SYDNEY

This light-filled residence is always in a sunny mood with its newly spacious interiors and a lofty perch looking over glittering Sydney harbour.

A dark duplex in a primo Sydney harbourside locale is transformed by Stafford architects.

With its soaring cathedral ceilings, this threelevel home overlooking the harbour in Sydney’s inner east takes light-filled, airy living to lofty new heights. Sky and water are constant companions in a spectacular house that boldly defies its boundaries by exploiting its sloping site to its full potential. Miraculously, that celestial openness has been achieved within a street frontage a mere eight metres wide.

When the owners bought the property in 2016, it was monopolised by a 100-year-old duplex with a maze of poky rooms, many starved of light. “Location and potential attracted us. The original house was divided into two apartments, one above the other, with both in need of TLC. We wanted to combine them into a single home,” says the owner, understating what the couple had in mind.

On a family recommendation, they hired Stafford architects to effect the transformation. And, fittingly, they gave project architect Bronwyn Litera a breezy, open brief. “We gave her a free hand to design the spaces while maximising light,” says the owner. “We purely specified the amount of bedrooms and living space required that would suit our family and lifestyle.”

“It was super-narrow, but it was blessed with incredibly generous 3.4m-high ceilings,” says Bronwyn, “with a beautiful pitched roof form and a wasted ceiling cavity.” She gutted the house, with just the tiled roof, chimneys and two boundary walls retained in accordance with heritage requirements. What took place within that envelope was a revelation. On the sloping site, the floors were located where they were previously, preserving the generous ceiling heights, while the past was not forgotten in other ways, with gentle nods in the curves and arches sprinkled throughout and the terracotta roof referenced in the dining room tiles.

“Bringing in the light was the greatest challenge, especially with the long, narrow section and the party walls on two sides,” says Bronwyn. “We created corridors from front to back along the length of the property to make sure the dining room in the centre and bedrooms on the upper level on the east side get plenty of sunlight.” And the once-wasted ceiling cavity has been utilised with vaulted ceilings in the bedrooms upstairs.

Towering triple-height windows on one side of the house enable uninterrupted sightlines from the front gate through the living spaces to the water beyond, giving a sense of being connected with the view the minute you step onto the property. That sense of flow is repeated along the other party wall – as the owners walk in from the garage into the top bedroom level they enjoy views of the water and the tree canopy through a vertical cut-out window.

But perhaps the biggest eye-opener is a 10-metre void topped with a massive skylight in the centre of the house which drenches the kitchen and adjacent dining area with sunlight, its curved white ceilings and walls bouncing light throughout. Suspended within that void is a cantilevered floor with a rounded edge and arched windows, which accommodates the main bedroom and ensuite. On the opposite side of the void are two other bedrooms, enclosed in a similar white pod. Pitched up into the roof, the main bedroom is a cosy sanctuary, its serenity nurtured by water views and dappled light from the canopy of a gum tree.

Above the kitchen, timber joinery with rows of vertical battens reaches up to the distant ceiling, leading the eye up to the skylights and emphasising the verticality of that void in an almost earth-defying moment.

Curves and arches are used throughout the home, both as a nod to the past and to create a sense of fluidity »

“IT WAS SUPER-NARROW, BUT IT WAS BLESSED WITH INCREDIBLY GENEROUS 3.4M-HIGH CEILINGS.”

« and movement. “The arches are similar to openings in the original house,” says Bronwyn. “They also soften the edges for a sense of flow, creating curious moments – for example, when you are standing in the void with the curved ceiling above, you wonder just where it goes.” Similarly, arched doorways delineate sections of the upper storey, while the curves of the original home’s balustrading are reinterpreted in a contemporary steel wall on the balcony of the main bedroom, overlooking the harbour. To reinforce that lightness, Bronwyn has used contemporary slimprofile steel-framed doors and windows throughout.

Raw materials pervade, such as the wide-gauge 300mm solidoak floorboards – “they feel spacious and expansive”, says Bronwyn – and the poured concrete benchtops in the bathrooms. “It’s an honest material, hard-wearing and timeless.” Similarly, in the dining room, the terracotta flooring comprises repurposed roof tiles that help anchor that space and make it special. Again, lest things get too ethereal, a thick monolithic island bench grounds the kitchen, as does the custom dining table in the adjoining space. “It had to be something incredible,” she says, “so the timber is cut to a star and the edges curved to make it more convivial. Then we blinged it up with a brass pendant light.”

While the palette is mainly neutral, the owners’ art collection brings pops of colour, as does the furniture, including rich red velvet armchairs in the living room and aquamarine dining chairs. The pinky, off-white bedroom joinery lends warmth. “It’s soft and playful, and introduces an element of fun,” she says. The omnipresent curves reappear here, too, in a whimsical reference to those used elsewhere.

“Your first impression is that the house is quite tight,” says Bronwyn, summing up her handiwork. “Then it expands and you get a real sense of its height, thanks to that void and because you look straight towards that view. It’s all internally connected to what lies beyond – the views and the light, water and movement – the feeling is magical.” staffordarchitecture.com.au; tcbuild.com.au

This page On the lowest of the three levels, a rumpus room abuts an infinity-edge pool with views over the treetops to the harbour. Gervasoni outdoor armchair and ottoman by Paola Navone from Anibou. Opposite page The house boldly defies its narrow boundaries by exploiting its sloping site to its full potential.

This page Looking from the front gate down the side of the house to the harbour beyond with the towering slit windows that make this sightline possible. Opposite page, from top The main bedroom ensuite cantilevered in the void with its curved ceiling and generous skylight atop. Surface-mounted ‘Laser’ pendant lights from iGuzzini. Ceilings painted in Dulux ‘Flat White’. The unassuming streetscape gives little hint of what lies further down the sloping site.

This page Corridors were created from front to back along the length of the property to make sure the dining room in the centre and bedrooms on the upper level on the east side get plenty of natural light. Parquet terracotta tiles from Gather Co. Opposite page In the dining area, ‘Butterworth’ dining table from Lowe Furniture. Moroso ‘Mathilda’ dining chairs by Patricia Urquiola from Hub. Lottie Consalvo artwork from Dominik Mersch Gallery. Vase from MCM House. ‘Abacus’ aged-brass pendant light from Christopher Boots. Tasmanian oak panelling by Top Knot Carpentry & Joinery.

This page In the kitchen, KWC ‘Eve’ tap from Winning Appliances. Benchtop in honed Montegro quartzite from Artedomus. MDF Italia ‘Flow’ stools from Hub. Platter from Ondene. Custom LED light by Bronwyn Litera from ADesignStudio. Eterno Massivo oak timber floorboards from Precision Flooring. Shiplap blackbutt cladding by North South Carpentry. Ceppo Di Gre marble on stairs from Granite & Marble Works. Opposite page Moroso ‘Gentry’ four-seater sofa by Patricia Urquiola, TossB ‘Reach’ floor lamp and Kvadrat ‘Bliss’ floor rug by Danskina, all from Hub. Erik Jørgensen ‘Insula’ coffee tables from Cult. ClassiCon ‘Bell’ side table from Anibou. Sculpture from Curatorial+Co.

This page In the rumpus room on the lowest level, beside the pool, Moroso ‘Nebula Nine’ sofa and GAN ‘Hoot’ rug, both from Hub. ‘Bandy’ stool and ‘Boyd’ floor lamp, both from Jardan. Opposite page, clockwise from top left The skylights at the top of the void soak the living level with sunlight. In the main ensuite, ‘Haven’ bath from Apaiser. ‘City Plus’ floor-mounted tap from Brodware. ‘Tanzania’ porcelain wall tiles in Silver from Earp Bros. Corridors on each side provide sightlines from the front to the water beyond. In the sauna off the pool level, cast-concrete vanity by 2barrows. ‘Nebraska’ wall tiles in Tea Ice from Earp Bros.

This page In the main bedroom, &Tradition ‘Little Petra’ chair from Cult. ‘Noah’ bedside table from Jardan. Bedding from Cultiver. Lottie Consalvo artwork from Dominik Mersch Gallery. Sculptures from Curatorial+Co. Kvadrat ‘Bravoure’ rug by Danskina from Hub. Tom Kundig Collection drawer pulls from Olson Kundig. Joinery painted in Dulux ‘Shetland Lace’ half-strength. Opposite page, from top The mid-level balcony, adjacent to the living areas. Jardan chairs surround the dining table on the tallowwood deck. Sculpture by Luke Storrier from Olsen Gallery. Looking out from the main bedroom.