Houzz Tour: A Beachside Grand Dame's Tender Renewal
A historical home – half hidden and entirely rundown – gets a new lease on life with a conscientious renovation
Julia Fairley
28 February 2018
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture that is thoughtful, sophisticated and champions an element of the unexpected. Before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts at UNSW and becoming a journalist, I studied interior architecture. For over a decade I have interviewed inspiring creative minds from around the world to write about design in its many different forms. Recently, I have also become an accidental gardener, to everyone's surprise.
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture... More
At Sydney’s northernmost tip is Palm Beach, a suburb that sits on a slim peninsula of land bordered by water on three sides. This is the backdrop of this 1920s holiday home, a grand dame of a house that stood largely unattended and hidden by trees and shrubs until a family spotted it, bought it and undertook a massive renovation.
With the help of Bentley Design, they maintained the house’s century-old architecture, including most importantly the original golden sandstone featured inside and out. Structural elements such as the ceiling beams and timber detailing were left exposed to show off their raw beauty, and the living room was returned to its former glory with a careful makeover. In addition, the kitchen was opened up to provide better connection to the surrounding living areas, a wraparound verandah was added for indoor/outdoor living, and open areas downstairs were enclosed to create private spaces for the family’s children when the house is in use.
With the help of Bentley Design, they maintained the house’s century-old architecture, including most importantly the original golden sandstone featured inside and out. Structural elements such as the ceiling beams and timber detailing were left exposed to show off their raw beauty, and the living room was returned to its former glory with a careful makeover. In addition, the kitchen was opened up to provide better connection to the surrounding living areas, a wraparound verandah was added for indoor/outdoor living, and open areas downstairs were enclosed to create private spaces for the family’s children when the house is in use.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: This is a family’s holiday home, and is rented out periodically
Location: Palm Beach, NSW
Size: 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Design: Bentley Design in collaboration with Stephen Collins Interior Design and Vitale Design
“The house has always been a prominent one in Palm Beach, partly due to its location on a sweeping bend of road,” says Rachel Bentley of Bentley Design. “It’s a beautiful home from the 1920s and although it’s not heritage listed, it was always a priority for our clients to work with and maintain the existing features, most notably the sandstone, with as much respect as we could.”
Who lives here: This is a family’s holiday home, and is rented out periodically
Location: Palm Beach, NSW
Size: 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Design: Bentley Design in collaboration with Stephen Collins Interior Design and Vitale Design
“The house has always been a prominent one in Palm Beach, partly due to its location on a sweeping bend of road,” says Rachel Bentley of Bentley Design. “It’s a beautiful home from the 1920s and although it’s not heritage listed, it was always a priority for our clients to work with and maintain the existing features, most notably the sandstone, with as much respect as we could.”
The original home was very rundown and needed a lot of attention, but there was beauty in its grand old bones. The family wanted to preserve the building rather than replace it with a modern substitute, so Bentley’s design called for part-restoration and part-renovation.
“Internally there were areas with beautiful timber detailing and features that we restored and made key, the most obvious of these being in the living room, which was restored exactly as it was when we found it,” says Bentley. “All the details stayed the same but were brought back to life.”
Ornate architraves, picture rails, cornices and skirting boards sit alongside the original sandstone fireplace, and salute the site’s century-old architecture.
“Internally there were areas with beautiful timber detailing and features that we restored and made key, the most obvious of these being in the living room, which was restored exactly as it was when we found it,” says Bentley. “All the details stayed the same but were brought back to life.”
Ornate architraves, picture rails, cornices and skirting boards sit alongside the original sandstone fireplace, and salute the site’s century-old architecture.
Bentley credits a large team of professionals for the success of the job. “Those involved in the design were myself, Stephen Collins of Stephen Collins Interior Design and Ben Vitale of Vitale Design. The client also has a great eye and sense of style, so she was heavily involved in the design and ultimately responsible for the brilliant styling of the house.”
Fisher & Paykel fridge; Smeg PGA75F-4 Cooktop; Smeg SOA330X Pyrolytic Oven: all from Winning Appliances
Fisher & Paykel fridge; Smeg PGA75F-4 Cooktop; Smeg SOA330X Pyrolytic Oven: all from Winning Appliances
The kitchen, adjacent to the formal living room, proved an exercise in old meets new. One of its most striking features is the v-groove boards, seen here in the joinery. As well as adding texture, this singular detail bridges the gap between old and new and subtly references the home’s beachside setting.
“It’s a traditional detail used in a contemporary way, which worked in nicely with the philosophy behind the brief,” says Bentley. “It’s detailing with a relaxed feel; the rigid lines of it, painted a crisp white, also offset the uneven, rough, colourful nature of the sandstone.”
KWC Swiss EVE Tap; Billi B-3000 Chilled Water Dispenser; Oliveri Sonetto Sink: all from Winning Appliances
“It’s a traditional detail used in a contemporary way, which worked in nicely with the philosophy behind the brief,” says Bentley. “It’s detailing with a relaxed feel; the rigid lines of it, painted a crisp white, also offset the uneven, rough, colourful nature of the sandstone.”
KWC Swiss EVE Tap; Billi B-3000 Chilled Water Dispenser; Oliveri Sonetto Sink: all from Winning Appliances
Bentley retained the position of the kitchen in the centre of the floor plan, but opened it up to better connect the space to the dining area and views beyond. The dining and living zones wrap around this central cooking space, effectively locking it into the floor plan and linking it to the family areas via this little window above the breakfast bar.
Instead of concealing the building’s materials, Bentley and the owners made a conscious decision to expose them. This is seen in the raw sandstone blocks inside and out, the ceiling beams that stretch across the space, and the historical detailing that commands your attention. This honesty of materials is one of the beauties of older buildings – instead of being hidden behind plasterboard, you can see a home’s structural elements in all their glory.
“The sandstone is obviously one of the most remarkable features of this property, and we all agreed from the beginning that we would work with it rather than try to change it too much,” says Bentley. “With that as a starting point, all the existing sandstone remained and we reworked the building, inside and out, to ensure that it kept its place front and centre.”
Bentley added the vast wraparound verandah that girdles the house – a sensitive extension that echoes the building’s historical bones in its design, material and overhead treatment. Wide swathes of windows and French doors connect this outside space to the public living areas inside, encouraging the family to use the deck just as much as the interior.
It’s not just living spaces that unfold to the new deck. This private eastern bedroom on the ground floor opens up to the verandah as well, and boasts spectacular views to the beach.
“The owners have a great sense of style and that, combined with decisiveness, makes for great clients,” says Bentley. “They did the majority of the styling themselves with some new pieces and some that were already a part of the family, which makes for an original and personal interior, as well as one that looks great.”
“The owners have a great sense of style and that, combined with decisiveness, makes for great clients,” says Bentley. “They did the majority of the styling themselves with some new pieces and some that were already a part of the family, which makes for an original and personal interior, as well as one that looks great.”
“It was really important to the owners that it wasn’t too precious, that it was a comfortable, accessible and liveable home for the family to holiday in and feel relaxed and at ease in,” says Bentley. Here, the ground floor family bathroom offers a room with a view to unwind in with a long soak in the tub, while being an equally practical space where sandy feet can be rinsed off after a swim at the beach – all while graciously combining the old with the new.
Terrazzo Gris Floor Tiles: Surface Gallery
Terrazzo Gris Floor Tiles: Surface Gallery
“There was never any intention for the house to feel modern, so there was no great battle in that respect,” says Bentley, speaking of balancing the new design with the original 1920s features.
“Everything we did was aimed at keeping the heritage elements as key, and gently sitting in with that. We never set out to compete with the heritage parts; we wanted the new parts to sit with them comfortably and respectfully.”
“Everything we did was aimed at keeping the heritage elements as key, and gently sitting in with that. We never set out to compete with the heritage parts; we wanted the new parts to sit with them comfortably and respectfully.”
However, demonstrating this to council proved complex and lengthy. “The council process was difficult, but we persisted and worked through it,” says Bentley. “It wasn’t a straightforward project to get through council, given the significance of the property in the area, so that added to the timeframe. But we got there in the end and it was well worth it.”
Moving upstairs to the master bedroom and rooms beyond, Bentley took the same approach to preserving the building’s historical elements.
“Upstairs is the master suite, which stretches all the way across the house,” says Bentley. “This level provides views from the bedroom in the east to the beach, and from the ensuite in the west looking out over Pittwater. There is a walk-through wardrobe between these two spaces, a study to the north and a second study or nursery to the south.”
“Upstairs is the master suite, which stretches all the way across the house,” says Bentley. “This level provides views from the bedroom in the east to the beach, and from the ensuite in the west looking out over Pittwater. There is a walk-through wardrobe between these two spaces, a study to the north and a second study or nursery to the south.”
In the master bathroom – a grand space that frames the green national parks and blue bays of Pittwater – Bentley let the original sloping roofline shine to pay homage to the home’s bones.
White gloss ceramic wall tiles; cream hexagonal honed floor tiles: Academy Tiles
White gloss ceramic wall tiles; cream hexagonal honed floor tiles: Academy Tiles
Below the ground floor kitchen and living areas, there is a series of den-like rooms, including this children’s rumpus room. Originally this space was an outdoor area, but Bentley enclosed it to create what is seen here, a sequestered play room that leads to a pool out the back.
On this same lower ground level are the children’s bedrooms, which received the same treatment with their materiality, keeping the sandstone as the star. “Because we had the ability to spread the house upstairs and down to gain the extra space we needed, it meant we could leave the sandstone intact,” says Bentley. “We were lucky that the bones of the building were so good.”
On the same level, the children’s bathroom is both a contemporary and functional space – a must when designing to accommodate for younger souls and the wild adventures that can unfold at bath time.
Glance quickly at any of these spaces and they exude the confidence of rooms that have belonged in a home for a very long time. And when you consider how rundown this original home was before Bentley arrived on the scene, this in itself is quite a feat.
“As I understand it, the previous owners hadn’t spent a lot of time there and it was pretty evident,” she says.
Glance quickly at any of these spaces and they exude the confidence of rooms that have belonged in a home for a very long time. And when you consider how rundown this original home was before Bentley arrived on the scene, this in itself is quite a feat.
“As I understand it, the previous owners hadn’t spent a lot of time there and it was pretty evident,” she says.
“It’s easy to forget, even when you’re living in it every day, what it looked like at the beginning, so it’s very gratifying to look back at the photos of the existing house and see how far it came,” says Bentley. “After we all had lunch there when it was finished, I was so proud of the fact that it felt exactly the way we had all hoped it would. It felt relaxed, easy, comfortable, welcoming, unpretentious, and such an easy space to be in. It felt just right.”
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Superb renovation while honoring the original textures and bones of a really lovely building. I love old historic buildings and when renewal honors heritage while refreshing and adding subtle new touches - that to me is what it's about.
Would like to have seen more “before“
Feel that this has been very heavy handed in the rebuilding
Oh I agree- withyou .... HU-319610855 , the sandstone elements of the 1920's period is the feature here and now it's just been heavily pornified witrh all the glass and whiteness! I disagree with most of the above comments-the kitchen is atrocious and cold and white and glare-y..and doesnt refelct 20's vibes at all.. The home's original beauty has been overlooked in the rush to make it Northern Beaches glamour-crowd; and I am only imagining how much it rents out for as a 'holiday home' - bet it's out of the reach of the average admirer!