The client came to us with a brief of expanding this Victorian period home
to accommodate their growing family.
When we first arrived at this home we fell in love with the arches in the front facade.
There's these two beautiful arches allowing lovely natural light into the front room. Then we moved
to the front door and there was this beautiful period arch, it was tall in scale really ornate.
We were instantly drawn to wanting to walk down towards this hallway.
This was a key feature and it was a key feature for them, it was something that we all loved.
Our initial design was very much about creating separation between the old and the new.
And that's through architectural detailing we looked to create a form which was very paired back
which opposed the heritage building with all of its ornamentation detail etcetera.
We decided to create an arch where we were creating the threshold between old and new
and we did it in a way that was more paired back, it was simple,
the height and scale of it was enhanced so that as the user was moving through
the building they knew that at this point they were stepping into the new part of the home.
Beyond this point again we wanted to create a repetition of the arch
to continue to draw the user through the property.
A large steel frame arched head window then carries through it in the form of an
arched breezeway which separates the living spaces on the southern side of the property
and the garden on the northern side of the property. We wanted to
create something that was quite architectural and beautiful.
The steel frame windows are a key feature within the extension, they really tap into that handmade,
rich feel that we were going for. They're a key feature within the spaces just given
their sheer scale. It's quite unusual to have steel frame windows that are so large.
Although the windows are large in scale and expansive
width and height they've got a breakdown which is a little bit more personable.
The breakdown in the steel frame windows cast beautiful shadows in the afternoon and filter the
light into the kitchen, dining, living and games room as well as the additional spaces upstairs.
When selecting the materials for the project we wanted to go for
something that was quite sympathetic to the original home. One of the key things was
flooring which stitched the front of the home to the back of the home.
The clients are really keen on a monochromatic palette, quite paired back, so the chevron boards
that we have on the floor by Made by Storey they are a contemporary version of parquetry flooring.
Chevron was important in terms of that concept of drawing
one through the building from the front to the back of the home.
We often use Made by Storey because of the fact that their colours, the tones that they
seem to have throughout their range really works with the palettes we put together.
The colour that was selected for this project is from our Touch Collection and it's called Cinder.
It is a really beautiful deep charcoal tone
and wire brush to achieve some really beautiful textural tones and grades through the Y-brushing.
The product has quite a lot of variation through the fact that it's reactively stained which allows
us to extract those tannins through the process and achieve those beautiful deep dark tones.
The beauty of the colour as well is the fact that it's really versatile so when selecting furniture
it really gave the client a broad range of
colours and textures to choose from and it would still go with the flooring choice.
The beauty of working with them is the fact that they
not only supply but they install as well which means they oversee the construction
and they're there from start to finish to make sure that the end result is absolutely perfect.
It was quite overwhelming coming into the house today and seeing the finished
product. To see it finally in place with such a beautiful pattern that really encapsulates the
contemporary versus classic response that the designers and the clients were after.
I love that the client came to us with this brief to create a real family home somewhere
where they can interact with the landscape they can be snuggled around the fire of a
night time they can be in the kitchen it all seems to be working really cohesively and
we've been getting some really great feedback from the clients now that they've lived in it
and they've experienced it. We're really proud of how this has all come together.