“Extend the entertaining footprint” the Panel’s advice
Andrew Benn
Architect and director, Benn + Penna Architecture, bennandpenna.com At the moment, the huge dining table is in the outside living area because it’s the only area big enough to house it. Seeing as Sandra and Anthony entertain all year round, that’s not a permanent solution. The solution is to extend the current living area out over the existing verandah to create one giant living, dining and entertaining space – it would benefit from the wonderful outlook and contrast nicely with the more rambling, intimate rooms throughout the rest of the house. The front door would need to be moved and incorporated to the side of the filled-in verandah, which would actually free up space for the work Sandra and Anthony are planning to do in the kitchen.
Wayd Munro
Builder, Focusbuild, focusbuild.com.au There are things we can do to turn the outdoor entertaining area into more of a year-round space. Currently, there are flyscreens on the window so I’d suggest adding perspex in winter, which would keep in the heat and keep out the rain. If we’re moving inside, the flooring of the new living space is something to think about. The room as it is is built on a concrete slab – you can take a piece of that and get the composition matched so the old and new areas work as one before you polish it up. The ceiling in this space isn’t that high, and the bigger a room gets, the lower the height starts to feel, so I’d suggest adding a large skylight over the new dining area with automatic blockout blinds to counter hot summer days.
Lisa Koehler
ISCD educator, stylist and interior decorator Sandra says that when they first moved in, the house had been empty for more than a year and this huge living area was like a dungeon, with weeds growing on the floor and animal poo scattered throughout. She’s done an amazing job of turning it into a livable space! Once the concrete is polished, it’ll be a beautiful contrast to the parquetry in the older section of the house. Rugs can be used to soften the hard lines and to break up what will be some serious square footage into user-friendly zones. It’s a room that can be styled according to the season: in summer, it’s all about the view and in winter the focus turns inwards to the fireplace. If you don’t want one large rug, go with a collection of rugs and layer them as a set to create a more casual look.