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Many of Sydney’s inner-city streets are lined with 100-year-old sandstone homes that have been altered and added to, in the decades since they were first built.
This Georgian terrace is one of them. As part of a group of five homes that date back to the mid-nineteenth century, the building is heritage protected. And while this means key parts of the home cannot be changed, some of its original detailing, sandstone walls, and overall charm had been covered over by the time the current owners purchased the property.
‘The house was only just liveable and was in dire need of work,’ architect Virginia Kerridge says. ‘The vision for the project was to create a new environment that was both rich and textural, fitting with the authentic nature of the existing building, as well as giving light and air to the previously dark spaces.’
The team took a restoration approach initially, peeling back layers to a delightful discovery of ‘old revealed treasures’ — including the internal sandstone walls and timber rafters throughout the house.
A fresh palette of recycled and raw materials like timber, patinated brass, and dark joinery were selected to complement the spaces, ensuring the latest redesign will stand the test of time.
Limited by strict heritage restrictions, Virginia sought to breathe new life into the compact floorplan with a new addition to the rear. The most major renovations took place on the lower level of the house, where floor-to-ceiling glass windows open the kitchen and living areas to the gardens. It’s a simple extension, but this modern pavilion now serves as a ‘lung’ for the old residence, maximising space, providing air flow and indoor-outdoor living that’s helped make the garden a hero feature.
Virginia says the reimagined house has become more of a comforting ‘home’, with an improved sense of place and connection to the past.
