Barely standing, derelict cottage gets a sleek, minimal contemporary makeover

The only Victorian elements shared with the neighbours are some window proportions and the front door to one side. The owners’ brief to architect Rob Kennon was for a light-filled house that connected to its heritage precinct.

“Most of our designs are more recessive rather being flamboyant,” says Kennon, who was conscious of both the heritage precinct but also creating a contemporary home.

The simple two-level house, just a tad under 300 square metres in area, like its neighbours, has a relatively modest seven metre front. The owners didn’t want the usual Victorian-style shotgun corridor down one side and a scullery at the rear. “They wanted a place that also came with flexibility and the ability to have either children, grandchildren or guests stay over, with a sense of having their own domain,” he adds.

Behind the home’s white brick rendered facade and timber-battened front window and door are what are described by Kennon as “two towers” – one essentially the owner’s domain at the front and a second for those visiting.

Rather than one staircase, there are two with two different ways of exploring the home.

The other point of difference is a central courtyard that separates the private wing from the more public side of the home – the latter including the kitchen and dining areas, with a sunken lounge that overlooks the rear courtyard.

“We love the way you can see though each of the spaces, from the kitchen bench to the street,” says the owner, who wanted to be connected to passing foot traffic but, at the same time, have a sense of separation (the timber-battened facade creates a “veil” to the street). “It’s quite a dense area so we certainly wanted a feeling of calmness.”

These courtyards, with the gardens designed by landscape architect Robyn Barlow, certainly create a sense of tranquillity, as does the limited palette in the interiors, a hallmark of Kennon’s designs.

Granite benches in the kitchens and granite floors, including the treads of one of the staircases, are complemented by American oak joinery, walls and ceilings – with the latter over the sunken lounge expressed with chunky beams.

Light from skylights camouflaged in the beams continually animates the home’s painted brick walls. And although the house is two levels up, they excavated to create a laundry, drying room and gym below ground – not dissimilar to other Victorian homes on the street that benefit from a basement.

The new home replaced a derelict single level Victorian cottage that was barely standing, but there are still remnants of its past. An old bluestone wall, shared with a neighbour, is a touchpoint for the area’s history.

But everything else has moved on. A double garage at the rear is accessed from a laneway. Some Victorian terraces have various changes in level. “I’ve used some of these changes in level to define spaces,” says Kennon, pointing out the few steps required to access the library located at the front of the house.