Houzz Tour: Say Hello to this Modern Cuckoo-Clock Edwardian Home
This modern take on the classic Edwardian provides more space and light, while maintaining the existing footprint
Rebecca Gross
18 April 2020
Design writer and historian. I write about contemporary architecture and design, and I study cultural history through the lens of architecture, design and visual culture. I have a Masters in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from Parsons The New School for Design, New York. My latest book is called "Ornament is not a crime: Contemporary Interiors with a postmodern twist."
Design writer and historian. I write about contemporary architecture and design,... More
When renovating a traditional heritage house, homeowners are often well-intentioned in wanting to retain as much as possible, but site logistics and the existing dwelling can make that challenging to achieve. The owners of this home in Footscray, Victoria, wanted to build a rear extension to their cuckoo-clock Edwardian home, while retaining the front of the house for its traditional charm. They engaged Rara Architecture and Interior Design for the renovation, but due to the conditions of the site and home, the rear extension proved impossible to meet their brief and $530,000 budget. Instead, Rara Architecture and Interior Design designed them a whole new house. It’s a modern take on the classic Edwardian, with more space and light, while maintaining the existing footprint.
“The original Edwardian dwelling, while charming, was dark. Windows looked out to neighbouring walls, so the interior lacked any external outlook or direct sunlight,” says Wesley Spencer, director of Rara Architecture and Interior Design. “We wanted to design a space that allowed the home to feel big and bright, despite the small lot size.”
“The original Edwardian dwelling, while charming, was dark. Windows looked out to neighbouring walls, so the interior lacked any external outlook or direct sunlight,” says Wesley Spencer, director of Rara Architecture and Interior Design. “We wanted to design a space that allowed the home to feel big and bright, despite the small lot size.”
Images by Nicole England
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Recently married couple Nathan Smith and Iman Hasan
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Size: 108 square metres with two bedrooms and two bathrooms
Architecture and design: Rara Architecture and Interior Design
Builder: Grand Maison Constructions
The owners of this home are Nathan Smith, a real estate agent, and Iman Hasan, who works at one of Australia’s largest banks. “With their professional backgrounds, the couple’s decisions were informed by their knowledge of what led to the greatest investment in construction,” says Spencer. “Fortunately, they placed stock in the value an architect can give to a home.”
A previous client of Rara Architecture and Interior Design (the owners of Perched House) referred Smith and Hasan to Spencer, and they placed their implicit trust in the firm. “This allowed us to explore some unique ideas that gave this home a point of difference and, without a doubt, a really sexy vibe,” says Spencer. He and the firm’s design team used Houzz to present ideas and concepts about the details of the house to their client.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Recently married couple Nathan Smith and Iman Hasan
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Size: 108 square metres with two bedrooms and two bathrooms
Architecture and design: Rara Architecture and Interior Design
Builder: Grand Maison Constructions
The owners of this home are Nathan Smith, a real estate agent, and Iman Hasan, who works at one of Australia’s largest banks. “With their professional backgrounds, the couple’s decisions were informed by their knowledge of what led to the greatest investment in construction,” says Spencer. “Fortunately, they placed stock in the value an architect can give to a home.”
A previous client of Rara Architecture and Interior Design (the owners of Perched House) referred Smith and Hasan to Spencer, and they placed their implicit trust in the firm. “This allowed us to explore some unique ideas that gave this home a point of difference and, without a doubt, a really sexy vibe,” says Spencer. He and the firm’s design team used Houzz to present ideas and concepts about the details of the house to their client.
The client’s brief asked for two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a study, and to maintain as much of the front and rear garden as possible. Built on the existing 108-square-metre footprint, the house has two bedrooms and two bathrooms in the front section, and an open kitchen, dining and living area in the back. A laundry is next to the kitchen and tucked beneath a mezzanine that hosts a study.
Rara Architecture and Interior Design wanted to introduce a sense of spaciousness throughout the home, despite its small footprint. This required a strategic spatial layout to minimise traffic paths and unnecessary rooms.
Find an architect near you on Houzz to start discussing your dream home
Rara Architecture and Interior Design wanted to introduce a sense of spaciousness throughout the home, despite its small footprint. This required a strategic spatial layout to minimise traffic paths and unnecessary rooms.
Find an architect near you on Houzz to start discussing your dream home
Retaining the front of the Edwardian was the preferred option for the clients, architects and council. “We originally intended to retain the existing front Edwardian section, and proposed a rear addition,” says Spencer. “The front section still needed major renovations and reconfiguration, and by the time we reached tender, the builders informed us it would be simpler to demolish and rebuild the whole dwelling, even if they were to rebuild the house exactly as it is.”
Rara Architecture and Interior Design therefore proposed a modern interpretation of an Edwardian home that respected the neighbourhood character without looking like a mock-Edwardian. The council planner was apprehensive, and the client was disappointed to lose the original home, so Spencer knew it “had to hit the right spot,” he says. “After circulating the concept, we received rave reviews from both the client and council.”
Like the other Edwardian homes on the street, the original weatherboard house had a gabled front (reminiscent of a cuckoo clock) with a verandah wrapping around the front facade. The new design maintained this form, without imitating it too closely. “The front is minimal because we wanted to create a welcoming facade, which allowed passers-by to see and enjoy the house,” says Spencer.
Rara Architecture and Interior Design therefore proposed a modern interpretation of an Edwardian home that respected the neighbourhood character without looking like a mock-Edwardian. The council planner was apprehensive, and the client was disappointed to lose the original home, so Spencer knew it “had to hit the right spot,” he says. “After circulating the concept, we received rave reviews from both the client and council.”
Like the other Edwardian homes on the street, the original weatherboard house had a gabled front (reminiscent of a cuckoo clock) with a verandah wrapping around the front facade. The new design maintained this form, without imitating it too closely. “The front is minimal because we wanted to create a welcoming facade, which allowed passers-by to see and enjoy the house,” says Spencer.
A garden path leads to the entrance where a pink pergola embraces the front facade. It is a nod to the Japanese torii, the traditional red gate at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine that symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. “The front path meanders from the gate to the door, to improve the Feng Shui of the home,” says Spencer.
A minimal palette of modern materials reflects contemporary architecture, while also complementing the traditional character of the street. Smooth and grooved panels are paired together, with the grooved cladding around the base of the house evoking the rough-cut bluestone used for brick courses of more stately homes. It also marks the level of the former verandah.
Barestone External: Cemintel; lined Equitone: CSP Architectural
A minimal palette of modern materials reflects contemporary architecture, while also complementing the traditional character of the street. Smooth and grooved panels are paired together, with the grooved cladding around the base of the house evoking the rough-cut bluestone used for brick courses of more stately homes. It also marks the level of the former verandah.
Barestone External: Cemintel; lined Equitone: CSP Architectural
From the entrance, a long hallway extends down one side of the house. Rara Architecture and Interior Design wanted to create a strong contrast between lived-in spaces and transitional spaces, and gave the interior a strong blue palette that ties in with the bedroom colours.
A continuous LED along the picture rail washes the entire hallway with light, rather than providing one direct light source at the entrance, “which can cast unpleasant shadows on the face,” says Spencer.
A timber arch fixed to the ceiling is a contemporary interpretation of Edwardian fretwork, tying the traditional and modern elements of the house together.
A continuous LED along the picture rail washes the entire hallway with light, rather than providing one direct light source at the entrance, “which can cast unpleasant shadows on the face,” says Spencer.
A timber arch fixed to the ceiling is a contemporary interpretation of Edwardian fretwork, tying the traditional and modern elements of the house together.
The junction between the hallway and living area – between the front and rear of the house – is lined with timber, providing a distinction of space. “Because this is a small home, we wanted to create spaces that don’t become visually exhausting,” says Spencer. “A house with all rooms treated the same, while wholistic, can become tiresome. There’s excitement in the feeling of a transition from one room to another.”
The design team achieved this through colour and natural light. “We selected colours that would give each room a character and mood, accented by the natural light streaming through the windows,” says Spencer.
The design team achieved this through colour and natural light. “We selected colours that would give each room a character and mood, accented by the natural light streaming through the windows,” says Spencer.
The open kitchen, dining and living area is characterised by a strong pop of deep orange, and natural light that streams in through clerestory windows and skylights in the raked ceiling.
The bright colour on the box, which accommodates the laundry downstairs and a mezzanine study upstairs, is intended to draw people into the room. “We chose this colour for fun. It is a painted surface and when the client grows tired of it, they can repaint the orange to a different colour, which would completely transform the space,” says Spencer.
The bright colour on the box, which accommodates the laundry downstairs and a mezzanine study upstairs, is intended to draw people into the room. “We chose this colour for fun. It is a painted surface and when the client grows tired of it, they can repaint the orange to a different colour, which would completely transform the space,” says Spencer.
The orange, raked ceiling and skylights are the hero features of the room, and the kitchen has therefore been designed to be more subtle and neutral, receding into the background. Overhead cupboards have been minimised and the palette consists of white and grey finishes.
The mirrored splashback enhances the sense of space and light in the room, while the long kitchen island provides storage and casual, social seating.
Kitchen: Northern Joinery and Cabinetworks; flooring: polished concrete aggregate
The mirrored splashback enhances the sense of space and light in the room, while the long kitchen island provides storage and casual, social seating.
Kitchen: Northern Joinery and Cabinetworks; flooring: polished concrete aggregate
A round dining table is a space-saving solution for the dining area. There are no sharp corners to bump into and the pedestal base offers more leg room.
Rara differentiated the dining and living areas with two pendant lights: David Trubridge’s Kina above the dining table…
Rara differentiated the dining and living areas with two pendant lights: David Trubridge’s Kina above the dining table…
…And a Gewinn-R3 pendant from About Space in the living area.
The television and display space is set beneath the mezzanine level of the orange box.
The television and display space is set beneath the mezzanine level of the orange box.
On the wall opposite the black entertainment unit, Rara Architecture and Interior Design specified a stone wall that provides a natural, textured backdrop. This wall treatment continues along the side of the dining and living rooms.
Sandhurst Stone block in ivory: Adbri Masonry
Sandhurst Stone block in ivory: Adbri Masonry
The rear of the house opens to a deck and the backyard. The steep height of the gabled roof provided the opportunity to bring more light inside with a series of skylights to take advantage of northern light and sky views. The skylights are at calculated angles due to the two-storey neighbouring block that overshadows the property.
Exterior Altaché Cedar cladding: Cedar Sales
Exterior Altaché Cedar cladding: Cedar Sales
The master bedroom is built along the boundary of the property and therefore couldn’t included a side-wall window. Rara Architecture and Interior Design therefore added a skylight, and used a two-tone effect of navy blue and white on the walls and ceiling to accentuate the height of the room.
“The room would feel gloomy with only a skylight, so we embraced this with a cool, dark blue ceiling that brings out the other colours in the space,” says Spencer. “Navy blue and gold work well together, and the gold pendant light fitting is a main feature in the space.”
Naco LED pendant: About Space
“The room would feel gloomy with only a skylight, so we embraced this with a cool, dark blue ceiling that brings out the other colours in the space,” says Spencer. “Navy blue and gold work well together, and the gold pendant light fitting is a main feature in the space.”
Naco LED pendant: About Space
This palette continues in the walk-in wardrobe with white drawer fronts standing out against the navy blue.
A guest room at the front of the house is for Smith’s and Hasan’s parents to stay. A soft pastel palette of colours provides a gentle and comforting space, while the west-facing window brings in afternoon sunlight.
While the original house was not able to be retained, the result is true to how the architect envisioned the new build. “The only changes we made were in the effort to manage the budget,” says Spencer. “This is a sign of the clients’ trust in us as their architects and interior designers, and seeing the space perform the way we imagined is really a special feeling.”
Your turn
What do you like most about this home? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Want to see more creative home designs? If you like this house, you’ll love the renovation in this Houzz Tour: Mid-Century Design is Vividly Alive in This Bungalow
While the original house was not able to be retained, the result is true to how the architect envisioned the new build. “The only changes we made were in the effort to manage the budget,” says Spencer. “This is a sign of the clients’ trust in us as their architects and interior designers, and seeing the space perform the way we imagined is really a special feeling.”
Your turn
What do you like most about this home? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Want to see more creative home designs? If you like this house, you’ll love the renovation in this Houzz Tour: Mid-Century Design is Vividly Alive in This Bungalow
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clever paint job in main bedroom, I have saved
Wonderful to see such a great build. well done to all.
Agree- wonderful!
How refreshing to see something on an appropriate scale that feels generous, interesting, classy and appropriate. Cheers to the clients and architects for avoiding the stupid and obscene excesses so often featured here. A fabulous and appropriate home (even if I personally don’t like mezzanines!)