Extension makes captain's cottage a family home

Dating from the 1890s, this classic home provides the perfect living space for a family of today.

Replacing a lean-to with a new extension and an eclectic mix of collectables complements this home's history and charm.

Sarah and Anson like to imagine that when their home was first built as a captain's cottage in the 1890s, it was nestled all alone on the windswept shores of Port Phillip Bay. The house today is situated in the middle of a vibrant inner-urban community, but despite a cottage renovation and extension, it retains all the charm of a bygone era, imagined or otherwise.

Of course, before the cottage renovation, when they bought the place, the mandatory fibro lean-to was tacked on the back and the laundry and loo wallowed in the garden. But not for long, as architect Sarah had plans for a light-filled living space, more sympathetic to the house's original feel. "In the cottage extension, we really wanted a big family living space that had good access to the garden," she says.

The resulting renovation and extension included a new living room and kitchen, which Sarah framed with a series of highlight windows just under ceiling level. She also added a skylight in the hallway, ensuring that even the darker areas in the middle of the house received good light.

Sarah wanted to break up the space with the ceiling height in the cottage renovation. "The ceiling in the middle of the room is at the level of the original house, but at the back it drops on either side, effectively creating a light well," she says. "The low ceiling height is also carried through to the kitchen, creating a more intimate space."

A feature wall of bookshelves surrounding a fireplace dominates the far wall. "We wanted to have the house reflect who we are, and as Anson is a writer it was important to have lots of bookshelves and storage," says Sarah.

The bookshelves are made of a simple sealed medium-density fibreboard, which is echoed in the kitchen cabinetry. This in turn complements the eclectic furnishings and bric-a-brac collected by the family over the years. "We've always had lots of stuff and, although I love the minimalist look, ours is very much a family house," says Sarah. "We have stuff from my grandparents mixed in with kids' artwork and bits and pieces."

With the back of the house opening onto a good-size garden, when the bi-fold doors are thrown back it makes for perfect indoor-outdoor entertaining. "We love this place; not only is it really functional, but its history gives it a real charm and living here has been very easy and lots of fun," says Sarah.

Sarah, the homeowner and architect

Did you have any problems when building the cottage extension, given the age of the house?

We were lucky that the renovation process and extension were pretty straightforward. The only real issue with the extension was that as the original house is on bluestone footings, getting services through from the front was very difficult. It also means that the front is very stable, whereas the back has moved a bit, which hasn't caused too many problems, but it's not ideal.

What sort of heating do you have apart from the fireplace?

We have ducted heating, but this is very dusty and dry. We're currently looking at replacing it with hydronic heating, so that's our next big project.

Do you like the downlighting?

We've got two sorts of lighting: the downlights, which are adjustable, and blue ones for a gentler light. These provide a lovely gentle mood lighting that is great for dinner parties.

Is the beam between the lower sections of the ceiling structural or decorative?

It's a structural beam, but we didn't make it solid, as it works in conjunction with the ceiling design to break up the space. If it had been solid it would have created shadowing at the back of the room.

You have some great items here, where are they from?

Most things have come through the family or have been picked up over the years, and with more room thanks to the renovation and extension of the cottage, we have room for them all. We have two old printer trays full of bits and pieces we collected from holidays. There are shells and bits of washed glass; there's even an old ink bottle from the Darling River that would have been thrown off a paddle steamer.

How about the framed cricket bat, where's that from?

Anson's grandmother was travelling to England in 1928 and coincidentally was on the same ship as the Australian cricket team who were going on tour. I think the entire team signed this bat, so it has a really nice history.

You also have some very eclectic artworks, including the series of maps.

The maps were all produced in the mid-50s and show different aspects of Australia. One is mineral and mining deposits, one shows agricultural regions, transport modes and so on. We also have artifacts from New Guinea, as Anson's brother works there, while the painting over the fireplace came from my aunt.