Mountview

This family home on a small farm on the NSW south coast was purchased for its great location, productive soils and fantastic outlook towards Cambewarra Mountain. However the house that came with the property certainly didn’t live up to its stunning location. Constructed in the early 80’s in a typical project home style, it was badly in need of a contemporary refresh. Good bones and great views laid the foundation for an amazing transformation.

The brief required transforming the home within its existing footprint, maintaining the same general layout with the exception of one major plan change. The existing attached garage was re-purposed into a master bedroom suite and home office; a more practical separate structure would house the vehicles. Living spaces were to be better connected, have improved natural light and be opened up to views of the yard and surrounding landscape. A mud room was included to provide a functional entry after farm work and garden play. The kitchen was opened up and rearranged and a new double sided fireplace became the central focus of the living spaces. The shallow back veranda was given new life with decking that extends out to create a large outdoor entertaining area. All existing spaces were given a new life that better reflects the young family's needs and lifestyle. The 'pizza hut' roof, heavy brick arches and multiple shades of brown were swapped for clean lines and a fresh palette consisting of neutral tones, blonde timbers and a pop of yellow!

Working with a modest budget we needed to be innovative in our approach to the living areas to maximise their connection, light and feeling of space. Several design strategies were employed alongside each other, including larger 2.4m high doors, larger internal openings and some rationalisation of the circulation through the house. One issue that really needed considering was the low, 2.4m ceiling heights throughout. To resolve this the kitchen and dining area took on a bold solution with dramatic effect. The ceilings were removed and whilst the old tiles were off the roof the existing trusses were sandwiched together in pairs, roughly 1.2m apart. The underside of the roof was then lined with v-joint cladding to form a raked space with exposed trusses. Three large skylights were added and everything painted white. The resulting light and volume in this space has had an uplifting effect on the entire living area of the house. Expanding the glazing and the amount of opening sections has strengthened the interior's connection to the landscape and you can now feel and see the day's weather, which was important to the clients.

The owners didn’t want to hide all of the past so while painted vertical cladding conceals some of the existing brickwork, hints of bare brick remain around the front door and rear porch. Internally the face brick was given new life with a bagged and painted finish. This provided texture and character and maintained the benefits of thermal mass whilst lightening and softening the interior. This, in combination with new windows, roofing and porch structure, dramatically altered the building's appearance into a modern and welcoming family home. Looking back at old photos it's hard to imagine you are in the same house!