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This family home by Architecture architecture is not your average terrace renovation.
Before the project, the original Carlton house had the familiar flaws of a typical 1870s Victorian — characterised by its long but narrow 5.7-metre-wide block; a doglegged corridor servicing small, isolated living rooms; dark space; and a shadowy light court.
So when the clients returned home from some years living in Paris and Berlin with their two young kids, their inner-city terrace needed a more family-friendly update.
‘Our clients wanted an active home that would come to life at the end of the school day, facilitating creative projects, shared meals, music practice and impromptu visitors,’ Architecture architecture director Michael Roper says.
The front of the house retains a traditional ‘parlour’ room for quiet activities, a translucent sliding screen peels back to what is now an expansive, welcoming hall — reminiscent of a civic space — with direct views into the sunny courtyard.
This open-plan zone not only serves as the kitchen, living, and dining rooms all rolled into one, but it can easily shapeshift to accommodate the family’s daily routines. Upstairs, there’s the bedrooms
‘At one end of the Main Hall, the timber-lined walls have the gravity and presence of a library, with a sense of formality that speaks to the clients’ antique and heirloom furniture pieces,’ Michael adds.
‘The other end is bright, white and informal, with mobile benchtops on castors, permitting the adaptability that our clients’ lives demand.’
Thoughtful details help fill the flexible ground-floor with warmth and ambiance.
A skylight illuminates the row of glass bricks with soft sunlight, as the floor-to-ceiling doors frame views of the bookshelves in the ‘art studio’ tucked at the rear of the garden. In future, it’ll become a granny flat-style retreat for the family’s growing teenagers.
And while the concept of opening up the ground floor seems straightforward, Micheal says it held a number of challenges for his team and the structural engineers.
‘There’s a reason we don’t see terrace houses renovated this way’, he adds.
But the result is utterly enchanting — successfully combining the 19th century terrace’s flair with the flexibility required for 21st century living.
