Andrew Went bought this charming brick 1960’s house in Hampton East in August 2013. Keen to retain its nostalgic charm, he engaged local interior designer Jasmine McClelland to oversee a thoughtful renovation. Eventually, after 18 months of refurbishment and landscaping, Andrew moved in in late 2014, with his two beloved Jack Russells, Rodney and Murray.
‘Renovating turned out to be a lot tougher than I had thought’ recalls Andrew. The challenge was to honour the original design, whilst also bringing the home into the 21st century. ‘I thought I was pretty good with design and I had a vision of what I wanted the house to be, but 3 months into the project I realised I was out of my depth and needed help. Jasmine McClelland was recommended to me, and I made a rather desperate call!’
Jasmine and Andrew hit it off immediately, and worked collaboratively to update the home. The kitchen, bathroom and laundry were sensitively reworked, whilst parquetry flooring was restored to as-new condition. Some ceilings were replaced, and beautiful custom cabinetry was installed (the bedroom robes are so perfectly mid-century in style, at first glance they appear original!).
This house had only one owner before Andrew snapped it up four years ago. Herbie, (as he was affectionately known to his neighbours) was a humble man who worked for the railroads. He had bought the land in 1958, and boldly commissioned architects Clarke Hopkins Clarke to build him a modern home. It was completed in 1962.
Before buying the property, Andrew had the great fortune of meeting Herbie’s stepdaughter, Louise, who passed on a set of the original architectural drawings, landscaping drawings including plant listing, original tile samples and paint colour charts! Amongst these treasures were colour slides taken in the 60s – an invaluable resource Jasmine and Andrew referred to closely when updating the property.
Andrew is still in contact with Herbie’s stepdaughter. ‘Louise was one of the first people I invited over to see the finished house, as it was important to me that I had her approval’ he explains. ‘Fortunately she loved it. And believe it or not, she subscribes to Design Files so she is rather excited.’ HA! Well thankyou Louise, we hope Herbie would be chuffed too!
There are a lot of things to love about this house. For Andrew, the most endearing features are those that remain unchanged – the parquetry flooring, the wood panelling, 1960’s light fittings and the overhanging kitchen cabinetry. ‘After living in this house for a few years now, I have come to really appreciate just how well designed it really is’ Andrew says.
