9 Ultra-Modern Additions That Break the Mould
Don't be confined by your home's age or style when you're planning an extension – let your lifestyle lead the way
Joanna Tovia
8 February 2015
Houzz editorial team. Photojournalist specialising in design, travel and living well. Follow her photodocumentary about pets and the people who love them on Instagram @unfoldingtails
Houzz editorial team. Photojournalist specialising in design, travel and living well.... More
If an extension would give you the living space your family needs, there’s no need to have the addition blend in seamlessly. As these projects show, Australian architects are fabulous at designing contemporary additions, and make no apology for them contrasting so dramatically with the original house. And most importantly, the people who live here get to enjoy the lifestyle that suits them best without sacrificing street appeal.
1. Edwardian addition lets in the light
This classic home sits among four identical three-bedroom houses in Melbourne. This one started out as a single-level three-bedroom house, too, but a two-storey addition has made way for an expansive light-filled open-plan living area, along with four bedrooms and a study.
S2 Design architect David Saunders has a philosophy when renovating a period home: “I think that, where possible, the original features should be retained and restored, and then the new ‘renovation’ should be allowed to contrast with that.”
This classic home sits among four identical three-bedroom houses in Melbourne. This one started out as a single-level three-bedroom house, too, but a two-storey addition has made way for an expansive light-filled open-plan living area, along with four bedrooms and a study.
S2 Design architect David Saunders has a philosophy when renovating a period home: “I think that, where possible, the original features should be retained and restored, and then the new ‘renovation’ should be allowed to contrast with that.”
An exposed brick wall running the length of the open-plan living area helps unite the old and new, as do the Baltic pine floorboards, which extend from the original home into the kitchen of the addition.
Step inside this house
Step inside this house
2. Victorian cottage turns green
This double-fronted weatherboard cottage runs east-west, with a long hallway running down the middle. Not only was it too small for a growing young family, the house badly needed more natural light.
This double-fronted weatherboard cottage runs east-west, with a long hallway running down the middle. Not only was it too small for a growing young family, the house badly needed more natural light.
Wolveridge Architects demolished the ‘unsightly’ midcentury rear addition and replaced it with one that opened the new north-facing living areas to the sunshine.
Take a look around this house
Take a look around this house
3. Adelaide relic gets modern twist
The existing cottage sits as an object in the foreground against the deliberately oversized and monolithic new building.
The existing cottage sits as an object in the foreground against the deliberately oversized and monolithic new building.
Far from taking away from the original home’s charm, Grieve Gillett Dimitty Andersen Architects had a strategy in mind: to make the elemental beauty and character of the existing cottage more pronounced by setting it against a complementary modern building form. The project involved the complete renovation of the existing cottage and the addition of a new building. Unlike most renovations, the new addition houses the private spaces and the existing older cottage contains the living areas.
See more of this project
See more of this project
4. Curvaceous addition transforms cramped cottage
Stand out the front of this house and you’d never guess that a super-contemporary extension had been added onto the back, let alone one that’s two storeys high.
Stand out the front of this house and you’d never guess that a super-contemporary extension had been added onto the back, let alone one that’s two storeys high.
Staggered ply panels soften the polished concrete walls and floors of the addition, with light-filled living spaces opening to the garden and pool.
Spaces are configured to create intimacy while allowing the kitchen to open up to both the dining and separate living area, while upstairs are two additional bedrooms and a bathroom.
Take a look around
Spaces are configured to create intimacy while allowing the kitchen to open up to both the dining and separate living area, while upstairs are two additional bedrooms and a bathroom.
Take a look around
5. Terrace house makes the most of every centimetre
Terrace houses aren’t known for their gigantic proportions, particularly in Sydney’s Surry Hills, but a clever addition can bring in the light and expand the living space exponentially.
Terrace houses aren’t known for their gigantic proportions, particularly in Sydney’s Surry Hills, but a clever addition can bring in the light and expand the living space exponentially.
Take a look at the house on the left and you realise how much extra space this glass addition delivers … not to mention a dramatic boost in the natural light flooding into both storeys.
6. Open-plan addition for Edwardian classic
This single-storey Edwardian is squeezed into a tight site in Melbourne’s Fitzroy North. The brief was to create an open-plan living space while maintaining the existing kitchen, as well as adding two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.
This single-storey Edwardian is squeezed into a tight site in Melbourne’s Fitzroy North. The brief was to create an open-plan living space while maintaining the existing kitchen, as well as adding two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.
The extension may look modern, but the design had to be considerate of the heritage facade, and shade the western facing rear bedroom.
See more of this house
See more of this house
7. Room to move in concrete Federation extension
From the street, this Federation-style cottage looks as quaint as its neighbours, and the rear extension is invisible from the street.
From the street, this Federation-style cottage looks as quaint as its neighbours, and the rear extension is invisible from the street.
The existing ’80s-style addition was demolished to make way for a contemporary two-storey extension, complete with two bedrooms, a bathroom, an open-plan living/dining/kitchen, and a new ensuite and study. “The use of narrow openings with deep reveals to the rear western facade aids in reducing direct sun in the summer months,” says architect Sean Radford of Nobbs Radford Architects.
Houzz Tour: A Surprising Federation Cottage Blends Old With New
Houzz Tour: A Surprising Federation Cottage Blends Old With New
8. Sleek add-on for Sydney oldie
This Federation-style house wasn’t a house at all when the current owners bought it – it had been split into four apartments. Smart Design Studio transformed it into a private inner-city retreat for a couple, and made it flexible enough so extended family could come and stay in comfort.
This Federation-style house wasn’t a house at all when the current owners bought it – it had been split into four apartments. Smart Design Studio transformed it into a private inner-city retreat for a couple, and made it flexible enough so extended family could come and stay in comfort.
A central circular stairway links the three storeys together. The original house now accommodates the formal lounge and dining area, master bedroom and ensuite, plus a music room. “In contrast to the front part of the house, the detailing is recessive, minimal and modern with expansive uninterrupted walls of glass or solid material,” architect William Smart says.
Houzz Tour: Sleek Potts Point Addition Goes With the Visitor Flow
Houzz Tour: Sleek Potts Point Addition Goes With the Visitor Flow
9. Family comes first in Federation expansion
Carterwilliamson principal architect Shaun Carter says the brief was simple for this project – to enlarge the footprint of a cottage to include two additional bedrooms and a living space commensurate with the scale and proportion of a four-bedroom house.
Carterwilliamson principal architect Shaun Carter says the brief was simple for this project – to enlarge the footprint of a cottage to include two additional bedrooms and a living space commensurate with the scale and proportion of a four-bedroom house.
The spacious addition is a dramatic contrast to the original house. The design also takes into account the temperate Australian climate and our distinctly ‘outdoorsy’ lifestyle.
YOUR SAY
Which renovation is your favourite? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
Open Sesame: 8 Rear Extensions That Bring the Outside in
Plan a Clever Extension That Blissfully Blends Old and New
Style UK: 10 Historic British Homes With Ultra-Modern Extensions
YOUR SAY
Which renovation is your favourite? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
Open Sesame: 8 Rear Extensions That Bring the Outside in
Plan a Clever Extension That Blissfully Blends Old and New
Style UK: 10 Historic British Homes With Ultra-Modern Extensions
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These extensions maintain the integrity of the 'old house'. Provide a clear delineation of the old with the contemporary. They do not try and make the old something it was clearly not through an extension that tries to mimic the original. It respects the original. I agree with comments regarding what the contemporary extensions will be like in 30 years time. Will they say 'what were they thinking'!
I very much like how the old is juxtaposed against the new, albeit with some specially selected features carried through both spaces for continuity. I think they're bold and thought-provoking as well as (mostly) good looking.