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This late-1960s Adelaide home, arranged around a central courtyard and designed by mid-century architect Brian Vogt, was once full of life, but changes over the years had altered its spatial flow.
Colour and personality were drained from the home, and the kitchen had moved from its original position, disrupting the layout.
In 2017, a family of three was drawn to the home’s established architectural identity, but knew they needed to correct previous renovations to bring their own rich personality into each space.
Urban Habitats architect and design studio manager Sarah Stephen looked to restore the indoor-outdoor connection through the central courtyard, in turn improving the home’s circulation.
‘We could see the potential; we just needed to untangle the layout, bringing some of that character back through colour and materiality,’ she explains.
‘There’s something in the original craftsmanship, the years of use and the lives lived there that you can’t simply recreate. We wanted to hold onto that and recreate it where it had degraded over time.’
Sarah retained the existing footprint of the home and its distinct architectural features, like the exterior brick screen wall, but added a new wing with a walk-in robe, en suite, and retreat that wraps around the outdoor pool.
‘One of the most significant moves was returning the kitchen to its original position, which helped the surrounding living and dining spaces fall back into place,’ she says.
New windows and doorways throughout reconnect the home to its central courtyard and create continuous circulation.
‘The courtyard was central to the project. It gives the surrounding rooms an outlook and keeps the garden present as you move through the house,’ Sarah says.
‘We also thought about how the living spaces connected to outdoor dining and the pool. In the height of summer in Adelaide, those outdoor areas can become a big part of daily life, so making them feel closely connected to the interiors mattered.’
The renovation pays homage to the home’s history by uncovering wallpaper and using the kitchen’s original colours as a starting point for its baby blue palette.
‘We spent a lot of time understanding its original spatial intent and the qualities of its era that still felt relevant to the clients,’ she says.
Generous shelving, integrated storage, and concealed joinery make room for the family’s impressive book, records, and art collection, and inject warmth back into the home.
‘Our clients were comfortable with colour, which gave us room to play. We wanted the spaces to feel welcoming and lived in, with materials and pieces they would enjoy being around every day,’ she says.
Colour and texture merge in the deep-red dining chairs, blue upholstery, and brown striped blinds that sit alongside warm timber and European oak.
‘Kindred House is a project we were truly honoured to be trusted with,’ Sarah says.
‘At a time when knocking down and rebuilding can seem like the easier path, there’s something deeply rewarding about preserving a home like this, recovering its character and helping it begin a new chapter with its new custodians.’
