the Panel’s advice
Andrew Benn Architect and director, Benn + Penna Architecture, bennandpenna.com
The living space is in the dark centre of the house and the kitchen is in a more recent add-on that cuts light off from the rest of the house. Chris is keen to have the kitchen open onto the backyard, but these long, narrow blocks are tricky as light is so restricted. He’d be better off demolishing the add-on and placing a courtyard near the centre of the house to draw in the light, with a corridor connecting the original house to a new extension at the back. When adding onto an existing house, you can be constrained by the building’s style but a new addition, separated by a courtyard, allows more design freedom. The courtyard would also provide extra outdoor living space.
Wayd Munro Builder, Focusbuild, focusbuild.com.au
The bones of this house are great and there’s plenty of scope to expand; it’s just a matter of what he can afford and when. I don’t see a problem with going up as the house is on a sloping block. Double height at the back wouldn’t be visible from the street, which is what councils generally have an issue with in heritage areas. He can have two bedrooms in the old section and a master suite above the new kitchen and living area at the back. Here’s a tip: butter up the neighbours so tradies can use the communal back lane for parking. In built-up areas, construction is generally more expensive due to lack of easy parking and issues with material delivery. Chris would be looking at $500600k so he needs to save wherever he can.
Lisa Koehler ISCD educator, stylist and interior decorator
When working with a building that has history like this one, new materials should contrast with the existing elements to create complementary spaces. For example, the current dining room has a brick wall covered with many layers of paint. This will face onto the new courtyard area and if that paint were removed, it could show the wonderful detail of exposed, aged brick. That would be a great foundation to base the internal palette on. For the finishes for the renovation, Chris should take inspiration from the history of the terrace and select traditional materials, applied in a contemporary style. In the new courtyard area, I’d love to see beautiful natural stone, such as travertine, cut into thin strips and laid in a herringbone pattern.