The Weatherboard Cottage of this Queenslander does not give away much about the renovation that is inside – and that's exactly how it was designed.
The owners have been moving into the Kelvin Grove property for the first time since 2014, but during this time the young family had started to grow out of the original wooden house and their tin expansion in the back.
'With strong relationships with local schools and friends, the decision was [made] To leave the area and to create a flexible home with more space for your young and growing family and to support a busy, working lifestyle, says Rebecca Caldwell, creative director of Maytree Studios.
'The customers brought us pictures of rooms that admired them, and they had a real mix of warmth, light industrial touch and modernity.
“They wanted the home to arouse curiosity and surprise so that it does not give away too much from the street, but can really open up on arrival.”
This inspired Maytree Studios to keep the original weatherboard in front and to transform it into the bedroom wing, while the earlier addition was replaced by a “tight but voluminous” expansion and expanded the footprint to only 200 square meters.
In accordance with the original bones, the new exterior is also painted white in order to get the simple charm of the house from the street. Inside, however, the high structure keeps the core habitats that open directly into an inner courtyard and gardens.
There are many unique details in the interiors in advance. From the kitchen with a movable island bench, which the customer's love and the hosts of the guests are looking for, to the retreat of the parents, which are hidden in the above loft and were made of plywood and lime wood. At the intersection between old and new, a glass roof with white triad fills the rooms with sunlight.
“It provides a soft light underwear that changes intensity during the day and the seasons, but marks this important transition,” added Rebecca.
A central staircase with floating steps in addition to a wall lined in green artedomus tiles also adds a feeling of the drama, which is improved by the decision by Maytree Studios, to sacrifice the “valuable floor space” for a two-story emptiness, which successfully holds the complement on the addition of the modest footprint is large and generous.
“Customers came to us with the desire to cross the limits of what this project could do and how specifically it could meet the needs of their family,” says Rebecca.
“Queensland has very large houses, and this project demands it available to offer a functional family house but does not enter the design.”