Architecture

This Renovated Victorian Terrace Is Like Living In A Day Spa!

When it comes to renovating a Victorian terrace house, it’s not usually the heritage architecture that tends to need the most urgent aesthetic update. More often than not, it’s a ’70s or ’80s add-on that requires re-imagining… whilst the 100+ year old original structure is the part that usually stands the test of time, more or less. Go figure!

This North Melbourne terrace house was, until recently, one such example. When purchased by a family of five, they engaged Timmins+Whyte Architecture and Design to transform the entire property into a flexible, light-filled home. The design takes inspiration from the clients’ jobs in the mental health space, featuring interiors that feel like their very own day spa!

Written
by
Amelia Barnes

Lantern House is a renovated Victorian terrace in North Melbourne. Photo – Peter Bennetts

The double-height volume extension is grand and proportionate to the original rooms of the house. The framed etching is ‘On The Edge of Town (By Day)’ by David Frazer. Photo – Peter Bennetts

The project is nicknamed Lantern House based on its likeness to a Japanese ‘tōrō’ – a traditional lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Photo – Peter Bennetts

Timmins+Whyte took inspiration from the clients’ professions in the mental health space, designing a calm, meditative and quiet structure. Photo – Peter Bennetts

Timber lines the house with both warm honey and chalky pink tones that reinforce a calm, soft environment. Chairs by Tide. Photo – Peter Bennetts

The natural stone was chosen for its green and navy tones that feel like an extension of the surrounding landscape. Photo – Peter Bennetts

Internal walls on the ground floor were removed to allow a view from the front door right through to the backyard pool via a two-sided fireplace. Photo – Peter Bennetts

‘The external landscaped areas feel like part of the living and kitchen space, as it is nearly all glass interfaces,’ says architect Sally Timmins. Photo – Peter Bennetts

The former bathroom upstairs was a huge square room that was divided into a new bathroom, access to the balcony, and a new bedroom. Photo – Peter Bennetts

White, matte steel clads the rear facade. Photo – Peter Bennetts

The light steel extension facade reinforces the contrast between the dark Victorian terrace. Photo – Peter Bennetts

The original Victorian facade, with the extension visible down the side laneway. Photo – Peter Bennetts

Writer
Amelia Barnes
28th of September 2020

When a family of five purchased this Victorian terrace in North Melbourne, the original period home was in decent condition, but the rear ‘80s extension was dark and pokey, and the garden overgrown. 

Turning to Timmins+Whyte Architecture and Design, the clients requested a complete overhaul of the home, on a similar footprint. ‘Our clients wanted to live, cook, gather, lounge, read and socialise in one space, and wanted plenty of light and flexibility in the planning,’ says architect Sally Timmins.

The idea for the extension was to react against the heavy, dark features of the original Victorian house, while continuing the same sense of volume, expanse and generosity. This was achieved by introducing a new double-height living domain that provides transparency and views to the garden, designed by Mud Office, throughout. ‘The external landscaped areas feel like part of the living and kitchen space, as it is nearly all glass interfaces,’ Sally says.

Timmins+Whyte took inspiration from the clients’ professions in the mental health space, designing a calm, meditative and quiet structure encompassing two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry, study and open-plan living domain. Materials and colours such as warm whites, honey-toned Tasmanian oak, and matte steel on the facade helped facilitate this feeling of softness. Sally describes the new space as, ‘like living in a garden, and bathing at a day spa.’  

Several changes were also made to the original section of the home. The front rooms were turned into a study and second living area, the two original bedrooms maintained and updated, and the previously oversized upstairs bathroom was reconfigured to offer more space elsewhere. 

Meanwhile, the kitchen was moved to the new extension, and internal walls on the ground floor were removed to allow a view from the front door right through to the backyard pool, through a two-sided fireplace. ‘There is something cool about seeing water through flames,’ Sally says. 

While the extension and original portion of this house are clearly from different eras, the property now functions as a cohesive unit. ‘The double-height space not only allows for interaction between members of the family between ground and first floor, but it feels incredibly open and light, almost like being outside,’ Sally says. 

The project is nicknamed Lantern House based on its likeness to a Japanese ‘tōrō’ – a traditional lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Whether filled with natural light during the day, or illuminated by soft lighting in the evenings, the house glows. 

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