This renovation looks amazing. The neutral palette, the wood and the bricks create a beautiful and modern place, definitely a great place to live.

The house has had a series of renovations over the past century; the original Edwardian home was converted into apartments in the 1930s and then a substantial family home in the 1980’s. The brief was to restore the Art Deco facade, retain the existing footprint and add a third level.

The house is located directly opposite the beach in Middle Park and is constantly filled with beautiful light. Morning sun strikes the garden aspect, and at the end of the day the sun sets across the bay.

The planning has been carefully considered to create a series of distinct rooms, rather than an open plan. Joinery is placed to create spaces, but still allow views to flow from room to room and then to the horizon.

Materials have been selected to provide understated tones within a neutral palette. The neutral colour palette supports the play of light at different times of day. The overall feeling is extremely soft and one feels visually and emotionally connected at all times to the expansive sea, sky and garden views. At the same time the house has a feeling of intimacy & warmth, perfect for family living.

The client’s original intention was to demolish the existing house and build a completely new structure. After living in the house for a year, the architects thought the existing building worked well with the views and light and had a distinct ‘personality’. In short, it would be a shame to demolish a house which had stood for 100 years.

Trades that existed 100 years ago, don’t exist anymore, or are considered too expensive. The architects therefore chose to restore the existing building and protect the craftsmanship of the Art Deco period.  So, the most substantial decision regarding sustainability was to work with the existing fabric of the house.

Once this decision was made, materials and servicing were all designed around principles of sustainability, including a smart managed hydronic heating system, double glazed windows, and positively shaded windows with curtains and screens.

The building uses only natural materials such as stone, and stained (not painted) timber, windows are either steel or timber, and not aluminium. Additional ESD attributes include solar hot water booted system, solar pool heating and rainwater harvesting for drip feed garden irrigation systems.

 Photographs  © Derek Swalwell

The beautiful elements of this home have been highlighted, whilst more functional pieces take a step back. For instance, take note of how the quirky asymmetrical vases appear to drip from the modern artwork above the console, which blends with the color matched wall behind it, or how the run of huge storage cupboards are almost invisible along one wall in white gloss and slim-line chrome handles.

With an eye for detail, Andreev has matched the Barcelona chairs with identically quilted light shades, and the expanse of plain white kitchen cabinets is broken by interesting use of textured slabs amongst standard flat finish fronts.

The deep wood treads of the staircase gives 3D effect to a glossy white edge, causing a graphical zigzag shape that is echoed by the modular storage units around the flat screen TV. The stairs appear to float beneath the clear glass balustrade towards a large sofa with adjustable sides and back rests, which fold out to transform the use of space, perfect for the sociable open plan nature of the scheme.

In effect, we created a wall-less 900m penthouse, with a garden, that gives the impression of levitating above the city mass. We created a continual flow from zone to zone, utilising materials that emphasised the sense of space, transparency and reflection. We introduced organic textural/tactile elements through the use of timber and flamed granite to soften and add a counterpoint to the contemporary drama.

via desiretoinspire.net