When David & Helen called us with hopes to renovate their home on Tasman Road, we knew we were in for a treat. They were open to new ideas and were hopeful for a creative revamp of their beloved home, which they had lived in for the past 25 years. Their priorities were to open up the existing living area onto a new deck to create an open-plan living arrangement with a new kitchen, laundry and bathroom. They had a rough idea about the design that they wanted but were also open to suggestions which meant that we got to work collaboratively to create a design that would totally transform their space and create a seamless indoor/outdoor living area.
To achieve the brief provided by David & Helen it was clear we were going to need to demolish some internal walls to create the open plan kitchen living area. We also needed to demolish & remove the existing small windows and replace them with some new bi fold doors. By doing so we were able to create the large open spaces David & Helen had been craving.
One of the most dramatic and challenging parts of this project was the clients request for higher ceilings. We removed the existing 2.4 metre high ceiling structure and re built it with a new height of 4 metres. We further enhanced the feeling of length in this space by cladding the new ceiling in Timber V-Groove lining boards, which has added to the wow factor of this space.
Another clever use of this space was the installation of large skylights positioned in the kitchen, bathroom and living room, to allow the night sky to be seen from a seated position within the living space and for natural light to brighten the living spaces during the day. Skylights are a great way to light up a room whilst also creating a unique feature to the space.
The other key area Helen & David focused on was their existing outdoor entertaining area. They had previously spent a lot of time on their small verandah enjoying their mornings soaking up the sun and this was an important part of the renovation for them. To do this we removed the existing window configuration and replaced it with Timber Bifold Doors supplied by Sydney Woodworkers. You can purchase pre-sized doors from Sydney Woodworkers which is great when you need to work to a budget and can’t afford custom made doors. In this case it worked great for us as we were able to create the opening to suit our chosen door unit. The Timber BiFold doors separated the living area and the balcony and when opened, create a seamless indoor-outdoor living space.
The kitchen had previously been a cluttered and awkward space, and the clients were sick of bumping into each other if they were both in the kitchen. The solution to this was creating a large island in the centre of the kitchen with extra space to move around. The kitchen features beautiful charcoal stone bench tops which contrast beautifully with the timber floors and polar white cabinetry.
No idea was off the table with these clients; we had such a fun time working with Helen and David and this project really got the creative juices flowing.
