporary addition beyond. Photographed by Carla Atley
THE OLD AND THE NEW
It’s can be easier and sometimes more economical to demolish houses past their prime and build anew. But now there’s a new awareness around sustainability in the industry of building homes. Repurposing an old house for a new way of life, while technically more involved than a new build, can save a literal mountain of building materials. As well as builders and architects, interior designers are learning to update, integrate and innovate in the name of a greener building and decorating industry.
Dusty blue wallpapered walls and and a cluster of aged brass pendant lights make the grand porportions of one of the older front rooms lovely and inviting. Photography by Carla Atley
Along with a semi attached ensuite, this reading corner gives a young adult who still lives at home some independence.
I could not believe our luck when we found this 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom home, 6 minutes from the beautiful beaches of Coogee WA. Despite predictions from our neighbors that our children would all leave home soon (they didn’t want us to move) our kids stayed with us into their adult years and we were bouncing off the walls in our 4 x 2. One day after a particularly frustrating tidy up session I got lucky on Google and found a bargain. The house with Tuscan yellow exterior and copious black wrought iron curlicues was built in the boom of the nineties and had been for sale for 300 days.
The same shelving system from Danish company String is used in the new Dining room of the house. It’s airy design is perfect for a position where the ceiling had to be dropped to accomodate the existing structure. Photographed by Carla Atley
The house had fallen on hard times when we bought it and our first task was to clean, repair and restore what was already there. With thousands to spend on plumbing, painting and carpentry, the new extension had to wait. But how could we complain? Now with 3 bathrooms to share between 5 people and a carpark for everyone’s car, our family relished the spaciousness after being cramped for so long. We took our time and planned the best way to build our addition. I knew something was needed to counter the strong 90’s European inspired style of the home and I felt the clean lines and organic shapes of Scandinavian decor were a perfect counterpart. I tried paint colours, searched out trades and researched the neighborhood. Not rushing the project allowed me time to develop a scheme that now I feel fits so well with the old and the new.
The kitchen is the centrepiece of the new extension and the most difficult part of the build. All the services to the upper floor pass through the pillar which was made a feature by tiling with Japanese handmade ceramics and accomodated within the 3 metre kitchen island.
Photography by Carla Atley
We decided on an open plan extension using the existing footprint of the house. This meant considerable engineering was needed to support the upper storey while removing all the old walls below. After we settled on the design, our engineer recommended Bellagio Homes as having the expertise needed to build it. Bellagio Homes was not only local, they ran the project as safely, neatly and expertly as I have seen in all my experience. After initial reservations, Bellagio also accomodated us living upstairs during construction, saving us 1000’s in rent and furniture removal. One of the bonuses of the house was a small kitchenette upstairs and with the addition of a benchtop oven and dishwasher we were able to camp out upstairs for 9 months. When the hoarding finally came down and I could use my beautiful new kitchen the comparison was so unique!
Needs change over time…..once our children could drive, the large fibreglass backyard pool was no longer used. It was sold to be reused and replaced with an alfresco lounge with woodburning fire. The Jetmaster fireplace burns so efficiently the neighbors didn’t know of it’s existence until invited into the house.
Photographed by Carla Atley
The yellow paint of the outside of the house was changed to Dulux Narrow Neck and old render restored to match the extension. The European style architecture of the existing house, while not to be repeated in the extension, called for strong shapes and classic outlines to blend with it. While we embraced Italian tradition by tiling the alfresco pavillion, the setting is totally contemporary, with large format tiles, streamlined uplighting and shiplap cladding surrounding an open fireplace. The backyard was now used in a totally new way, with the design allowing also for a large shed and a strip of lawn perfect for punting a football. With a relatively small footprint extension to the existing house, this design has dramatically altered it’s liveability. It’s usefulness has been extended by decades and with a beautiful new street presence, the neighbors are very happy.
