Before & After: A Scandi-Style Extension Fit for a Family of Five
Extending a cramped weatherboard house gave this couple and their three young children the sanity-saving room to move they craved
Melbourne couple Jen and Adam had outgrown the small, three-bedroom weatherboard house they’d bought five years ago; with three kids under four sharing the space, it was bursting at the seams. Baby Xavier’s cot was squeezed in beside their bed, a cramped kitchen made life chaotic, and there simply wasn’t enough storage room – it was driving them crazy. Their goal? For Xavier to have his own room by his first birthday, in 15 weeks’ time.
With the plans drawn up for a spacious extension and the build about to begin, Shaynna Blaze and the Deadline Design team were called in to bring to life the Scandi style the couple envisaged for their renovated family home. While they did get the pared-back style and understated elegance they were looking for, Blaze had some other ideas for the space that would take them well out of their comfort zone.
Extension at a Glance
Who lives here: Jen O’Connell and Adam Dewhurst, and their three children Zoe, 4, Max, 2, and Xavier, 1.
Location: Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria
Size: 80 square metres
Budget: $275,000 for the build; $75,000 for the fixtures, fittings, furniture and flooring
This Houzz series highlights the makeovers on renovating show, Deadline Design with Shaynna Blaze, airing Wednesdays at 9.30pm on Foxtel’s Lifestyle channel.
With the plans drawn up for a spacious extension and the build about to begin, Shaynna Blaze and the Deadline Design team were called in to bring to life the Scandi style the couple envisaged for their renovated family home. While they did get the pared-back style and understated elegance they were looking for, Blaze had some other ideas for the space that would take them well out of their comfort zone.
Extension at a Glance
Who lives here: Jen O’Connell and Adam Dewhurst, and their three children Zoe, 4, Max, 2, and Xavier, 1.
Location: Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria
Size: 80 square metres
Budget: $275,000 for the build; $75,000 for the fixtures, fittings, furniture and flooring
This Houzz series highlights the makeovers on renovating show, Deadline Design with Shaynna Blaze, airing Wednesdays at 9.30pm on Foxtel’s Lifestyle channel.
The 80-square-metre extension accommodates the family’s new kitchen, living and dining area. The extension opened up space in the existing house for parents O’Connell and Dewhurst to have their own bedroom and ensuite, where the playroom and family room used to be. It also allowed for the kids to have a playroom where the kitchen/dining area was, and for Xavier to have the room he used to share with his mum and dad all to himself.
The new dining nook provides an additional hangout area to escape to when it’s not being used for meals. The white chairs and timber table connect the kitchen and dining zones.
“We tend to have breakfast and lunch at the island bench and dinner at the dining table/ banquette area,” O’Connell says.
The banquette is also used as a multi-purpose space for the grown-ups to work when they need to, with the kids using it for drawing, puzzles and Lego builds. “What is particularly fantastic is the openness of the space,” O’Connell says, “and when having family and friends over there is just so much more room to move and enjoy.”
Island stools: Globe West
“We tend to have breakfast and lunch at the island bench and dinner at the dining table/ banquette area,” O’Connell says.
The banquette is also used as a multi-purpose space for the grown-ups to work when they need to, with the kids using it for drawing, puzzles and Lego builds. “What is particularly fantastic is the openness of the space,” O’Connell says, “and when having family and friends over there is just so much more room to move and enjoy.”
Island stools: Globe West
The kitchen delivered the clean lines, structure and order the family needed to get organised, but O’Connell took some convincing to move away from the white and timber kitchen she had been dreaming about since the couple started saving for the renovation five years ago.
“The homeowners had envisioned a white, streamlined kitchen for years, but I knew with the amount of natural light streaming through the large doors and windows, the white walls and very light timber floors, that the kitchen was going to be too clinical but also blinding,” says Blaze. “It took quite a while to explain the reasoning and for them to get the idea into their minds – in the end they were taking a ‘blind-faith’ leap that it was going to suit what they were really after.”
“The homeowners had envisioned a white, streamlined kitchen for years, but I knew with the amount of natural light streaming through the large doors and windows, the white walls and very light timber floors, that the kitchen was going to be too clinical but also blinding,” says Blaze. “It took quite a while to explain the reasoning and for them to get the idea into their minds – in the end they were taking a ‘blind-faith’ leap that it was going to suit what they were really after.”
The home was fine for a couple with no children, but add three young kids into the mix – and their stuff – and the home was just too squishy.
Now, there is plenty of room for everyone to move.
BEFORE: For a family of five, the original home’s kitchen/living/dining area just wasn’t big enough. The couple had resorted to taping a line of masking tape to the floor to keep the kids out of the kitchen – the tight quarters made it impossible for more than two people at a time to comfortably be in the kitchen.
BEFORE: The rear deck was demolished to make way for the new extension.
“The grey cabinetry defines the space as the gathering and cooking area, and stops the main room looking like one big white box,” Blaze says.
The island bench, now the hub of the home, is one of the homeowners’ favourite things about the new kitchen. That is, along with the increased amount of storage and space, the splashback and concealed pantry, and … the colour palette. “We weren’t sure about the grey when Shaynna first put it to us, but we really love it!,” O’Connell says.
Joinery and benchtop: Freedom Kitchens; appliances: Asko; splashback: Perini
The island bench, now the hub of the home, is one of the homeowners’ favourite things about the new kitchen. That is, along with the increased amount of storage and space, the splashback and concealed pantry, and … the colour palette. “We weren’t sure about the grey when Shaynna first put it to us, but we really love it!,” O’Connell says.
Joinery and benchtop: Freedom Kitchens; appliances: Asko; splashback: Perini
Open shelving in the concealed pantry makes for easy access.
O’Connell and Dewhurst had imagined a more formal dining area, but after being taken to visit another family home with a dining nook and banquette seating, they soon changed their minds – just as Blaze had hoped.
“With three small kids and lots of entertaining, the space needed to be very flexible for many situations,” Blaze says. “It wasn’t just a dining area they were wanting but a place for kids to do homework as well; putting in the bench seat allowed me to add much-needed storage for kids’ toys and books and, if they want to take the dining table out to put in the main area, this can become lounge seating, or they can use the floor space for kids’ sleepovers.”
Bench seating rather than dining chairs also stops the constant noise and damage of the chair legs scraping the flooring, Blaze says.
Banquette cabinetry: Seaview Cabinets; banquette upholstery in ‘Picnic Aqua’: Inform; Mokum fabric: James Dunlop Textiles
“With three small kids and lots of entertaining, the space needed to be very flexible for many situations,” Blaze says. “It wasn’t just a dining area they were wanting but a place for kids to do homework as well; putting in the bench seat allowed me to add much-needed storage for kids’ toys and books and, if they want to take the dining table out to put in the main area, this can become lounge seating, or they can use the floor space for kids’ sleepovers.”
Bench seating rather than dining chairs also stops the constant noise and damage of the chair legs scraping the flooring, Blaze says.
Banquette cabinetry: Seaview Cabinets; banquette upholstery in ‘Picnic Aqua’: Inform; Mokum fabric: James Dunlop Textiles
“The living area, I kept very simple,” Blaze says. With the dark tones of the kitchen making it stand out in the open-plan space, she went for blush and other subdued tones in the living area so it flowed with the flooring rather than competing with the kitchen. Blaze kept within the parameters of the Scandi look, but added a warm and welcoming feel fit for a family home, with texture-rich soft furnishings and colour accents.
“Gorgeous textures like wool, linen, velvet and leather create a beautiful, warm feel in a room,” Blaze says. And adding circles (in the rug and coffee tables) to soften the hard angles of the room created a more intimate, playful setting, while the grey rug ties in with the grey used in the kitchen.
“Gorgeous textures like wool, linen, velvet and leather create a beautiful, warm feel in a room,” Blaze says. And adding circles (in the rug and coffee tables) to soften the hard angles of the room created a more intimate, playful setting, while the grey rug ties in with the grey used in the kitchen.
Congo chair: Sofa & Soul; Mr Fox Throw, mohair throw, cushion: Bed Bath N’ Table; artwork: Vanessa Hall for Shaynna Blaze
Sofa in ‘Maison Blush’: Molmic; cushions: James Dunlop Textiles; flameless candles: Enjoy Lighting; entertainment unit, side table, round coffee table: Zuster; rug: The Rug Collection; ‘Pink Crystal’ artwork: Vanessa Hall Photography
Choosing white for the walls created a clean look that made the most of the plentiful natural light. The interiors have a pared-back simplicity about them, warmed up with the natural tones of timber and subtle colour accents.
“We love the natural tones of the timber, white and grey,” O’Connell says. “It was a real departure from the all-white concept we were originally thinking, but it is very warm and just has a great feel to it.”
The oak flooring is a standout, she adds, and the commercial aluminium stacker doors add a “real wow” to the space. “I think the highlight is watching the children move around the space; we were so cramped before and everything now just seems easier … we all just love it and still cannot believe it’s ours!”
Flooring: Reclaimed Coastal Vienna flooring: Smarter Timber Flooring
“We love the natural tones of the timber, white and grey,” O’Connell says. “It was a real departure from the all-white concept we were originally thinking, but it is very warm and just has a great feel to it.”
The oak flooring is a standout, she adds, and the commercial aluminium stacker doors add a “real wow” to the space. “I think the highlight is watching the children move around the space; we were so cramped before and everything now just seems easier … we all just love it and still cannot believe it’s ours!”
Flooring: Reclaimed Coastal Vienna flooring: Smarter Timber Flooring
Homeowners Dewhurst and O’Connell with Blaze in their new dining nook. “The banquette just brought another dimension to the space,” says Dewhurst. “We would never have thought about doing that; it’s so versatile and flexible, and it’s cosy.”
To see more of this home makeover, visit Deadline Design or watch the episode anytime on Foxtel Go.
To see more of this home makeover, visit Deadline Design or watch the episode anytime on Foxtel Go.