Ultimately council agreed to let them make some changes behind this heritage facade, convinced no one on the street would be the wiser.
Sadly lighting is an afterthought in many homes, but not here: a special lighting system demonstrates the potential of lighting design.
This 1960s home originally designed by Peter Johnson is updated to take advantage of its location without losing what makes it special.
Like a tiny, irritating grain of sand creating a lustrous pearl, sometimes a projects' constraints lead to the most charming solutions.
Renovating a heritage house the right way means you can enjoy the benefits of a modern home while respecting the house's history.
How do you get sun, light and a sense of space when your block is only 6 metres wide? This home has some solutions for narrow blocks.
Embracing the garden with a huge double-height space, 7 metre-wide door and patterned screen which fills the home with dappled shade.
Three distinct options and three years later they settled on a design, but when you're building forever, take the time to get it right!
This addition to a historic bluestone farmhouse doesn't match the original building, but it pays its respects in its own way...
Revealing the layers beneath this dilapidated home helps to blend old and new, weaving a rich story from the home's existing fabric.
When a couple who both have homes designed by the same architect get married, their new home together is bound to be adventurous!
New living areas and a backyard studio centred around a landscaped courtyard make this home perfect for current and future generations.
A new asymmetrical frame encloses the original shack, wrapping new living areas all around to take advantage of the views.
These owners didn't want a 'generic open-plan box'. Instead, a series of interconnected rooms are linked by a dramatic brick colonnade.
Emulating the solidity of the original 150-year-old cottage, this concrete and brick addition is sure to be around in another 150 years!
In spite of a narrow block, this home expands its interior to the edge of the site, blurring the line between indoors and outdoors.
This home defies its tight site by using screening and careful window placement to grab light and views without exposing itself.
An addition to the front is just one of the atypical parts of this project full of surprises and innovative solutions.
A simple, two-room addition radically transforms the feeling and liveability of this previously dark, introverted home.
This family extended their Queenslander over the years, but something had to be done to pull it all together and make it liveable again.
A pavilion surrounded by garden brings living closer to the river, creating an additional living space with incredible views.
When you've got a tight block, you need to use every square centimetre. That's how you make a compact home feel spacious.
A new two-storey addition to the rear is transformational, bringing new light and life to this old, previously neglected home.
Bringing a sense of space and plenty of natural light to a narrow block is tough, but clever design and engineering make it possible.
The dramatic timber ceiling sails over new living spaces and outside, shading the home but retaining the best views.
A new opening with integrated seating transforms this home from dated colonial-style, to modern, minimal and cool. What a difference!
A double-storey addition sensitively extends the original home, unfurling from the original roofline to create a light-filled home.
Queenslander-style homes capture breezes and create shaded, naturally cool living spaces. This addition takes it to the next level.
To grab light without taking over the backyard, this addition pops its head over the original home, saying peekaboo to the street!
Instead of demolishing this unit, the architects reimagined it, transforming it into a modern and light-filled 3-bedroom home.
An efficiently-planned rear addition to this narrow house creates space and light to grow a family without losing the home's charm.
In an area with challenging heritage overlays, Splice House fits an impressive modern addition within the allowable setbacks...
The small, pokey and often dark spaces of many older homes don’t provide the space young families need, but you can change that...
The carefully crafted folds of the ancient art of origami create something new and unexpected. It's a similar story with this reno...
With a folded roof form and charred timber cladding, Pleated House has plenty of flair for its design-conscious owners.
If the stress of renovating isn't enough for you, here's a way to step it up a gear: base your deadline around the arrival of a baby!
Lean-tos aren't renowned for their good design, but rethinking the classic design led to a functional and flexible home for this family.
Living in the inner-city means trading space for convenience. This project shows you, that trade-off isn't so bad.
Can a house be both a cosy refuge and open to the outdoors to create a breezy outdoor room? In this case, it can!
How do you extend an old cottage which used to belong to the client's mother? By reinterpreting the original cottage, that's how...
If your backyard doesn't face north, create a long side yard instead so you can enjoy the benefits of natural light and passive design.
A surprising, angular addition pops out of the rear of this home, but it does more than just look dramatic...
The lace-like screen protecting the rear of this home is a way to tie old and new together while also dealing with practicalities.
Like an annexe attached to the side of this solid home, BENT Annexe is an open-plan living area that feels more like a garden room.
Previously cut off from the backyard by a hefty level change, this new addition flows effortlessly between inside and out.
As soon as you enter the front door of this 1950s home, you are drawn to the light and openness of the new, rear addition.
By designing a new, open-plan addition to this heritage home, the owner has a light-filled space to inspire his creativity.
Buying an extra slice of land from the owners' corporation enabled this 1960s one-bedroom unit to become a modern three-bedroom home.
A south-facing backyard can feel like a curse, but an unconventional roofline could come to the rescue to let direct natural light in.
It's not the size of an addition that counts, it's the functionality it adds to your home. This micro addition achieves hefty results.
New additions help this home to perform more like a traditional Queenslander, helping it fit perfectly with its site and climate.
The good qualities of both old and new are highlighted by creating an addition which is the binary opposite of the original.
On a tight, south-facing site, the various spaces of this addition are expertly arranged to ensure maximum benefit with minimal fuss.
The aperture-like addition to this heritage home carefully frames the best views and lets light into the new living spaces.
Sub-tropical climates require a special approach to design to ensure they are comfortable in the sticky summers and the cool winters.
A new addition prioritises light and a connection to the garden, transforming this 1940s house into an uplifting and modern home.
This modern addition is more like a supporting actor, allowing the charm and beauty of the original home to shine through.
A house that was once a post office felt frustratingly disconnected from the outdoors has been transformed into a breezy beach house.
Working with what was already there to create a modern family home had its challenges on this bushland site in the Blue Mountains.
This home takes advantage of its location near the Botanic Gardens to create a living area which feels like an extension of the garden.
This home holds special memories for the architect, Pat Jost, making it important to retain the elements that fill it with character.
We've heard of tiny houses and micro-apartments, but could a micro addition be the answer to your space issues? Let's see...
Hiring an architect to design your new home or renovation is a big commitment. So how do you know you're making the right choice?
This house had become a squat and burnt down during the design stage, but Dean and Lisa transformed it into a modern, sustainable home.
On a long, narrow site, a courtyard is cleverly cut into this addition to allow the sun to stream into new living spaces.
A decked courtyard connects this existing home and extension, providing light, breezes and an indoor-outdoor connection to old and new.
Just because you have a narrow block without a north-facing backyard doesn't mean you have to sacrifice light, views and ventilation.
When you've got active young kids, your home must be robust enough to withstand a lot of punishment. This kitchen is built to last.
The new living area of this heritage home captures glimpses of the sky and opens seamlessly to the outdoors.
Living at home while your extension is built sounds like a nightmare, but this clever idea allowed the owners to live disruption-free.
Many old terraces are dark and pokey, but thanks to a tricky secret behind those doors, this terrace is now light, bright and spacious.
Life can change a lot in 10 years, so what do you do if your home no longer fits in with your life? Move or renovate?
If you're noticing a bit of an underwater theme in this home, it's no accident. This is a home for a keen scuba diver!
Inspired by shearing sheds in the area and rhyming with the original home, a clever addition transforms this weekender.
A simple, yet considered pavilion connects the home to the garden and brings greenery and light into the living area.
The history and beauty of this old home are respected and celebrated by a bustle dress-inspired addition.
Inspired by the spaces and ornamentation of the original home, this home plays with light and space to create a dramatic addition.
This adventurous renovation transforms an ugly duckling into a fun and functional family home, celebrating the owners' hobbies.
Three sculptural walls create nooks and niches within a larger open-plan space, creating the opportunity to mingle or seek solitude.
In a street of Californian Bungalows, it was important to maintain the status quo. It's a whole other story at the rear of this home...
And he said, 'Let there be light', and there was light. Thanks to a new double height space, this cottage is transformed.
The '80s was responsible for numerous crimes against taste (but some pretty fabs music). What can you do to right some of those wrongs?
With a passion for sustainability, these owners salvaged whatever they could to reduce the carbon footprint of their renovation.
This home's meticulous maintenance record details upkeep such as 'biannual repainting'. It was in A1 condition, but still needed modernising.
These owners decided to work with what they had rather than start afresh. The result is a functional and character-filled home.
A home on a corner block maximises light without sacrificing privacy by reorienting to the north and some strategic clerestory windows.
We love simple projects that make a big difference. And it doesn't get much simpler than a sunroom and a fence.
Light and dark, east and west, new and old, Dark Light House's new living pavilion contrasts without simply doing the opposite.
We love to get out and enjoy the backyard, but too often our homes are disconnected from our outdoor spaces. Here's what you can do...
Floating above the original milkbar is a recently renovated pavilion which makes this unique family home feel like it's a treehouse.
With a slim budget, demolition of the rear of this home was not an option. But an even slimmer bathroom was part of the solution...
Typically, a lean-to with a laundry and kitchen tacked on to the rear of an older home is the first thing to go in a reno. Not here...
It's a tale as old as time: dark, dank terrace seeks space and light. And yet architects are still finding new ways to tell the story.
If there's an old tree in your backyard, don't cut it down to make way for your new reno. Instead, make it the centrepiece.
Considering an eco-friendly upgrade to your home? Look no further for inspiration than Collingwood Compact.
'This house was purchased by Kasimiersz and Lucia in 1955', reads a plaque on the wall. One of the ways this home remembers its past...
Sometimes the constraints that can make a project more difficult end up creating something unique and wonderful.
Transforming a dark Californian Bungalow into a sun and fun-loving family home with some clever renovation ideas.
Breaking out of the old, brown-brick home, this new glass box for living is surrounded by birdlife and the sounds of insects at dusk.
Even if you're stuck with a south-facing backyard overshadowed by your own house, there's no need to dwell in darkness.
