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Modern design ethics lie comfortably alongside traditional architecture in this refurbished terrace house
When it comes to renovation, there's no need to feel restricted to one particular style. A combination of ideas can work together if you're sensitive to each and willing to experiment.
Before its recent face-lift, the only windows in this home looked out to the neighbour's semi-detached house two metres away. There was no outlook to the back yard, which was wasted space. It offered no outdoor flow and ignored the northern light from there as well, says architect Kerry Fyfe, who was the owner of the home at the time and architect of its refurbishment.
Today, the home features two different styles. The front has been retained mostly in its original form, while the renovated rear space lends a new identity to the bathroom, laundry, kitchen and living area.
The plan was to open up the space, so the back of the house was totally gutted. There was little change in the floor area, but the volume was increased considerably.
"It was important to retain the integrity of the original part of the house, but the rear had always been a secondary space," says Fyfe.
The new rear section provides an area which, with its volume, simplicity and the play of light and shadow, is both lively and peaceful. It acts as a white canvas, showing the changes of light during the day and from season to season, says Fyfe.
"I have been influenced by Japanese philosophy in architecture, and use elements of their design to create spaces that are tranquil, yet totally liveable," she says.
The floor is white cement, poured on top of the existing slab, with heating coils in the new layer. It has been left unpolished, so the texture and character of the material show through. It continues through to the adjacent bathroom and laundry.
"With its slightly industrial feel, it suits the character of the project," says Fyfe.
The bathroom has been pared back to provide just the necessities.
"In terms of design, I find elegance in simplicity, and this room expresses that. I also had to keep it simple because it was a very small space."
A green-backed panel runs the length of the 2.6m x 1.5m bathroom to half way up the walls, providing a shelf. A stainless steel handbasin and a toilet hang off it, and it is intersected by a frameless glass shower screen.
Storage is provided in a turpentine timber-veneered cupboard, which wraps around through the bathroom, laundry and kitchen. Turpentine is often used for decking, but Fyfe chose it for its grain and colour.
"I wanted it to look like a cube that has been inserted into the space - I find it interesting to manipulate objects within volumes," she says.
The same premise lies behind the two white cantilevered benches in the kitchen.
The kitchen is divided from the living areas by a vertical section. It ends at the roof in a narrow custom-made skylight, just the length of the divider. Light streams through this slot, washing, down the wall. While it was designed for effect, it also adds to the light from the kitchen door, in this part of the room.
At the front of the house, the bedrooms have been left in their original form, with colour lending interest.
"Although I left the living room as a white space, I love playing with colour," says Fyfe. "We gave the bedrooms a new coat of paint, and polished the floors. As the floorboards were a mix of two very different timbers, they were all stained to match.
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