Clifton Hill House

The renovation and extension of this Melbourne inner city home has been completed in two distinct phases. Our initial scope was to renovate the original part of the neglected Edwardian house, knowing that plans for an extension would come later. Starting from the ground up, we made the floors level again, repaired the solid plastering, and freshened up all the surfaces. The biggest change was reconfiguring the floorplan so that the bathroom was no longer a tiny space at the end of the hallway. This opened up the length of the hallway, meaning the original scale of the floorplan was returned, and the family had a spacious new bathroom and separate toilet with lots of storage. Colour, and the texture and warmth of natural fibres such as wool, velvet and linen, provide the tactile interiors that the owner was after. Read our blog for more information and ‘before’ photos.

The second phase of the home makeover was the demolition of the original kitchen and an extensive new extension built to include additional bedrooms, and an open plan kitchen/living/dining room. The new extension was designed to be sympathetic to the old bones of the original house, whilst having a clear delineation between old and new. With a large family and multiple pets, all finishes, fixtures and furnishings had to be robust. A love of colour and art played a large role in the determination of paint colours, fabrics and finishes. Antiques, vintage pieces, and Australian made furniture have been mixed to create a warm and comfortable family home.