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When The Design Files last featured a renovation inside Canberra’s Wybalena Grove, we were inundated with comments about how much readers loved these retro homes.
Designed by prominent architect Michael Dysart in 1977, the unique development in Cook is known for its enduring mid-century modernism and immersive bushland setting.
So it’s no surprise that architect Alex Williams had heard about these semi-detached dwellings — located only 12 minutes from the CBD — before he even moved to Canberra a few years ago.
‘By coincidence, we initially rented in the same suburb and started to regularly walk through the Grove with our springer spaniel Hazel, meandering through the townhouses,’ Alex explains.
‘We could see it was a lovely place to be; residents pottering in the community garden, others playing tennis, or families gathered round the communal pizza oven next to the playground. It really feels like a gathering of individual homes carefully scattered throughout the bush, all concealed from each other, whilst also creating a community feel.’
Already on the hunt for a mid-century home he could breathe new life into, Alex jumped at the opportunity to buy within the complex. His townhouse is positioned at the top of a hill, bordering the nature reserve with views of wildflowers, kangaroos, and magical sunsets.
‘Right from our door starts a bush trail that we walk every morning with our dog. It takes you past the rolling hills looking out onto the grazing horses and the arboretum beyond, then up Mount Painter (perhaps the smallest mountain in existence, a glorified hill really) from which you can see most of Canberra,’ he says.
‘Even though we do this every morning, it never loses its magic.’
Drawing on the beauty of the natural surroundings, Alex has since put his own touch on the residence. He kept the considered floor plan and renovated most rooms over the next three years.
‘The potential was clear. The four half levels form the different living spaces, separating the more public spaces from the more private, and each space gives a different view of either the garden, the bush, or the feeling of being in a tree house. It’s quite spectacular,’ he says.
The townhouse had also undergone a minor renovation in the ’80s, which added an extra storey and pop-up windows as designed by original architect Michael Dysart.
‘The windows direct your view upwards into the trees, making you feel like you are sitting in the tree canopy when working from the study — which is perhaps the perfect work-from-home space,’ Alex says.
Alex’s substantial renovations of the kitchen, bathroom, ensuite, mud room and laundry all pay tribute to the original architecture. New timber panelling seamlessly blends with existing timber tones, as the joinery colours and tiling reference the building’s ’70s materials. The expanded kitchen also offers views of the re-landscaped garden.
After three years of making the townhouse their own, Alex and his partner are reluctant to leave, but the couple have listed the house for sale to move closer to family interstate.
‘If it wasn’t for my work and our families, we would stay here forever,’ he says.
62 Wybalena Grove, Cook, ACT, 2614, is listed for sale with Sally Strang and Ash Costello from Home By Holly.
