This project comprises a modest rear extension and renovation to an inter-war era workers cottage in Northcote, Victoria. Rationalisation of the existing home and compact planning provides a light filled, highly functional home for a family of four. While the clients’ brief was realistic, the budget was also tight. The design had to work hard.

The rear extension provides the main space for the family of four to live, yet we wanted to ensure it went beyond the typical ‘open-plan’. Expanses of glass and plasterboard are avoided. Materials were selected for cost effectiveness and provision of warmth and texture. Recycled painted brick piers punctuate the transition from the old house to the new. Simple laminate joinery to the kitchen is complimented by terrazzo bench tops and glimpses of sage green joinery to the utility room. Poplar ply is used to line the walls and the joinery.

Careful consideration was given to the framing of views from, and solar access to, the extension. A north facing terrace extends out from the living room, with the sliding glazed door that fully retracts into the cavity. A low-level west facing window frames a native garden and omits afternoon sun. A high-level roof light allows penetration of morning light and circulation of hot air out.

Clients, Mers and Ian, noted that they previously had no space to live; to be able to co-exist as a family yet also spend time alone. They were conscious with their growing teenage children that the existing home would soon not be fit for purpose. The design provides a home to entertain and be together whilst also still find a place of solitude. Efficient planning provides two bedrooms, study, bathroom, storeroom, and master suite, all within a footprint of 146sqm. The final design now provides a designated place for each occupant to call their own and meet the demands of day-to-day life.