Sydney terrace renovation lightens a home

A terrace renovation transforms a dark and narrow terrace ground floor into a spacious kitchen, living and dining room.

A well-planned layout can maximise your living spaces and obliterate unused areas in your terrace house.

"It started as your typical long dark terrace," says Tessa Myee of Incontext Design. "Only one room had solar access, and very little at that."

It's a recurring theme for many inner-city homes, where beautiful period features cannot hide a lack of light and poorly planned space.

"We decided we'd totally open up the house and reconfigure the space," says home owner Jane, who shares the house with her partner, John. "We had the typical layout beforehand. It had a passageway down the side. The dining room was at the front, then the living room, the kitchen and out the back there was a bathroom and laundry.

"It had terracotta-red walls, black stairs and a distressed kitchen. People liked it when they visited, but it didn't suit us."

The first thing Tessa suggested was to change the layout to maximise the available space. "What was the outdoor laundry and bathroom is now the living room. The former kitchen is now the dining room, and the lounge room is now the kitchen," Jane says.

Tessa designed the living room across the passageway, so it now runs from boundary to boundary. She also raised the ceiling and installed a glass gable, which not only gives a sense of space, but also allows the sun to pour into the living and dining areas, lightening the once-dark area.

The kitchen has also been customised to the home owners' needs. "We didn't want hard surfaces and icy colours, but we didn't want it to be 'bitty' either," Jane says. "Now it's warm and open and it feels soft." It also caters to their needs as left-handed cooks.

The clean lines and neutral colour scheme have resulted in a 'Zen' interior of calm and peace. Jane is also happy that the rooms can be closed off or opened up as needed.

"Open houses don't suit us. We like having a clearly defined space, so if I'm banging and clattering in the kitchen, I'm not spreading the noise to the living room."

To create this, Tessa included sliding doors that allow each room to close off to retain a sense of intimacy, but which can also be opened up to create a seamless flow of energy.

"We call them Tessa's doors," Jane says. "They're lovely sliding doors which allow us to use the space as we need."

Location: Sydney's Inner West, New South Wales

Jane, the Home Owner

How were you using the space before the renovations?

It had a passageway down the side, and we'd go down it to get to the kitchen, past the dining room at the front. Then we used to sit in the little sitting room to eat because it was more private. So we never used the front room because we just didn't like it.

How did you react to the reshuffling of the rooms?

Well we did like the idea, especially using the passageway to create the courtyard and widen the new living area. But we would stand at the doorway from the old dining room and think - how will this look as a kitchen when it's obviously a dining room?

How did you find the renovation process?

I was so stressed when the back of the house was knocked out! It was so good to have Colin Bailey - the builder - and Tessa there because we really trusted them. I'd talk to Tessa almost every day because there were constant decisions to make; from glass to bolts to handles.

Was there anything that stood out for you during that time?

We were fascinated by the process and the incredible skills of the people involved. Colin, the tilers and the painters were all so creative and I think our house reflects that. I have to say that the renovations surpassed our expectations.

How do you find your new home now?

It just flows beautifully and it's so creative and imaginative. We especially like the way you can open the space up or close off each room. Having a clearly defined space is nice, but it's also great to get a flow of air through it in summer

Tessa Myee, from Incontext Design

What were the needs that you identified for the house?

It was quite dark inside so I brought sunlight and air into the centre of the terrace. I designed a gable roof at the end of the house so it didn't overshadow the neighbour's property. I put roof windows into the cathedral ceiling, so it's very light and airy, and gets the winter sun inside.

What was the brief for the kitchen?

They wanted a streamlined kitchen that retained a feel of warmth. We designed the cupboards with no handles, and used colourback glass as a splashback. I put in display pigeon holes so it's not too minimal in its look, and the cupboards were painted white.

Did you use any other techniques to add a sense of warmth?

Wood is good for a natural feel, so I used brushbox benches and blackbutt wooden floorboards. Even though the cupboards are white, I used touches of wood and colourback glass in some of them, so altogether it's not too stark.

What was the idea behind the sliding doors?

They're there because you can often see straight through the house from the front door with terrace houses, so it's nice to screen off part of the house. Also, in this energy-conscious time we live in, it's good to isolate the rooms for efficient heating and cooling.

What decisions did you make about the lighting?

We used dimmers on the lighting so it's bright but adjustable. We put lights under the overhead cupboards in the kitchen as well, which is good to help focus on cooking, and it adds a nice feeling.

Featured Home Products

• Kitchen cupboards colour - Dulux 'Fair Bianca'
• Colourback glass - Custom colour Dulux 'Blonde blue'
• Kitchen benches - Blackbutt wood
• Floorboards - Brushbox wooden floorboards
• Custom kitchen joinery - from Advanced Joinery
• Custom windows and doors - from Scartop Joinery
• Multitrack silding partition door - Moen frosted glass
• Fixtures and fittings - Hettich
• Directional downlights - Mondo Luce

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