HANDMADE TALE
ARCHITECT STEVE KOOLLOOS BECOMES HIS OWN CLIENT AND TRANSFORMS A NONDESCRIPT SYDNEY BUNGALOW INTO A COOL COASTAL FAMILY HOME ON BUDGET
A Sydney architect takes matters into his own hands and creates a cost-clever family home with five-star appeal
When an architect follows the advice of property developers, you can bet it’s worth listening to. That’s why Steve Koolloos, director of MCK Architects, moved his family back to Sydney’s Northern Beaches, where he was raised, and bought “the worst house in the best street”.
Constructed of blonde brick, its rooms were poky and dark, and there was poor connection between the interior and exterior. “The house was one of the ugliest ducklings I’d seen,” says Steve. “Way too much brown, fake sandstone and extremely dark. The layout, worse than the aesthetic, had seen an ad-hoc series of terrible renovations, completely thwarting any functionality.”
In other words, it was ideal for his plans! After many years of living in small Sydney apartments, Steve, his wife Dani and their two young children were ready for more room. And as an architect, he could see the bones of something fabulous and set about redesigning it into an open-plan, three-bedroom family home.
Mind you, this wasn’t a no-expense-spared project. Steve used his professional know-how and the skills he’d picked up from his father, a Dutch migrant carpenter, to make the reno as economical as possible. “Every school and university holiday, I worked on site for my dad, doing everything from simple labouring to carpentry,” says Steve. “He taught me how to use my hands and I learnt the basics of how a building gets put together. At night he’d work on his drawing board, crafting his next project – and it was there I first fell in love with the art of drafting, ink on film, that led me down the path of architecture.”
Steve reduced his costs by not submitting a development application. Instead, he ensured that his design could be approved under the NSW state government’s complying development controls, which are designed to fast-track projects and save money. He also did much of the work on his own, calling on friends and family along the way, and employing skilled trades when needed.
The result is a mid-century aesthetic, with handmade touches and a design that’s open and relaxed, yet very clever. The new plan separates living zones from private areas and factors in any need for Steve and Dani to work from home – Dani is a hairdresser and they built a salon in the garage. “It’s the perfect home for us,” he says. “It’s modest, yet open plan with enough space to find privacy.”
A balance of warmth and clean neutral surfaces forms the materials palette, which was primarily selected on two bases – cost and Steve’s ability to work with it. Many materials were either recycled or standard off-the-shelf items, and the magic is created in their metamorphosis into something special.
To bring light into the house, it was extended slightly to the rear and a skillion roof added to accommodate a clerestory window and a bank of glazed sliding doors that extend the full length of the facade. “I deliberately left the ceiling of the main living space as exposed timber rafters – they are literally the very off-the-shelf beams that support the roof – as a means of providing warmth to the interior, but also to reduce costs,” says Steve.
The internal configuration was altered to create an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space connected to a large outdoor living area. As well as greater daylight penetration, this opening up of the interior facilitated cross-ventilation and sea breezes.
Double-sided joinery forms one wall of the main living area and opens to a central hallway, providing a centralised storage unit. It’s constructed from off-the-shelf formwork sheets in black, which Steve also used in the kitchen and the study. Polished concrete floors throughout continue outside, providing a seamless transition and extending the perception of space.
The home’s exterior was refreshed with white-painted brickwork. Timber cladding was added at the front and back to give additional texture and visually enhance the main facades. Steve chose recycled, mixed hardwood with a class 1 durability that has been left to age to a silver finish. The front door also benefits from his talent for turning something basic into bespoke. He took an off-the-shelf door and clad it in a mix of hardwood timber that a supplier was offloading for a mere $100.
Steve concedes he’s restless and is keen to turn another ugly duckling into something beautiful. As an artisan who loves to work with his hands, he is the first to admit that he’s not one to idly sit on them. ‘I’d like to explore new ideas, taking what I’ve learnt from this project to the next one,” he says.