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For retired Melbourne couple Andy and Marg, the inspiration behind their Coburg North renovation is one of an endearing modern-day love story.
‘They met online, courted for a few years, and took the leap to move in together,’ says Circle Studio Architects director Yvonne Meng.
With Andy residing in Gippsland, the couple agreed the best place to start their next chapter was in Marg’s home of 26 years: a late 1990s brick veneer unit, with a delightful garden facing the Merri Creek.
‘We wanted to open and celebrate a new chapter in both our lives by opening up and renewing the house,’ Marg says.
The existing two-bedroom unit hadn’t been touched since it was built. In addition to its inadequate insulation, the low ceiling heights, dark living room, and spatial flow also had room for improvement.
‘The brief was to create a simple and beautiful home full of light, warmth, colour, texture and natural materials,’ Yvonne explains.
‘Importantly, it wasn’t about adding more space but creating a better-designed home to suit their daily life.’
Enhancing the unit’s connection to nature was one of the driving forces behind the redesign.
The most significant change saw the second bedroom and laundry — previously positioned at the rear — removed entirely. In their place, a new open-plan living area now looks directly out to the creek, framed by large timber sliding doors that draw in light and greenery.
‘A favourite part of the project is the moment of walking from the kitchen to the living area and feeling the ceiling lift upwards, while your gaze gets drawn outwards towards Merri Creek,’ Yvonne says.
Working within the constraints of the existing building envelope, the renovation exposed and elevated the ceiling in the living space by revealing the original roof trusses — a clever strategy that transformed the living room’s sense of space.
Elsewhere, the footprint was carefully refined rather than expanded. The kitchen, defined in green, features handmade tiles and a Taj Mahal stone benchtop to better support activities like cooking and entertaining, while the former living room was transformed into a quiet study at the front of the home.
The couple also influenced the playful interiors, which incorporate Australian chestnut flooring and blackbutt joinery alongside saturated bursts of pinks, reds, and greens.
‘Marg is a huge fan of the red and pink hues, so we worked together to create a bold palette with pops of colour against a soft pink backdrop,’ Yvonne says.
The resulting home is now full of personality, with places for playing music, cooking, reading, and gardening. But most of all, it’s the perfect backdrop for Marg and Andy to enjoy life, and ‘simply spending quality time together’.
