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Having lived in there for almost a decade, the owners of this Brisbane cottage had seen it through a few different iterations.
‘There had been some sympathetic modifications to the house early on in its life, and then a later kitchen extension into a rear lean-to. Finally, our clients added a deck on the back of the house in 2012,’ architect Kieron Gait says.
‘For a family of five, the house had three bedrooms. And although it had charm, it was being outgrown.’
They engaged Kieron’s eponymous practice with a fairly humble brief — and budget — asking for an additional bedroom, bathroom, and living areas with an improved indoor-outdoor connection to the lush garden they’d established over the years.
‘With a modest budget, we looked to make a simple gesture that maintained the existing spaces and added only what was needed,’ Kieron adds.
They retained the existing kitchen, reorienting it to face the back garden, while a new extension was designed on the structure of the existing deck.
The rear elevation takes the form of four quadrants, each framing different parts of the site with a particular focus on the sky, the ground, and the tree canopy.
‘The psychology of drawing the gaze to nature was important, and providing a connection to sky, where one can look out beyond the confines of the site,’ Kieron says.
A new raked ceiling opens the dining and kitchen up to the sky overhead. Indoor plants hang at the edge of the building, where a deep windowsill provides a perfect spot to sit and enjoy views into the leafy backyard.
Blackbutt plywood features on the floors, cabinetry and for stretches of walls that are touched and used, like the backing of the built-in banquette seat. Above, white painted plasterboard bounces light around the minimalistic interiors.
The living level drops down to meet the ground, as bi-fold doors connect the living room to an external concrete terrace for dining below the treetops.
Upstairs, a new bedroom and ensuite provides a calming and private retreat for the parents.
While the new extension only extended the home’s footprint by five square metres, the impact was undeniably transformational for the owners.
‘Whether we are enjoying our morning coffee beneath a canopy of cascading plants, or resting in bed at night observing the stars, our connection to the outdoors has become integrated into our daily lives,’ they affirm.
