Houzz Tour: A Victorian Home is Brought Sensitively Up To Date
This historic Melbourne terrace gets a modern makeover that embraces both old and new
One of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs, inner city East Melbourne, is rich in history, with many significant Victorian terraces. This one is no exception and this wonderful renovation brought some interesting challenges for Nic Owen Architects. With the 1877 building subject to heritage overlay, as well as being on the Victorian Register, any renovation could not overstep the existing boundaries, with no change to the exterior or footprint allowed. So this renovation took place only on the inside, save for a carport, a built-in barbecue and rejuvenation of the exterior. As summarised by architect Nic Owen, ‘The renovation offers a sympathetic response to an historically sensitive inner city dwelling.’
The owners’ brief for the architects was to make the Victorian terrace more suitable for relaxed and open family living, with more usable space within the existing walls. Previous renovations had closed up the house, with small internal rooms at the rear. It now opens up to an informal dining, kitchen and lounge area.
The architects created a feeling of space here with the clever use of mirrors. It may not be immediately apparent, but looking closely at this photograph, you will see that the dining room table is positioned up against a large mirror that reaches up to the ceiling, providing light and the illusion of space in this quite narrow area.
Chaise A side chairs by Tolix, Thonet. Pendant lights, Richmond Lighting. Walls painted throughout in Antique White USA, Dulux.
The architects created a feeling of space here with the clever use of mirrors. It may not be immediately apparent, but looking closely at this photograph, you will see that the dining room table is positioned up against a large mirror that reaches up to the ceiling, providing light and the illusion of space in this quite narrow area.
Chaise A side chairs by Tolix, Thonet. Pendant lights, Richmond Lighting. Walls painted throughout in Antique White USA, Dulux.
The front part of the ground floor retains original features. ‘It’s a fairly standard approach we take in that we like to respect and retain the historical aspects of the house as it stands, which is usually the front of the house,’ says Owen.
‘The front couple of rooms were beautiful and quite majestic in their scale and proportion, so we embraced that. Plus the clients had purchased beautiful furniture to go with that. But the back of the house had been modernised over time.’
Discover 8 ways to use oversized mirrors
‘The front couple of rooms were beautiful and quite majestic in their scale and proportion, so we embraced that. Plus the clients had purchased beautiful furniture to go with that. But the back of the house had been modernised over time.’
Discover 8 ways to use oversized mirrors
Here, as you enter from the front door, you can see that original part of the house on the right. This is the more formal dining area and, beyond that, down the corridor, is the informal dining area known as ‘the meals room’.
The area at the rear of the house had been previously ‘modernised’ with small spaces and interior walls; this was addressed by removing the walls.
The ground floor plan shows how the long narrow spaces configure towards the rear (the entrance is at the right-hand side of the diagram). ‘The spaces felt small and poky,’ says Owen. ‘It wasn’t working for family life.’
The ground floor plan shows how the long narrow spaces configure towards the rear (the entrance is at the right-hand side of the diagram). ‘The spaces felt small and poky,’ says Owen. ‘It wasn’t working for family life.’
The result is a light, bright and spacious informal living area. They have restored the original Baltic pine floors, the existence of which was quite a stroke of luck, according to Owen, in that they were particularly thick: Almost 40mm, which is very unusual for floorboards, and they just happen to be very beautiful.’
Sofa, Jardan.
Sofa, Jardan.
To complement the original flooring, Owen selected hoop pine plywood (from Queensland) for joinery around the house. It’s a product the architects love to work with on many of their projects and here it ‘provides a simple and beautiful palette to simplify the house visually and focus on just a few materials,’ says Owen.
See how plywood has been used throughout this ecofriendly Cotswolds kitchen
See how plywood has been used throughout this ecofriendly Cotswolds kitchen
This palette is found throughout this rear area, including in the kitchen. The white cabinetry is custom-made. Look closely at this photograph – again, it’s not immediately apparent, but at the right of this image, behind the sink, there is a stairwell that leads down to the basement living area.
To the right of that stairwell is another mirror, again creating that feeling of spaciousness.
Appliances, Miele. Rangehood, Quasair. Sink, Franke Planar. Sink mixer with retractable gooseneck, KWC Eve.
Appliances, Miele. Rangehood, Quasair. Sink, Franke Planar. Sink mixer with retractable gooseneck, KWC Eve.
‘When we had a consultation meeting with Heritage Victoria, we learned quickly that they were very strict on what you could and couldn’t do,’ says Owen. ‘One of the only external things we did was the horizontal window in the kitchen.’
Initially, Heritage Victoria ‘hadn’t been keen on it’ but the window, which forms a splashback in the kitchen, can only be seen from the home’s own courtyard, so it was allowed through. Owen thinks this leniency might have arisen after a temporary ladder fixed to the building was mistaken by Heritage Victoria for a window going all the way up the building. ‘They were so shocked and then relieved that the small window didn’t seem so bad and it was let through,’ he says.
Initially, Heritage Victoria ‘hadn’t been keen on it’ but the window, which forms a splashback in the kitchen, can only be seen from the home’s own courtyard, so it was allowed through. Owen thinks this leniency might have arisen after a temporary ladder fixed to the building was mistaken by Heritage Victoria for a window going all the way up the building. ‘They were so shocked and then relieved that the small window didn’t seem so bad and it was let through,’ he says.
The client decided to keep the exposed brick walls. They complement beautifully with the brick wall you can see through the glass doors.
Moving to the first floor, there’s a large master bedroom. As with many period homes, these bedrooms don’t have en suites or walk-in wardrobes, even though that’s what the owners wanted. The architects found the perfect solution, leaving any future owners to go back to the original if desired. This solution came in the form of a plywood pod that contains the en suite.
‘The pod containing en suite and wardrobe is a rectangular cube floating within the historic environment,’ says Owen. ‘The pod demonstrates a deliberate attempt to respect the past while offering a new design approach.’
‘The pod containing en suite and wardrobe is a rectangular cube floating within the historic environment,’ says Owen. ‘The pod demonstrates a deliberate attempt to respect the past while offering a new design approach.’
‘It sits separately from the very large room. It’s almost like a bit of furniture; it’s built in, but it’s reversible,’ says Owen. ‘You could take it out and have the old, full-size room back. So that’s how we treated it from a historical point of view.’
The pod structure is one of the things Owen loves best about this renovation.
‘Every project we do, we find there’s something we would like to do that the client isn’t quite sure about; they have to take a leap of faith and there’s a bit of a risk element for them,’ he says.
‘We found that in this project, it was that pod element. We usually find it’s those things a client is nervous about that can be the best things.’
Torquay semi-recessed basin, Parisi. Vanity unit, custom-made. Tiles, Bluestone.
‘Every project we do, we find there’s something we would like to do that the client isn’t quite sure about; they have to take a leap of faith and there’s a bit of a risk element for them,’ he says.
‘We found that in this project, it was that pod element. We usually find it’s those things a client is nervous about that can be the best things.’
Torquay semi-recessed basin, Parisi. Vanity unit, custom-made. Tiles, Bluestone.
This view of the en-suite pod shows the useful wardrobe space it provides.
In essence, what we’ve done is create lots of joinery throughout the house, and those bits of joinery, which we see as little bits of architecture in their own right, break up the spaces, says Owen. They define the spaces and they pretty much create all the spaces within the existing shell, as we couldn’t do much outside the house.
In essence, what we’ve done is create lots of joinery throughout the house, and those bits of joinery, which we see as little bits of architecture in their own right, break up the spaces, says Owen. They define the spaces and they pretty much create all the spaces within the existing shell, as we couldn’t do much outside the house.
The further three bedrooms – children’s rooms – have been fitted out, each with a custom-designed wardrobe, study desk and bookshelves. Each room incorporates a special feature designed with the child, ‘allowing the smallest client to customise their bedroom,’ says Owen.
Moving back down to the lower ground floor, there are more custom-made pieces in the same hoop pine plywood, for a consistent overall look. Here, the table to the right separates the study area from the play area. The background of the desk shows the exposed bluestone of the original building. The original concrete floor has been polished.
At the side of the building is a timber courtyard and from here you can see into the rear courtyard and the few exterior additions – the carport and barbecue.
The carport is made from a thick steel frame with a clear polycarbonate roof. The cantilevered barbecue is made of concrete.
The family room on the lower ground floor spills into a rear courtyard. ‘Everything on this rear facade was existing except for the large sliding doors, which get that inside-outside flow working,’ says Owen.
The Juliet balconies on the ground floor, a useful feature, are not original, but are an earlier addition that would not be permitted today. This is the only house in the street with this feature to overlook their courtyard. In this renovation, they have simply been rejuvenated and painted.
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The Juliet balconies on the ground floor, a useful feature, are not original, but are an earlier addition that would not be permitted today. This is the only house in the street with this feature to overlook their courtyard. In this renovation, they have simply been rejuvenated and painted.
TELL US…
What do you think of this renovation? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here A professional couple and their three daughters
Location East Melbourne, Australia
Size 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Architect Nic Owen of Nic Owen Architects
That’s interesting This is part of a special heritage registry known as Canterbury Terrace, a group of 16 residences built in 1877 and the longest known group of terrace houses in Victoria
The Victorian home is on two levels at the front of the building, but slopes slightly towards the rear, providing a lower-ground floor. This was originally a bluestone cellar, and is now a storage area, with a family room and study area.
The exterior had been repeatedly painted over for years. The team rejuvenated the facade of the house, with a delicate applied render, chosen in consultation with a conservation heritage adviser and applied by a specialist contractor.
The properties on this street are on the Victorian Register for a number of reasons: it’s a beautiful streetscape, persons of historic interest lived here, and many of the houses are great examples of high Victorian architecture of its time, says Owen.