Having purchased a cottage just a few doors down from their first home, our clients wanted to breathe new life into a timeworn Victorian terrace — respecting its history while creating a home that could grow with their young family.

Over the years, much of the house’s original charm had been obscured by unsympathetic alterations. It required major restoration: the external walls needed underpinning, the roof replaced, and windows carefully rejuvenated. Inside, mantelpieces were restored, ironwork and brickwork revived, and delicate period details brought back to life.

As with many houses of its era, the rear was a patchwork of poorly considered extensions that compromised both functionality and the connection to the garden. We began by clearing away this confusion, replacing it with a new addition that honoured the elegance of the original structure while offering spaces suited to contemporary family life.

Our design was guided by three central ideas: the warmth of the surrounding neighbourhood, the rich colours of the Australian landscape, and the crisp, white modernism of northern Europe. A palette of white walls contrasts with deep green tones in the original rooms. Long, slender skylights illuminate the stairwell, while windows and roof openings invite daylight from multiple directions — mirroring the changing moods of the outdoors. A collaboration with a stained-glass artisan added a modern interpretation of traditional craft, scattering jewel-like colours across the stairway whenever the sun strikes the tinted glass.

Rather than chasing sheer scale, the project celebrates quality of space. Generous, interconnected rooms flow between old and new, offering openness while retaining a sense of intimacy. Spaces can expand for family gatherings or be closed off for privacy when needed. The open stairwell and mezzanine create a vertical dialogue between upstairs bedrooms and the main living areas below.

Throughout, carefully considered details enrich the experience of the home: the placement of brickwork, the choice of mortar, black mosaic tiles glinting at the kitchen bench, the weight of a handcrafted timber door handle, the painted steel beam that anchors the structure. These tactile, deliberate moments turn everyday encounters into moments of delight — making the house not just restored, but reimagined.