California dreamin’
Robyn Welsh discovers a 1920s bungalow that has been almost completely rebuilt
Far removed from their professional world of corporate banking, Leeann and Rick Tombling have been busy doing a rather large spot of characterbuilding. They’ve undertaken a near- complete rebuild of a Californian bungalow that had lost its character and have turned it into a charming, modern home for them and their sons Ryan, 7, and Josh, 6, with the right kind of period details.
Along the way, they’ve become knowledgeable about the finer points of house design, the respective roles of architects and interior designers working together from the outset, and the jargon that comes with it.
They’ve done it all with a keenness to do right by this 1920s traditional home and a proactive approach that brought interior designer Tomi Williams into the project alongside architect Greg Jones early on in the piece.
These homeowners now know their scotias from their soffits. They understand why Tomi suggested that the glossy brick wall tiles be laid vertically in their bathrooms and why a slimmer version of the same tile better suited their en suite.
They also know how Greg and Tomi worked Leeann’s “must- have” scullery in a space behind the large kitchen and how the laundry within, and a second exterior door to the rear garden, ticked another “must- have” box.
Leeann’s explanation for knowing so little about any of this beforehand is simply “I’m in finance”. Leeann and Rick, who also works in finance, have never needed to know the whys. They just knew, from their nine years living in London, that they wanted to live in a characterful home back here.
The starting point of this 2013 project presented both potential and challenges when they bought it in 2008. In the 1960s it was two flats and a single garage. In the 1990s the previous owners had begun alterations and updated the garage, but the interior spaces were awkward and dated.
Says Leeann, “Lots of visitors used to come here
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and couldn’t find their way out.” They engaged Greg Jones of Jones Architecture and then contacted Tomi Williams of Indigo Design for interior advice. Her preference to be involved in projects early brought her on board when they were working through three initial concepts.
The final collaborative design started with a new central front door replacing a side main door that opened near a front toilet. The master bedroom with its french doors opening to a private veranda comes with an en suite and walk- in wardrobe out of what used to be the former dining room.
Character timber panelling and the chair rail along the length of the long hallway was Leeann’s touch and she is delighted with it. Tomi has picked up the vertical theme elsewhere, including the lead lighting in the front door, the vertically stacked brick tiles in the bathrooms, the tongue- and- groove panelled kitchen cabinetry and the vertical stair balusters. With its double- glazing and zoned reticulated gas central heating upstairs, this house is a far cry from the home Tomi described as resembling a “labyrinth”.
“Some people like a labyrinth but in this case we wanted to open up the space in relation to the aspect. Everything was steered to the west because this house just lent itself to being opened up to the west- facing views.”
For Leeann, who loves throwing open the bedroom french doors to welcome in the morning sun, it has been a memorable, characterful build for them. They might even do it again in the future, too. “We certainly learned a lot through the process,” she says.