Project Of The Week
Stickybeak of the Week: Renovation Brings a Ray of Sunshine
A yellow-dipped addition to a weatherboard worker's cottage is designed to let the sunshine in
Joyful House comprises a fun and brightly coloured addition to a weatherboard worker’s cottage on the outskirts of Geelong, Victoria. It is home to an energetic young family of five and, meeting a tight budget and ambitious brief, provides a kitchen, dining and living space that open to the back garden. Designed by Mihaly Slocombe, the addition is defined by its dramatically sloping roof and yellow-soaked ceiling that dial up the joy factor and enhance the sunshine streaming into the space.
Joyful House was a renovation and extension to a double-fronted Edwardian weatherboard worker’s cottage with a galvanised steel roof.
“Externally, our design approach aimed to contrast the older white house and complex hipped and gable roof forms with a dark, sharp and clear extension out the back,” says Warwick Mihaly of Mihaly Slocombe. “Internally, our clients asked us to create a new, playful living area to suit their young family, and reconnect their house with their back garden.”
“Externally, our design approach aimed to contrast the older white house and complex hipped and gable roof forms with a dark, sharp and clear extension out the back,” says Warwick Mihaly of Mihaly Slocombe. “Internally, our clients asked us to create a new, playful living area to suit their young family, and reconnect their house with their back garden.”
Mihaly Slocombe created a bright and airy open-plan room with kitchen, dining area and lounge, plus a mezzanine with study. Robustness and flexibility also proved to be key considerations for the three young children. “The house needed to withstand the impact of three growing children, and to be able to be reshaped over coming years as primary school-aged children grow into teenagers and beyond,” says Mihaly.
To make the most of a compact footprint and south-facing orientation, the extension has a mono-pitched roof that ascends from the kitchen to the mezzanine. High-level windows bring northern light into the dining area, and eastern light into the mezzanine.
Large sliding glass doors on the rear facade open to a sheltered deck. Solid sliding doors on the interior wall open and close the space to the front of the weatherboard house, and to the laundry adjacent to the kitchen.
ThermoTech double glazing with EnergyTech low-E coating: Viridian
ThermoTech double glazing with EnergyTech low-E coating: Viridian
Dulux ‘Joyful’ – hence the name of the house – saturates the exposed roof structure, ceiling and upper walls of the living room. It traces a diagonal dado line that reflects the pitch of the roof, creates a distinctive identity for the project and helps to enhance natural light within the space. “Careful window placement helps this bright yellow canopy bounce sunlight into every nook and cranny,” says Mihaly.
The kitchen is a simple and efficient space with room to cook and socialise, and to keep an eye on the kids while they play outside.
“We love using Australian hardwood timbers wherever we can,” says Mihaly. The floors and joinery are blackbutt timber. “It’s a hard-wearing and beautiful material, and matches the spirit of our client’s young family.”
The plywood cupboards and drawers are paired with Caesarstone benchtops. Circular cutouts in cabinet doors are playful and help to avoid knocks. “They are also perfect for small hands and inquiring minds,” says Mihaly.
B-B Multiply plywood cupboards and drawers: Austral Plywoods; 20 millimetre benchtops: Caesarstone
B-B Multiply plywood cupboards and drawers: Austral Plywoods; 20 millimetre benchtops: Caesarstone
The loftier space is over the dining area, and is centred on the axis of the front door, entry hall and rear deck. “We love designing houses that provide a glimpse of the very back of the site from the very front. So the louvred windows are centred on this central axis too, reinforcing the front-to-back link across the top of the dining table,” says Mihaly.
Revolution ceiling fan: Hunter Pacific International
Revolution ceiling fan: Hunter Pacific International
The mezzanine extends over the living room, making use of the generous ceiling height and allowing for natural light to filter throughout the space.
Tucked underneath, the living room is an intimate and cosy space due to the lower ceiling height. The wall enclosing the stairs to the mezzanine is clad with blackbutt timber, and storage is integrated into the wall.
Sisal carpet, as with rest of the material palette throughout the house, is designed to endure the wear and tear of young children. “Hardwood timber floors, plywood joinery and sisal carpet are warm to touch and bounce back well from wrestling matches and art days,” says Mihaly.
European sisal carpet in ‘Midnight Sky‘: Interfloors
European sisal carpet in ‘Midnight Sky‘: Interfloors
Mihaly Slocombe collaborated closely with the builders from Little Constructions and a range of local craftsmen to help meet the budget. Yet this certainly didn’t detract from the meticulous attention to detail, as evident on the plywood stairs and joinery.
The mezzanine has a desk and storage and was initially intended as a retreat for Mathew. In reality, however, it hasn’t panned out that way.
“The mezzanine retreat was a wish list item that Mat was very keen to keep in the brief. He loved the idea of escaping upstairs to get some work done, but still being in earshot of family life downstairs,” says Mihaly. “Of course, the best-laid plans never survive first contact, and the mezzanine has been well and truly taken over by Ashton, Harley and Matea for homework and computer games.”
“The mezzanine retreat was a wish list item that Mat was very keen to keep in the brief. He loved the idea of escaping upstairs to get some work done, but still being in earshot of family life downstairs,” says Mihaly. “Of course, the best-laid plans never survive first contact, and the mezzanine has been well and truly taken over by Ashton, Harley and Matea for homework and computer games.”
The generous rear deck is designed as an outdoor room, an extension of the open-plan living space. It has timber screens at either end, and a translucent fibreglass roof that keeps the heat off the deck, yet still helps sunlight to filter inside.
“The deck acts as a buffer between outdoor and in, a space that’s not quite inside and not quite outside,” Mihaly explains. Plus, there is still plenty of room in the back garden for a cubby house, trampoline, boating equipment and clothesline.
“We are thrilled about how much house we were able to achieve for our clients’ budget. Joyful House was built for around 30 per cent less per square metre than our average, which is testimony to the value in a strong collaboration between architect and builder.”
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Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
Who lives here: Zytel and Mathew with their three children, Ashton, 8, Harvey, 6, and Matea, 4, as well as their dog Kimba, and cat Sphinx.
Location: Rippleside, Victoria
Size: 220 square metres
Architecture and design: Mihaly Slocombe