Bringing a 100-year-old home to life with modern features, while preserving the deep character of the original building with a careful renovation and extension.

CLIENT: LOGAN & SARAH MCLENNAN

ARCHITECT: REVE ARCHITECTURE  

ENGINEER: STEPHEN MITCHELL ENGINEERS

Overview

The process of modernising this beautiful 1920s villa to become a comfortable family residence with an open-plan living space was a sizeable task. Through a thorough renovation and extensions to the front and back, including a pool, we met the challenge with through open collaboration with the clients, and our passion for the work. The final result is a spectacular combination of deep character and elegant design, perfect for family life.

Challenges

Our clients were determined to maintain the original character of the existing property, while enhancing the warmth and comfort it provided inside and out. Carrying the heritage features of the property through a modern renovation is always a challenge; and creating a natural-feeling extension from the house into an outdoor living area provided an additional consideration.

he interior of the house features high church ceilings, and the open plan required hidden steel beams to provide the structure without impacting the warm, familiar design.

Solutions

To meet the challenges laid before us, we took a collaborative approach to design choices, freely consulting Logan and Sarah to find the balance between new and old. Character features like the styled glass from the front door found their way into new locations in the home to be tastefully displayed, and we recycled some of the beautiful old timber flooring to connect the back extension to the house proper.

As mentioned, structural steel was cleverly hidden to provide a strong foundation for the flowing throughfare from the front of the house, directly into the outdoor living area, and we installed tiled bathrooms including an open shower and re-implemented detailed trims on the exterior - all to encourage the same character of the original villa to shine through.

Outcome

The finished project was exactly what our clients were hoping to see, with modern design elements for a comfortable, functional family home - renovated to feature the very same heritage elements that provided the old villa with so much character.

I’d recommend Elmm to anybody. If you’re looking to build a house that’s a bit complex with challenges - these guys will not shy away from those challenges.

LOGAN MCLENNAN