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When engaged to design this new family home in Sydney’s inner west, architect Charmaine Pang says the clients provided her with a clear brief.
The headline was: ‘A place where we can do our best living’.
‘I really appreciated the time the clients took to consider and write their brief. As two psychologists, they placed a great deal of emphasis on how they wanted to live in the home, rather than numerical goals,’ Charmaine says.
‘They wanted to be able to live their fullest lives whilst at home — gardening, reading, listening to music, and a play area for the kids. Ideally their two boys would have their own rooms, with the possibility of accommodating elderly parents in the future.’
Working with the limitations of the 372-square-metre-block, Charmaine arranged the floor plan around a central axis, which seamlessly connects the front door to the rear garden.
This direct sightline to the backyard (where the owners have since planted an olive tree) reinforces the home’s indoor-outdoor flow, filling the space with a sense of calm from the moment you step inside.
‘Balancing the spatial needs of the home whilst retaining a well-sized, usable backyard is always tricky on a modest site. Whilst the back garden isn’t huge, it flows well from the living spaces and a secret, intimate garden around the back of the pool designed by Pepo Botanic Design has made the garden feel larger than it is,’ Charmaine explains.
Around the central timber staircase, utilitarian spaces like the walk-in pantry, mud room and laundry are tucked away from view.
The light-filled rear is reserved for an open-plan living zone, complete with wide windows that allow the parents to keep a watchful eye on the kids playing in the backyard.
Splashes of olive green and a warm timber island bench adds to the home’s biophilic aesthetic, while the efficiency of the stacked floor plan also made room for a guest bedroom/music room on the ground floor, complete with a beautiful view of the birch trees in the front yard.
Upstairs, the axial spine of the staircase borrows space from the landing to create a multi-purpose ‘spill out zone’. It’s currently the boy’s playroom, but with discrete sliding doors it can easily be closed off as a rumpus room later in their teen years.
Charmaine describes the kitchen as a ‘generously sized workhorse’ that works both for daily living and in ‘entertaining mode’.
‘In fact, the family prefer to have their meals at the island bench for a more intimate setting, leaving the dining table for homework or arts and crafts use on a day-to-day basis.’
The house has ticked all the boxes on what the family needed. And better yet, the design is adaptable, so it’ll serve them well into their next phase of life and beyond.
