Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Victorian Cottage Grows Up and Out for a Young Family
A two-storey extension provides a couple and their children with more space to run around, relax and retreat
Energetic young children need space to run around, and parents of energetic young children need space to relax. With two boys aged nine and 11 years old, the couple who live in this Victorian cottage in Middle Park, Melbourne, craved more room for their growing sons. They engaged Baldasso Cortese to transform their small three-bedroom villa into a spacious four-bedroom home with an open-plan living area and an upstairs parents’ retreat.
Baldasso Cortese demolished the back of the house to make way for a two-storey extension.
Three rooms in the front – now the two boys’ bedrooms and a guest bedroom/sitting room – have been maintained and restored. A double-storey extension to the rear comprises an open-plan kitchen/dining/living area on the ground floor that leads to an outdoor entertaining area and garden.
Upstairs, the master bedroom and ensuite overlook the garden.
“The project is a series of complementary contrasts: the delicate, light detail of the heritage facade against the contemporary Colorbond cladding and brickwork of the new extension; and the lightness and texture of living areas against the darker timbers and ceiling bulkheads of the kitchen,” says Heatley.
Bricks: Austral Bricks
Bricks: Austral Bricks
From the front of the house, the central hallway steps down to the living area, and a staircase leads to the first-floor master suite.
The exposed underside of the staircase is a design feature at the entrance to the living space, and joinery beneath wraps around the corner, providing storage and display space.
The new open-plan living area is set down from the floor level at the front of the house to maximise volume and ceiling height, while staying within the limitations of the heritage overlay.
Floor tiles: Cerdomus
Floor tiles: Cerdomus
The black corner joinery extends into the kitchen, as does the woodcut cladding on the staircase, highlighting the bulkheads and hiding the services. Baldasso Cortese created a moody, robust materials palette to reflect the clients’ desire for a house with texture and character.
“The house doesn’t have a huge footprint so the textures and materials create interesting visual elements that all work together,” says Heatley. “Fingerprint-proof black-and-white laminated joinery, with concrete-style benchtops and feature brass detailing, creates both a practical and aesthetically pleasing outcome.”
Kitchen cabinetry: Wilsonart; kitchen benchtop: Caesarstone; tapware: Astra Walker
“The house doesn’t have a huge footprint so the textures and materials create interesting visual elements that all work together,” says Heatley. “Fingerprint-proof black-and-white laminated joinery, with concrete-style benchtops and feature brass detailing, creates both a practical and aesthetically pleasing outcome.”
Kitchen cabinetry: Wilsonart; kitchen benchtop: Caesarstone; tapware: Astra Walker
The family requested no dining table, and instead a cantilevered kitchen island provides a multi-purpose gathering place to enjoy meals, spend time together and have coffee with friends and family. The glass splashback reflects the living, dining and study area to maintain connectivity within the home.
Appliances and storage are concealed in cabinetry and a skylight floods the kitchen with natural light. “Because of the orientation of the house, we introduced skylights and a courtyard to capture some northern sun to ensure that the house didn’t feel too dark and moody,” says Heatley.
Integrated appliances: Smeg
Integrated appliances: Smeg
The living area with venetian plaster render is light and textured to contrast with the darker timbers and ceiling bulkheads in the kitchen.
Fireplace: Sculpt Fireplaces & Woodpecker
Fireplace: Sculpt Fireplaces & Woodpecker
The floor tiles that lead to the alfresco entertainment area enhance the connection between indoors and out.
Northern light streams into the living area during winter, while the upper balcony acts as an eave to cut out high summer sun. Built-in timber seating provides a courtyard space beneath the upper storey.
The dark, textured materials continue upstairs in the master bedroom and bathroom. Brass accents are a luxurious touch against the timber-look laminate, grey carpet and upholstered bedhead.
Carpet: RC+D; bedhead: Svenska KJ
Carpet: RC+D; bedhead: Svenska KJ
“Sophisticated, elegant and moody were the key ideas for the master ensuite,” says Heatley. “It has some extra bling with the brass tapware and large-format tiles.”
Tiles: Earp Bros; basin and tapware: Rogerseller
Tiles: Earp Bros; basin and tapware: Rogerseller
The clients didn’t want the downstairs bathroom to feel like a children’s bathroom. Instead, the dark and textured palette provides a mature space that the boys will grow into.
“The clients are still continually falling in love with their new family forever home,” says Heatley. “It has a sense of belonging and comfort created through a collaborative design process with Baldasso Cortese.”
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Want more great design? Read about this curved concrete beach house in Sydney
Tell us
What elements of this design do you find most eye-catching? Tell us in the Comments, save your favourite images, and join the conversation.
More
Want more great design? Read about this curved concrete beach house in Sydney
Who lives here: A couple with two boys, aged nine and 11, and a cat, Sooty
Location: Middle Park, Melbourne
Size: 210 square metres with four bedrooms and two bathrooms
Architect: Baldasso Cortese
Contractor: One Construction Group
The original layout of the house was typical of the Victorian cottages in the area: front sitting room, three bedrooms, kitchen/living/dining, a bathroom (that doubled as a laundry) at the rear of the house and a good-sized backyard.
“While it retained original charm and architectural features, the house had little connection to the outside environment and provided no opportunity for the parents or kids to retreat to their own space,” says Graeme Heatley of Baldasso Cortese. “In addition, heating, cooling and lighting systems were old, culminating in a house that did not respond to modern-day family needs.”