So much is made of the importance of a north facing back yard, that it can sometimes be the cause for concern when your house faces the “wrong way”. This 1910 sandstone villa represented a downsize for our clients, but coming off the back of an expansive garden, the challenge was to bring a sense of space and light to a much smaller block…which faced south!

The experience of moving through the house is one of compression and release, with the original side entry taking you from a modest entry hall to the main central hall before moving into an ambiguous indoor/outdoor link flooded with light.  The new pavilion is linked to the old house via frameless glass detailing and an exposed beam ceiling that extends out to form a pergola over the rear yard.

Whilst the illusion is of a conventional addition to the back, the subtle planning around the new courtyards and the standing off of the pavilion from the original house, has resulted in a beautifully light and warm addition that comfortably makes up for its less than ideal orientation, and threads a whole new sophisticated narrative through the old house, to extend the story for another 100 years.

Builder _ Bower Design and Construction

Landscape _ Gethyn Singleton Landscaping

Joiner _ Admor Dimensions

Engineer _ Gama Consulting

Photographer _ Caroline Cameron