The young professional couple bought the original Victorian Terrace house in the heritage conservation area of Zetland for their growing family. They loved the inner-city position, charming period detailing of the terrace with high ceilings, timber windows and lovely plaster details. Unfortunately, the house had many problems, such as lack of light penetration, poor ventilation, a run-down interior, and no connection with the backyard.

When we met Georgia, she already had a lot of ideas on how to transfer her original terrace into a healthy and liveable home.

Georgia's brief was clear and detailed. She wanted to combine the original kitchen and living area, extend the ground floor right to the side boundary, relocate the laundry from the back of the house into the ground floor bathroom and develop a new timber deck to connect the place with the south-facing courtyard. Also, we discussed the possibility of building a small garden shed blending with the house. Georgia was happy to add even more features to an existing interior. She loved the idea of recycling brick across the dining area. We proposed a strip of glass roof and skylight above the existing floor to allow light across the ground floor. We opened the front room and added the bi-fold doors to let the north sun into the living space. Georgia was happy with the result. The DA process went smoothly; we achieved the clients tight budget; the house became comfortable, filled with light, and connected very well to the backyard. We also added flexibility—the family could use the front room as the fourth bedroom, study, or open to the living area.

Photographer: Paul Worsley, Live by the Sea