Cart 
Adriana Hanna’s renovation of her own Tudor revival home has been a personal labour of love over almost two decades.
The house wasn’t lacking in space, but years of living in the home as a family of four revealed the need for better efficiency, function, and thermal performance.
Adriana went about rationalising the plan in pursuit of sufficiency and preservation — without diminishing the scale or integrity of the original home — through a structural replanning of kitchen, dining, laundry, and living spaces.
Windows were also upgraded with double-glazing, and the property was fitted with solar panels.
‘The overall intent was to extend the legacy of these suburban homes, ensuring the design would be suitable for family living across different generations,’ says Adriana. ‘The work was really a balance of practical necessity and a warm and expressive home.’
Adriana has not replicated original features, but reimagined them in a contemporary manner through the use of warm, decorative, and tactile materials.
‘I’ve attempted to draw on the unconventional, but also reinterpret and amplify motifs from arts and crafts architects such as C. F. A. Voysey and [Edwin] Lutyens,’ says Adriana. ‘Some of these transpire in details, such as the timber surround to the dining room… which creates a dialogue to the original timber details of the house.’
The kitchen stone floor tile laid in a stack bond pattern (where all vertical joints are aligned) adds a further layer of texture, celebrating both the making of these materials and the technical skill that goes into laying and installing.
The styling is a reflection of Adriana’s ‘insatiable appetite’ for design objects, both local and international.
‘In a heritage home, collecting pieces can demonstrate that culture and style are transhistorical,’ she says. ‘I like eccentric and original pieces that emphasise the skill and dedication in the maker’s hand.’
Most vintage pieces have been sourced secondhand from dealers and auction houses including Leonard Joel, Shapiro Auctioneers, and Nord Modern, while new pieces are typically from local Australian designers.
In any renovation, Adriana says the result is often better than expected due to pleasant surprises. In her home, it’s the way the sun moves across the kitchen under a new skylight, making the space a constant joy to inhabit.
The house remains a testing ground for Adriana’s ideas to explore under her newly formed practice, Adriana Hanna Office, building on her almost 20 years of experience at Kennedy Nolan.
