Architects: SWG Studio
Project: Brunswick House / Extension and Renovation
Location: Brunswick, Melbourne, Australia
Year 2017
Photography: Courtesy of SWG Studio
Description by architect: These original single fronted Victorian terraces in the neighbourhood of Brunswick while different in style, are otherwise similar in their scale, materials, and setback. This street, comprises an attached row of five Victorian brick single storey houses.
The original front part of our client’s house consists of a corridor on the northern side with access to the two bedrooms on the opposite side. The rear part houses the living and dining room and was believed to have been an extension added at a later stage.
Then the kitchen and bathroom under the skillion roof including the rear detached metal cladded garage were added after a period of time. The original layout of the main dwelling did not include any internal wc and laundry when it was originally built as the existing original outbuilding wc and laundry are still standing proud today.
The existing kitchen was exceptionally narrow with a raked ceiling towards the rear wall which was facing to the rear courtyard. The existing splashback was lined with pine wooden panelling laid diagonally above the laminated narrow “u” shaped kitchen bench top. There wasn’t any indoor-outdoor living space. The opened walkway along the southern boundary was the link to connect the front to rear part of the property.
The brief to us was to renovate and restore the existing main building including the original outbuilding laundry and wc as well as extending the footprint of the non-original rear part. Also to enlarge the kitchen area and make it more functional and create a substantial amount of storage.
There were some challenges in the construction stage for the builder as they had to look after and not damage the adjacent neighbour’s external weatherboard cladding, which had deteriorated after a while as it was lacking any proper footings. The neighbour’s external wall had to be propped securely while the trench for the new footing of the extension was being dug.
Joinery items played huge role in this Brunswick house as none of the bedrooms had any proper storage. We created a floor to ceiling wardrobe in the bedroom and the same with a library shelf unit in the other room for our client’s book collection. We also convinced the client to continue the timber floor to the rear of the house instead of keeping the existing slate tiles in the rear and timber floor boards in the front of the Brunswick house.
The new light court along the southern boundary provides natural light and ventilation for the second bedroom/study as well as create a visual connection to the rear courtyard through the new window in the kitchen.
The rear part of the Brunswick house is now connected to the new garage through the existing rear courtyard. We also created an outdoor-indoor living area with an engineered timber looking deck for entertaining.
The existing internal plastered brick walls and the original ceiling including the ceiling roses and original cornices were fully restored. The internal walls including the new extension were given a fresh coat of paint in natural white to give a more contemporary feel and the new smoked oak timber floor provides warmth.
