Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A 1970s House Transformed With Light, Space and Views
This brick house now provides parents and children with plenty of common and private spaces for harmonious family living
This 1970s family home has undergone a complete transformation to make the most of its position overlooking Ruffey Lake Park in Doncaster, Melbourne. Inbetween Architecture reconfigured the previously dark and compartmentalised house and rebuilt the upper level to create a light and bright home for modern family life. There are lots of common and private spaces for adults and children alike, whether it’s for socialising, watching television, reading, listening to music, playing with friends or relaxing alone.
The front of the house faces north with a view to Ruffey Lake Park and the sloping site allows for the basement garage.
The exterior of the house is now more rectilinear, with a series of flat-roofed box-like forms. “The external form was reimagined as a series of solid and transparent layers stacking over the existing brick structure,” says Liu.
The exterior of the house is now more rectilinear, with a series of flat-roofed box-like forms. “The external form was reimagined as a series of solid and transparent layers stacking over the existing brick structure,” says Liu.
The first floor has an open-plan living, dining and kitchen extending from north to south on the eastern side of the house (above the garage). More private spaces for both adults and children are configured along the western side of the house, including the library, television and music room, study/guest bedroom and rumpus room.
Inbetween Architecture also redesigned the upper level. It formerly accommodated three bedrooms side-by-side. It now has a bigger floorplate for four bedrooms, walk-in wardrobes, bathrooms and another rumpus room that extends to the north-facing terrace.
“The original balcony connected to the front porch, which meant the living room curtains were always closed for privacy reasons,” says Liu. Opening up the front of the house for views and light while maintaining privacy proved to be one of the primary challenges.
Recessing the balcony beneath the dark eave improved privacy while allowing for natural light and views. Recycled bricks from the existing house have been reused to create a hit-and-miss brick-wall veil between the entrance and balcony to block access and further obscure views from the street.
Liu complemented the existing brown brick, typical of the era of the house, with charcoal cladding and black metalwork trim. “We wanted the house to blend into its surroundings,” he says. “The overall exterior is understated and low-key and the hit-and-miss brickwork wall provides a surprising lightness to the otherwise solid forms.”
A timber-clad pod on the entry level divides the eastern and western sides of the house. Incorporating a coat cupboard, bathroom, pantry and storage for the kitchen and rumpus room, it consolidates services and amenities within a central zone.
The open-plan living space is configured with the living room at the northern end of the house, the dining room in the middle and kitchen at the rear. The living room connects to the entry space, library and music and television room, and each area can be closed off with a sliding door when needed.
Northern light filters through the balcony into the living area. The balcony’s raked ceiling allows deeper solar penetration in winter while providing shading in summer.
Sofa and coffee table: Curious Grace
Sofa and coffee table: Curious Grace
Sliding glass doors allow for views from the living area across to Ruffey Lake Park.
The central pod accommodates a sideboard for the dining area. A sliding glass door positioned opposite, with a skylight above it, brings natural light into the space.
The appearance of the veneer flooring is similar to polished concrete. “It is a versatile product as it can be laid across different substrates with minimum expansion joints,” says Liu. White plasterboard-lined walls and ceilings and the natural oak melamine joinery of the pod contribute to the light and airy interior.
Polished-concrete veneer flooring: Pangaea
Polished-concrete veneer flooring: Pangaea
The kitchen is located at the rear of the first floor where it connects with the dining room and the adjacent rumpus room that provides access to the laundry and backyard.
The large appliances are strategically hidden from view, housed in joinery opposite the pod. This maintains a clean and open aesthetic in the kitchen.
The large appliances are strategically hidden from view, housed in joinery opposite the pod. This maintains a clean and open aesthetic in the kitchen.
Interior designer Aldona Pajdak Interior Design suggested the encaustic feature tiles on the kitchen floor. “It was a bold move and took some convincing to get the client onboard, but it turned out fantastically,” says Liu. The timber joinery continues throughout the kitchen with white Caesarstone benchtops.
Antique Acero cement tiles: Earp Bros
Antique Acero cement tiles: Earp Bros
Skylights and voids define spaces throughout the house and draw natural light deeper within the floorplate. Here, sunlight shines onto the kitchen benchtop.
A skylight is also above the rumpus room. Shelving, drawers and a narrow desk are incorporated into the central pod, keeping the space streamlined and open.
The laundry is next to the rumpus room and the encaustic tile also features on the splashback and floor, with charcoal-coloured joinery to complement.
Polytec melamine joinery in cinder.
Polytec melamine joinery in cinder.
At the front of the house on the western side, the library has a wall of built-in shelving to accommodate the owner’s love of books and reading. A window seat was strategically placed for views of the park and so the clients can bask in all-day northern light.
A buit-in desk makes this room a multi-functional space for reading, studying or working.
The music and television room is located next door and Liu used the existing split level to create a television ‘pit’. An oversize sliding door conceals the entertainment cupboard. “This means the kids have to close the door to watch television, leaving the parents to enjoy their peace and quiet,” says Liu.
The staircase in the centre of the house is lined with shelving to display the clients’ collection of books and objects. A double-height void bathes the timber stairs in light.
A second rumpus room is at the top of the stairs and provides access to the rooftop terrace.
Liu kept the bedrooms simple with bamboo flooring, white walls and charcoal joinery. The master bedroom has a large walk-in robe.
Round timber pulls are playful design features on doors throughout the bedrooms.
The bathrooms have a calm and relaxed colour and materials palette, and large-format tiles have been used in response to the clients’ request for less grouting.
“We started the commission with no preconceived idea of the design, just lots of constraints and limitations about the existing house,” says Liu. “The result is a complete transformation from the existing house. The floor plans flow with ease and each space feels comfortable in its own position.”
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Craving more clever design? Read about life in an iconic capsule apartment measuring less than nine square metres in Tokyo, Japan
“We started the commission with no preconceived idea of the design, just lots of constraints and limitations about the existing house,” says Liu. “The result is a complete transformation from the existing house. The floor plans flow with ease and each space feels comfortable in its own position.”
Tell us
What do you love most about this home? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save your favourite images and join the conversation.
More
Craving more clever design? Read about life in an iconic capsule apartment measuring less than nine square metres in Tokyo, Japan
Who lives here: A couple, their three teenage children and golden retriever, Shadow
Location: Doncaster, Victoria
Size: 485 square metres; five bedrooms, three bathrooms
Architect: Inbetween Architecture
Interior Designer: Aldona Pajdak Interior Design
“The family of five had outgrown the house and the adults and children lacked their own space,” says John Liu of Inbetween Architecture. “The deep floor plate meant the house had a dark interior, and existing rooms were small with lots of redundant and difficult-to-use spaces. The owners wanted to modernise the house, to bring in more natural light, have a brighter interior, flexible spaces and to see the park across the street.”