The owners of a tired 60s house originally looked at demolishing it and flattening their block to build brand new. But they decided to renovate instead, keeping their elevated position and transforming it with passivhaus principals and stylish design.
The three-bed double brick home in Scarborough WA, with 70s rumpus extension, underwent a pool and deck extension and a small rear bedroom and bathroom extension.
Minutes from the beach and adjacent to a park with native peppermint and gum trees, the home is now unrecognisable, and sticks largely to its original footprint. Owners Brendan and Laura and their two young daughters are thrilled with the end result.
Interior designer Adela Sivewright of Adela Design, says: “Brendan and Laura wanted to echo the natural setting in the home’s finishes. They admired Mid Century style and wanted to include design references from this period, in particular a green kitchen and green Mid Century inspired front door!”
The original home baked in the summer and, in the winter, the wind leaked through the old windows, with the bathroom and kitchens unchanged since the sixties. After looking at options to demolish and rebuild on a flattened block, the couple decided they wanted to renovate as a way of keeping the elevated position. Except for the front outdoor hardscaping, they mostly kept within the existing footprint but completely remodelled the house according to Passivhaus principles, resulting in a healthy, comfortable and energy efficient home.
“Combining Mid Century, with its strong shades and pops of colour references, with an organic natural style, can be tricky!” Adela admits. “After reviewing all their initial selections, I prepared a moodboard which brought the soft, organic feel to all the selections while keeping the Mid Century references to the light fixtures and furniture.
“Instead of say a pointy starburst mirror, we went to globe-like pearl finish lights as a way to reference Mid Century design. This sat better with the colour and material palette. And with the colour moments, I steered towards tertiary shades of olive, sage and terracotta as opposed to primary shades. These are closer to colours in nature.”
Adela feels the biggest success was choosing a colour and materials palette that embodied the conscious, sustainable design of the home in a warm and elegant way.
“Saving the original archways and picture window onto the park was so effective in defining the mood of the home without expensive big architectural statements. One of the larger expenses was upgrading the kitchen benches to porcelain after the engineered stone ban meant a necessary change of materials, but the clients love the feel of the new matte finish Silestone.”
The new-look house is warm and relaxed but in a refined and elegant way. “The clutter of small children can be easily absorbed into the ample storage and the soft curves and solid timber furniture suit family life well,” Adela says. “Timber always brings a lovely atmosphere to a home and in particular, when timber tones are mixed well, they provide a colour palette straight from nature. People don’t realise that woods are a colour!”
Client Brendan was a great online researcher and found many interesting products including the handmade terrazzo coffee table which was incorporated into the overall scheme. “Laura had her baby, Madeleine, just before the family moved in, so we did several sessions on video with me bringing samples to site to get the job done. Brendan’s response to the professional photos was ‘I cant believe we live there!’”
Adela concludes: “I love working with busy families to make their projects more stress free. They are always amazed at the results. I try to be a trusted advisor, encouraging sustainable practices. I love the Nordic aesthetic with a nod to our coastal location.”
- Builder: Jason Tincey from Xon Constructions
- Kitchen design: Howes Design Co
- Pphotography: Carla Atley
- Stylist: Nikki Lilley
- Before photos : Reiwa
Mid Century magic on a budget for recent retiree
Interior stylist Mary Holmes recently worked on a very satisfying apartment upgrade in Melbourne’s St Kilda West and we love it for many reasons. It’s on a budget, it overcame some tricky, but not unusual old apartment issues, and it’s for a retiree. We definitely think you should invest in a nice home in this stage of life too! “It’s no secret I’m a massive fan of mid-century design, and I’ve been lucky enough to work on several renovations in properties from that era. My latest project was a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in the beachside suburb of St Kilda West,”…
