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The original single-fronted cottage on this Lilyfield, Sydney site was ‘bursting at the seams’ says Jemima Retallack, director of Retallack Thompson.
‘With two bedrooms and one bath to house a young family of five with two dogs, it was one of the hardest working houses we’d come across.’
As it stood, the house dictated the way the family lived, rather than supporting their individual needs and pursuits.
Jemima explains, ‘We came to understand the project to be less about a closed family unit, and more about accommodating their lifestyles — each occupant with their own busy lives of differing stages of school or work.’
More space was required, but the house couldn’t be extended due to a 20-metre-tall lemon scented gum in the backyard, inspiring Retallack Thompson to take a different approach. ‘On paper the tree was the biggest challenge, but we also understood it was one of the site’s biggest virtues,’ says Jemima.
The architects unlocked room to move by extending the existing roof form all the way to the rear building line, then punctuating this volume with open walkways and voids to bring light through the floor plate.
‘This volume allowed us to carve out three levels of different spaces with a small study right at the top within the roof — a private space at the furthest point from the hustle of family life,’ says Jemima.
As a result, the ground floor went from hosting two bedrooms, one bathroom and a study, to four bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a study on the mezzanine above.
Sinking the lower ground floor was necessary to improve the ceiling height and immerse the living space in the garden.
The open-plan lounge, dining, and kitchen area is now surrounded by a beautifully robust landscape, designed by Studio Rewild, with the lemon scented gum as its centrepiece.
The original front rooms of the home were retained and refurbished to highlight stained glass and timber features.
‘We always try to work the “least good parts” of a building to ensure we are responsibly using the resources of a project,’ Jemima explains. ‘This was very much the case in this project.’
The house is no longer the annoying main character in this family’s life, but a soothing environment that supports their busy daily lives.
