This Edwardian house in the Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill had lost its smile after decades of neglect. The bones were good, but the house needed a lot of attention to turn her once again into a comfortable family home.
The new owner was starting a new phase in her life and wanted to transform the house into a warm, nourishing and stable environment for her young family. We needed to bring back some style, as well as the smile.
Our scope was to renovate the original part of the house, with plans for a new extension to come later. Starting from the ground up, we made the floors level again, repaired the solid plastering, and freshened up all the surfaces. The biggest change was reconfiguring the floorplan so the bathroom was no longer a tiny space at the end of the hallway. This opened up the length of the hallway, meaning the original scale of the floorplan was returned, and the family had a spacious new bathroom and separate toilet with lots of storage. Colour, and the texture and warmth of natural fibres such as wool, velvet and linen, provide the tactile interiors that the owner was after.
The smile of this gracious, simple lady has returned.
Before the home renovation:
After the home renovation:
Photography: Elizabeth Schiavello Photography