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Architecture
Renovating
A Neglected 1920s Cottage is Reborn as a Modern Family Retreat
Having grown up right next door, this architect knew exactly what this worker's cottage needed to become a family home
In this Q&A series, we turn the spotlight on one thought-provoking renovation or extension each week. Here, Sam Klopper, director at Klopper & Davis Architects, reveals how he bought the run-down one-bathroom, three-bedroom house next to his childhood home and sensitively transformed it into the perfect four-bedroom, two-bathroom abode for his growing family.
The new open-plan kitchen/living/dining space
Gained: On the ground floor, a new two-storey rear addition housing an open-plan kitchen/dining/living room (with a double-height 5.5-metre ceiling to the living room). On the first floor, a new master suite with an ensuite, walk-in robe and study. Plus, a full renovation to the original part of the house.
The house was also reorientated to face north, along the long side of the block.
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The house was also reorientated to face north, along the long side of the block.
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What was the house like originally?
A small and dilapidated single-storey 1920s bungalow with three bedrooms and one bathroom. The house also had a big backyard with several large existing trees. Old camphor trees in the adjoining street provided shade to the house.
A small and dilapidated single-storey 1920s bungalow with three bedrooms and one bathroom. The house also had a big backyard with several large existing trees. Old camphor trees in the adjoining street provided shade to the house.
The original house backed onto a laneway
The original kitchen
The original backyard
What did you want to achieve here?
What did you want to achieve here?
- More space.
- An extra bedroom and bathroom.
- A family-friendly space we could all enjoy together.
What were your must-haves?
- To create a home that could grow with the family.
- The new part of the home needed to have a lived-in feel with warm, natural materials that would age well.
- Windows that frame the beautiful trees in the garden.
- A palette featuring warm, earthy natural materials.
- An indoor-outdoor connection.
Klopper paid homage to the original 1920s worker’s cottage by leaving its brick facade intact. “It’s a well-built piece of the urban fabric and I didn’t want to destroy or impose myself on it,” he says.
What exactly did you do?
What exactly did you do?
- Reorientated access, moving the door around to the other side of the house.
- Reorientated the house so that living spaces faced north.
- Turned the existing kitchen into a bedroom.
- Refurbished the existing house and remodelled the existing bathroom.
- Put in a new two-storey addition at the rear of the house with a large, new open-plan kitchen/dining/living space (the living area has a double-height, 5.5-metre ceiling).
- A new master bedroom with an ensuite, walk-in wardrobe and study were installed on the first floor of the new addition.
- New concealed built-in storage was added.
- A new heated outdoor swimming pool was put in.
The old and new parts of the house are separated by a bright- green front door, which added a touch of surprise to the earthy scheme.
What was the budget?
Around $800,000.
Where did most of it go?
Around $800,000.
Where did most of it go?
- Custom cabinetry.
- Joinery.
- Textured concrete.
“The kitchen island is covered in a contrasting timber to the rest of the room so it feels like a piece of furniture,” says Klopper.
What challenges did you have to work around during this project?
- The old house was falling apart.
- There was a large tree in the middle of the site.
- Difficult neighbours and planning challenges.
- The swimming pool had to be positioned on the boundary line.
Klopper has used contrasting materials to great effect in his home. The staircase, for example, features two-pack polyurethane-finished cabinetry, jarrah balustrades and Jura blue-grey limestone treads for textural contrast.
How does the new addition sit beside the original home?
They stand in real contrast. The original house is made up of closed-off rooms, whereas the new space feels airy and open.
How does the new addition sit beside the original home?
They stand in real contrast. The original house is made up of closed-off rooms, whereas the new space feels airy and open.
“This home is our little sanctuary,” says Kiopper. “We’ve chosen warm materials that will age well and mid-century pieces.”
“The trees were always part of the composition of this house,” says Klopper. “As they change over the seasons, they permeate the building. In winter, the house becomes a brighter space and then in summer, the trees’ canopies protect us from the elements.”
The lightweight materials selected for the new addition reference old ‘lean-to’ architecture, which is often seen in homes of this period, but reinterprets it in a modern way
Exterior materials palette
Exterior materials palette
- Honed bluestone pavers.
- Colorbond in Surfmist to the roof.
- Timber-framed windows and doors finished with Cabots Exterior Clear stain.
- Timber weatherboard.
- Recycled grey ironbark-blend timber cladding finished with Cabots Exterior Clear stain.
- Face brickwork.
- Rendered masonry (mostly Dulux Acratex in Linseed).
- Pressed tin painted in Dulux Weathersheld Vivid White.
The new master bedroom leading into the study
Interior materials palette
Interior materials palette
- Essastone quartz surface in Crystal Chalk to the kitchen benchtop.
- Kitchen cabinets in pre-finished alabaster board.
- Cabinetwork in hard-faced ply, with black-face plywood edgeboards and Olympia Yellow flint-finish pre-finished boards.
- Jura blue-grey limestone treads to stairs.
- Agadir Basalt brushed stone to bathroom floors.
- Stretcher bond white gloss ceramic tiles in ensuite.
- Laminex American Walnut crown-cut satin finish to ensuite vanity.
- Dulux Natural White to interior walls, joinery and doors.
- Dulux Vivid White to interior ceilings.
- Dulux Vivid White.
- White off-form concrete floor.
- Spherical Tom Dixon copper pendant lights in void.
- Miele kitchen appliances.
Windows in the new study are deliberately designed to frame views across Shenton Park: “It feels like working in a treehouse up here,” says Klopper.
The new upstairs ensuite
Tell us
Which features do you love best in this clever addition? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, like this story, and join the conversation.
More
Want to see another clever extension? Don’t miss A Classic Federation Home Gets a Cool, Industrial-Style Extension
Tell us
Which features do you love best in this clever addition? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, like this story, and join the conversation.
More
Want to see another clever extension? Don’t miss A Classic Federation Home Gets a Cool, Industrial-Style Extension
Answers by Sam Klopper, director at Klopper & Davis Architects
Who lives here: Sam, his partner and two young sons
Location: Shenton Park, WA
Original size: 75 square metres
Size after extension: 200 square metres
Architect: Sam Klopper at Klopper & Davis Architects
Interior designer: Olivia Reeves at Klopper & David Architects
Builder: Wenham Constructions