The character of the existing home had been covered by layers of paint and neglected for many years. Oregon beams spanning the full width of the home were revealed and new finely crafted native timber joinery inserted as a nod to the original timber elements the house once had. Single glazing in existing hardwood frames was replaced by new double glazing, and empty cavity walls and ceilings filled to insulate the home.

Previous renovations had clouded the structured planning of the home while ignoring its shortfalls. Our readjustments to the living, bathroom and kitchen freed up access to the front and back to connect the interior to the garden.

The design narrative drew on the surrounding bush landscape, the home’s history and its honest materiality. Along with appropriating from the built context of the house itself, the surrounding and ever-changing colours of the bush landscape informed soft tones, solid materiality and celebration of the figures of local timbers. Refinement and curvaceous details provide a sense of weathering to new elements to settle into the aged character of the house.