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Pittwater views are the focus of this dwelling on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

The interiors and rear façade of this dwelling are reimagined to celebrate the views across the water to the green hills of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and creates a modern living space for this young family.Extended verandas, new curves, glazing and balustrade. Celebrating the views. New internal spatial planning and interior design including a new entry, kitchen, dining area, staircase, laundry, shower room, rumpus room, study and cellar. Filtering light into the centre of the dwelling with skylights above the stairwell and lower ground bathroom. Behind the curve sits a deep custom designed spa bath surrounded by limestone rock walls, with light streaming delicately down through the decking above, creating a luxuriously intimate space with an embracing cave-like comfort. Atmospheric bliss.Re-landscaping to enhance the connection to the garden from the house. New outdoor areas are added for different purposes including a mid-level terrace for entertaining, with a fire pit and built-in BBQ. The pool fencing is upgraded to glass and the location of the fencing is modified to allow for a larger and more sculptural garden with new decking and planting inside and around the pool area.

Bilgola Home

An enchanting renovation, extensions and garden room with new landscaping.

A whimsical view of our design in Sydney’s Lilyfield. ⁣Bringing some cheer to a dark little home, this design opens up the house to bring in the light and pushes outwards through a number of extensions to create much needed space. These include a window box from one of the bedrooms to create a seating area with a view to the garden and drawers for storage underneath; a new bathroom 'box' roof addition to allow for a large bathroom with a skylight over a double shower in what was once an area with very low head height; a mezzanine level above a study space to create a bed deck with windows in a new pop-up section of roof; and the extension into the balcony space along with the area underneath to create habitable spaces with flexibility due to the indoor/outdoor nature of the glazing design. We're enhancing the relationship with the garden and areas of planting by encouraging green space to enter the dwelling both visibly and literally; creating shelves under skylights on which to place lots of plants, a planter box on the balcony which acts as a secondary privacy screen, a planter bed in the space below the balcony to bring the planting close to the living area, another planter in the deck outside the shower room for additional privacy and filtered light through leaves entering the space, planting all along the boundary to create a green view from the living space, and a new central planter to enjoy a sculptural fruiting tree as a focus of the outdoor space, with planting around it at the base.At the bottom of the garden is a new 'garden room' with a green roof which can be used as an office and a separate space for storage of bikes and garden equipment.

Lilyfield Townhouse

Ambitious country homestead development featuring exceptional sustainable design.

Designed for a farming family in rural NSW, in the middle of a drought. The design drew inspiration from international arid vernaculars, in order to be able to cope when the cycle revisits this homestead, and takes components of the functionality from these house typologies. For instance the Mexican courtyard houses, a series of different functions around a central outdoor space, exuding privacy and family gathering. Inviting a cosy atmosphere to the centre of the home, reimagined as a series of spaces divided into their respective functions. The existing historic house becomes the sleeping quarters, a place to rest and recuperate. Composed of darker smaller spaces with more intricate detailing. These are juxtaposed with the new volumes by modern glass connections. Clearly delineated for an honest design celebrating both eras of construction. The existing house is restored and the new building components are sensitively but clearly added. Passing over the pool into the new daytime quarters which houses the living, dining, kitchen, and play areas. The family have children aged four to fifteen so we wanted to imbue a sense of fun, discovery and adventure in the design. Celebrating the far-reaching rural landscape views from key points in the building, not least the picture-frame dormer windows from the mezzanine level over the kitchen, and the glass gable ends. The solid verandas embed the new structure into the landscape, and new patios are excavated like sculptural 'negative spaces' to create lower protected enclaves for various functions, without blocking views from the main entertaining areas. Creating a sense of journey through the landscape. The large natural swimming pool helps cool the air around this central space. The guest house and garage flank the other sides of the inner courtyard, and the final elements enclosing this central area are the kitchen garden and orchard. Spinning on its axis around this central space, the house feels like a functional revolution of spaces which work in harmony to create a living environment befitting of this family. The rolled roof of the living quarters echos a barn typology whereas the more subdued additions of the garage and guesthouse take on flat green roof elements that allow these structures to take a back seat and blend into the landscape, allowing the main structures of the existing house and extension building to take centre stage, keeping a sense of balance to the design rather than overloading the site with too many strong visual elements. The guesthouse floats above the landscape on posts and is comprised of a fully CLT primary structure (slab, walls and roof), celebrated with its exposure to the interior. The materiality celebrates an honesty of structure and natural materials along with hand crafted textures for the rendered wall finishes and steel troweled concrete. A large structure with a human scale. Intended as a sanctuary after a long day of physical labour in the harsh environment.

Merriwa Farmhouse

'The Devonshire'* Complete restoration of a historic Upper Hunter Valley residence.

This home once belonged to the first major of Scone. Built in the late 1800s it features high ornate ceilings with fireplaces, timber sash windows and french doors and had a more recent, low-scale extension to the rear. When purchased it hadn't been lived in for over seven years, time stood still, with all furniture in position and pictures on the walls gathering dust. The exterior could barely be seen amongst the overgrown garden of crepe myrtle, banksia trees, and grape vines. No perimeter fence existed and a carport crowded the rear of the dwelling. After a huge demolition effort to clear out the house and garden back to the bare bones, the restoration of heritage features commenced and a modernisation of the rear of the property with new kitchen, bathroom, glazing and refinishing of flooring, walls and ceilings throughout, along with all joinery, lighting and fittings.Featured in 'Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle' Magazine Edition 99.*A Devonshire Tea (a British tradition of fruit scones with clotted cream and typically English breakfast tea). As this property was reimagined by an English architect in Scone, a quite wealthy country town - 'The Devonshire' seemed like the appropriate name for this dwelling.

Scone House

Fine attention to detail and a connection to the environment highlight this heritage style restoration with a modern twist.

This home once belonged to the first major of Scone. Built in the late 1800s it features high ornate ceilings with fireplaces, timber sash windows and french doors and had a more recent, low-scale extension to the rear. When purchased it hadn't been lived in for over seven years, time stood still, with all furniture in position and pictures on the walls gathering dust. The exterior could barely be seen amongst the overgrown garden of crepe myrtle, banksia trees, and grape vines. No perimeter fence existed and a carport crowded the rear of the dwelling. After a huge demolition effort to clear out the house and garden back to the bare bones, the restoration of heritage features commenced and a modernisation of the rear of the property with new kitchen, bathroom, glazing and refinishing of flooring, walls and ceilings throughout, along with all joinery, lighting and fittings.Featured in 'Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle' Magazine Edition 99.

Scone House Interior

Landscaping to suit the complete restoration of a historic Upper Hunter Valley residence.

This home once belonged to the first major of Scone. Built in the late 1800s it features high ornate ceilings with fireplaces, timber sash windows and french doors and had a more recent, low-scale extension to the rear. When purchased it hadn't been lived in for over seven years, time stood still, with all furniture in position and pictures on the walls gathering dust. The exterior could barely be seen amongst the overgrown garden of crepe myrtle, banksia trees, grape vines and broken pergola. No perimeter fence existed and a carport crowded the rear of the dwelling. After a huge demolition effort to clear out the house and garden back to the bare bones, the restoration of heritage features commenced and a modernisation of the rear of the property with new kitchen, bathroom, glazing and refinishing of flooring, walls and ceilings throughout, along with all joinery, lighting and fittings.The landscaping was designed to relate to the orientation and purpose of that specific area. The front garden welcomes people from the street, through new entry gates and fencing along a new wide recycled blonde brick path, to newly white concrete rendered pillars either side of new sandstone treads on the steps up to the front door. Eames numerals from L.A. designate the house number. A new cacti garden provide a point of interest in front of the restored veranda. New circular brick planters in the front lawns enclose olive trees, lavender and other blue-grey hue plants to compliment the white of the house and provide a place to sit.A new pergola replaces the old carport at the rear of the property. Orange Jasmine is climbing this structure to provide additional shade and a pleasant scent. A new Bismarckia Palm provides a feature tree inside a circular planter bed for the outdoor entertaining area to the rear with a fire pit nearby. Along the southern side of the house, a new wavey path leads you through a fern garden under the shade of the house and past a grasses garden along the new bamboo boundary fence. The path opens up to a seating area in the centre to enjoy the cooler garden in summer amongst the planted surroundings. The design carefully considers all of the site specific conditions in order to respond to the architecture and the needs of the people occupying this dwelling to make it an enjoyable place to live and experience. Featured in 'Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle' Magazine Edition 99.

Scone House Landscaping

A minimalist midcentury inspired bathroom design, with inlaid brass and natural limestone tiles.

A peaceful room with a view. The window welcomes the garden into the space, and extends the room into the garden with the externally protruding frame. An extremely detailed, high-end design, delivered in a modest manner. A subtle take on luxury, accentuating relaxation above ostentatiousness. Starting with an original 1968 cramped space, the entry hall was initially reconfigured to enlarge the room. The original bath and shower were both undersized and there was little space to move. The reconfiguration solved this issue, placing a large Kaldewei bath under the new window which faces the garden, allowing now for a double rain head shower within a dedicated wet area.⁣ ⁣ In conjunction with spatial arrangement is a consideration for materiality. Natural timber and stone keep the hard surfaces warm and soft to touch. The colour tones and textures are carefully chosen to feel natural and reflect external materials which are visible through the window. Limestone tiles provide a safe but luxurious feel underfoot. The Brass Faucet Strommen tapware complements the high-quality fixtures in the space, in two different finishes, reducing visual distractions with the majority of tapware in white, providing a subtle appearance against the tiles. A matching white window handle was sourced from Italy to prevent a standard black handle becoming a focal point within the light-toned space. The blind material filters the view for privacy rather than blocking it entirely.⁣ The second most important aim was to keep shower supplies out of sight. The inset bath incorporates hidden tiled cupboards, making use of the space where the bath curves away. ⁣Thirdly everything needed to align, purposefully.⁣ Limestone tiles are separated from upper level wall finishes with a brass strip and all tapware is carefully considered. Lighting is aligned to fittings. Powdercoated aluminium window sill/shelving frame the window wall. Discreet bathroom storage utilises space either side of the full height pivot door jamb. The dry area is separated from the wet area without needing a door, using a frameless glass screen exactly halfway across the space.⁣Lastly, subtle, practical details have been carefully considered. All lighting is dimmable and switched separately so the mood of the space becomes highly modifiable. Without any harsh downlighting, the space is softened with the various lighting possibilities which highlight the textures of the finishes. ⁣The typically unsightly shower drain and ceiling extract ventilation are discreetly designed out of sight.⁣Built by Martin & Co Building | Photography by Jessie Ann

Allambie Heights Bathroom

Reimagining a 1968 brick veneer cottage into a modern family home.

A series of homes were built in the late 1960s as a developer product for the Rural Bank of NSW. A cookie cutter design was parked on this unique site, without much regard for its specific location backing onto Manly Dam Reserve bushland, nor for its sea views. The owner's renovated the interior to make the home livable and comfortable while obtaining consent for larger scale alterations and additions. Phase One included a new kitchen, hallway, and bathroom, along with full-height doors, refinished timber flooring, the replacement of cornices with shadowline detailing, new lighting, and the installation of a new fireplace as the centre of the home. Italian stucco was used to add a luxurious feel to the space, along with a new steel framed glazed door to the exterior.

Allambie Heights Interior

Enhancing the mediterranean style of the existing site, with sandstone rock walls, to create a nature-loving sanctuary in the suburbs. 

This unusual site needed a lot of love and attention. It holds a unique and special location, with views to the sea and backing on to Manly Dam Reserve bushland. Parts of the site were inaccessible and new landscaped staircases solved this issue. A sensitive approach to material selection was key, with subtle fencing and timber sleeper stairs embedded into the topography of the site, along with natural render to compliment the existing sandstone rock walls.Each garden space has been addressed for its unique location. A secluded space at the back, with wavey planter bed wall, pond bowl and pots - the planting here utilises lush, large leaf, tropical style planting which will enhance the feeling of retreat as they grow taller. Meanwhile the dining terrace with our bespoke stone-tiled table is surrounded by olive trees for a layer of privacy and vacation vibes while enjoying the sea views and summer breeze. From within the home, the garden in enjoyed and embraced by the interior through a clever celebration of nature's moving artwork; created by framing picture window views, with window seat sills, and blinds that allow for privacy without blocking out the garden beyond. The garden comes alive at night with the landscape lighting highlighting different textures and shadow play.Each space continues to evolve as it grows.

Allambie Heights Landscaping

Unprecedented achievements for this space-restricted terraced house in Darlinghurst.

We achieved an unprecedented first floor extension for this tiny terrace in a Heritage Conservation Area in Darlinghurst, opening up space rearrangement possibilities for the client. A number of new skylights bring natural light into the centre of the house and a green roof outside the first floor rear bedroom gives a natural outlook to this interior space and for surrounding houses. The courtyard garden at ground level was reconfigured to include large glazed bi-folding doors and an integrated bbq for outdoor entertaining. The interior includes a new bathroom upstairs, laundry cupboards, a centralised kitchen space and a new living room with a fireplace and skylight through the green roof; along with new interior design throughout and landscaping.

Darlinghurst Terrace

A modern rear extension to a dwelling with a historic street frontage. 

A home for an art-lover. A number of designs were tested for this project. This one features a curved rear extension to be sympathetic to neighbouring dwellings while focussing on the view to the Harbour Bridge from the balcony, and creates a courtyard garden at ground level, with a light-filled interior.

Lilyfield House