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A Gloomy Bungalow Welcomes the Light Thanks to Some Smart Changes
A dysfunctional layout was the first thing to go in this clever renovation and extension of a two-bedroom bungalow
Georgia Madden
8 December 2018
In this Q&A series, we turn the spotlight on one thought-provoking renovation or extension each week. Here, architect Adam Brewer of Brewer Architects reveals how he transformed an awkward Californian bungalow in Sydney, NSW with two bedrooms and a single toilet in the laundry into a functional and inviting three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom family home.
Images by Tom Ferguson
Answers by Adam Brewer, director at Brewer Architects
Who lives here: A family with one child
Location: Wareemba, NSW
Original size: 103 square metres
Size after extension: 119 square metres
Architect: Brewer Architects
Builder: Paul Armstrong
Structural engineer: John Rafeletos at Rafeletos Zanuttini
Plumber: Anthony O’Brien at O’Brien Plumbing
Answers by Adam Brewer, director at Brewer Architects
Who lives here: A family with one child
Location: Wareemba, NSW
Original size: 103 square metres
Size after extension: 119 square metres
Architect: Brewer Architects
Builder: Paul Armstrong
Structural engineer: John Rafeletos at Rafeletos Zanuttini
Plumber: Anthony O’Brien at O’Brien Plumbing
Gained: An additional bedroom at the front of the house (converted from the original living room), a new living area, bathroom, powder room, laundry and a generous deck.
Love a room that opens up to the outdoors like this one? Don’t miss our feature on the best rooms with indoor-outdoor flow
Love a room that opens up to the outdoors like this one? Don’t miss our feature on the best rooms with indoor-outdoor flow
What was the house like originally?
A single-storey Californian bungalow built in the interwar period with two bedrooms, one bathroom without a toilet, and a separate toilet in the laundry. The house was in fairly good condition, but needed a revamp to work more effectively.
The rear of the house had a later addition in poor condition. The house also had some damp issues to deal with.
A single-storey Californian bungalow built in the interwar period with two bedrooms, one bathroom without a toilet, and a separate toilet in the laundry. The house was in fairly good condition, but needed a revamp to work more effectively.
The rear of the house had a later addition in poor condition. The house also had some damp issues to deal with.
Floor plan before works
What was your brief?
The clients sought to improve the home’s flow and functionality. The living room was originally at the front of the house, with the kitchen and dining rooms at the rear. Plus it only had one toilet that was located out the back in the laundry. All of this proved quite dysfunctional for a young family, and they needed a more practical layout.
They wanted the kitchen, dining and living rooms to be together, and for the living room to open up to a rear deck and the backyard. While they were keen to modernise the house, they were eager not to lose its heritage identity.
What was your brief?
The clients sought to improve the home’s flow and functionality. The living room was originally at the front of the house, with the kitchen and dining rooms at the rear. Plus it only had one toilet that was located out the back in the laundry. All of this proved quite dysfunctional for a young family, and they needed a more practical layout.
They wanted the kitchen, dining and living rooms to be together, and for the living room to open up to a rear deck and the backyard. While they were keen to modernise the house, they were eager not to lose its heritage identity.
Floor plan after works
What were the clients’ must-haves?
Not sure how to decipher these floor plans? Here’s how to do it
What were the clients’ must-haves?
- The kitchen, dining and living rooms had to be located together.
- A living room that opened to the outdoors.
- A skylight over the shower.
Not sure how to decipher these floor plans? Here’s how to do it
Elevation of the house before works
What exactly did you do?
What exactly did you do?
- Demolished the back of the house and built a new living room and deck in its place.
- Widened the doorways linking the dining room, kitchen and new living area to improve the home’s flow.
- Put in a new laundry with a separate toilet. As it had to be within the new addition, we concealed its entrance and isolated it from the living area with a fully sealed, solid-core door and insulated the wall between the living area and dining room.
- Put in large, stacking-slider doors that would stack in front of the laundry when opened and allow the living room to fully open up to the new deck and backyard.
- Renovated the bathroom to make it a full family bathroom.
- Converted the original living room at the front of the house into a new master bedroom (making it the house’s third bedroom).
- Installed a new engineered-timber floor throughout.
- Updated joinery, light switches, shelves and hooks throughout.
Elevation after works
Where did most of the budget go?
The large, stacking-slider timber door connecting the living room to the deck, the steel structural elements, and the new bathroom.
Where did most of the budget go?
The large, stacking-slider timber door connecting the living room to the deck, the steel structural elements, and the new bathroom.
How does the new extension sit beside the original home?
The new addition complements the original home well, which was something that was very important to us. To do this, we kept the original features of the house, such as skirtings, architraves, light fittings and ornate ceilings as much as we could, and complemented them with modern joinery and a new engineered-timber floor that runs through the entire house, both old and new parts, to boost the sense of flow.
The new living room, while fresh and modern, doesn’t look out of place in the context of the old part of the home.
The new addition complements the original home well, which was something that was very important to us. To do this, we kept the original features of the house, such as skirtings, architraves, light fittings and ornate ceilings as much as we could, and complemented them with modern joinery and a new engineered-timber floor that runs through the entire house, both old and new parts, to boost the sense of flow.
The new living room, while fresh and modern, doesn’t look out of place in the context of the old part of the home.
What challenges did you work around?
In the old part of the house, the new timber floor was to go down on top of the existing timber floor, but in the new part of the house it needed to go over a new concrete slab. We had to make sure we got all the levels throughout just right so we could achieve no floor level changes – something that had annoyed the clients about the old house.
Also, we needed to get the detailing right on the sliding doors, the sliding-door threshold, and the concealed laundry door. These were really important details that we knew could make or break how successful the project turned out to be.
In the old part of the house, the new timber floor was to go down on top of the existing timber floor, but in the new part of the house it needed to go over a new concrete slab. We had to make sure we got all the levels throughout just right so we could achieve no floor level changes – something that had annoyed the clients about the old house.
Also, we needed to get the detailing right on the sliding doors, the sliding-door threshold, and the concealed laundry door. These were really important details that we knew could make or break how successful the project turned out to be.
Shown here, the new family bathroom
Key features
See more stunning bathrooms
Key features
- Sliding timber doors that stack to one side of the new addition and open up one wall of the living area to the deck and garden.
- Built-in wardrobes, shelves, hooks and modern finishes that complement the original features of the house.
- Exposed and painted steel beams.
See more stunning bathrooms
Shown here, the new master bedroom
Materials palette
Materials palette
- Aged oak engineered-timber floor from European Timber Floors.
- Merbau timber deck from Canterbury Timbers.
- Painted timber lining boards to new living room wall.
- Skheme Aggregate II Gunmetal Matt concrete-look ceramic bathroom floor tiles.
- Skheme Token White Gloss hexagonal porcelain bathroom wall tiles.
- Taubmans Grey Frost on exterior walls.
- Dulux Monument on steel exterior framing.
- Dulux Lexicon Quarter on exterior and interior timber work.
- Dulux Tranquil Retreat Half Strength on interior walls.
New built-in robes in the new master bedroom
Tell us
What do you like best about this reno and extension? Tell us in the Comments below. And remember to like this story, save your favourite images, and join the conversation.
More
Want more reno inspo? Check out this clever project in Victoria: A Brilliant Re-Working of a Drab 1990s Extension to a Period Home
Tell us
What do you like best about this reno and extension? Tell us in the Comments below. And remember to like this story, save your favourite images, and join the conversation.
More
Want more reno inspo? Check out this clever project in Victoria: A Brilliant Re-Working of a Drab 1990s Extension to a Period Home
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