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Like a giant three dimensional puzzle this home defies its tight block with no views, houses on each side and a high wall to the north.

Do you prefer the charm of traditional homes? But you also like to have a modern kitchen, spacious rooms, and open plan living areas. Perforated House proves you can have both — even if you build a new house from scra...

Fitzroy Terrace by Welsh & Major Architects works with the exiting layers of history. The house tells the story of its 170 years of occupation...

At 52 square metres, this two-storey terrace was about the same size as a two-bedroom apartment, now there's space to entertain guests.

Old terrace houses are not the most efficient beasts. But this Darlinghurst terrace renovation proves you can have a terrace and aim for sustainability too.

The substantial renovation of this terrace transforms the home, but reminders of the past are woven in to create a rich tapestry.

Where a traditional terrace is dark and cellular this renovation finds light and open space, creating an addition of contrasts.

A versatile multi-functional extension can become completely open to the outdoors, or close down for protection from the elements.

Tang House is a compact but thoughtful terrace extension that utilizes every nook and cranny to create a versatile home that defies its size.

Downsizing from a large family home to an inner-city pad, this couple were prepared to compromise on space, but not on function!

The entire ground floor of this house has become one continuous indoor/outdoor space thanks to a well conceived alteration and addition.

A detailed but classic palette, combined with expert attention to detail helps Paddington Terrace age gracefully as its family grows.

Vader House emerges from behind its high boundary wall to disrupt Fitzroy's typical roofline and breathe new life into this Victorian Terrace.

Turning this tight inner-city terrace into a light-filled, open-plan home for a family of five was a challenge. But was it a success?

A reinterpretation of a traditional terrace home keeps council happy, while a series of courtyards inject life into the home.

Not a square metre goes to waste in this tight Darlington terrace renovation to create a modern, multifunctional home.

A series of expert moves brings in more light, improves livability and connects this terrace to its courtyard all without extending.

Pooling for a pool: would you join forces with your parents to create the ultimate inner-city pad complete with a rooftop pool?

Like a tiny, irritating grain of sand creating a lustrous pearl, sometimes a projects' constraints lead to the most charming solutions.

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.

With low ceilings and only the rear of this living area above ground level, this terrace needed something big to feel like a home...

Nestled within the undulated roofline of Fitzroy’s famed MacRobertson building sits a warehouse conversion and roof terrace with a difference…

This home has a surprise at the end of the typically ornate Edwardian-era hallway, and it's far from your average terrace renovation!

A terrace house typically makes you think, long, narrow and dark. This terrace might be long and narrow, but it's also light and lush!

This Carlton terrace renovation updates ageing interiors to create the perfect home for a collector of colourful art and furniture.

An addition to the front is just one of the atypical parts of this project full of surprises and innovative solutions.

Many old terraces are dark and pokey, but thanks to a tricky secret behind those doors, this terrace is now light, bright and spacious.

A double-height space. An internal courtyard. A huge skylight. All tricks to create a sense of space hidden behind a narrow terrace.

This compact inner-city townhouse has been transformed from an unremarkable '70s era building into a timeless, light-filled home.

Mills House eliminates bulky cupboards by converting the floor into storage space, leaving the entire width of the terrace for living.

Dubbed 'The Ark', this child-friendly house has loads of character and a story to tell. It's the antithesis of a minimalist white box.

Brunswick House is restrained and space-efficient, but surprising spaces like a rooftop terrace provide a new perspective on its eclectic neighborhood.

Lightbox House by Edwards Moore Architects transforms a cramped and dark terrace into a light, bright wonder. Perforated floor, translucent ceiling and all.

Most terraces are dark and pokey, but with pops of colour and a full-width opening to the garden, this home is bright and full of fun.

Just because your home is on a tight, inner-city site doesn't mean it can't feel spacious. You just need to use the right tricks!

Three distinct pavilions create the breathing room needed for maximum light and breezes on this narrow inner-city block.

This post-war brick house has been transformed into a stylish modern home with a thoughtful addition and creative reworking.

Previously a general store, this South Melbourne terrace is now a light-filled family home while retaining its character and quirks.

New living areas and a backyard studio centred around a landscaped courtyard make this home perfect for current and future generations.

When you have to hike up and down stairs all day, they may as well be fun! A new stair brings light and novelty to this home.

This home takes advantage of its location near the Botanic Gardens to create a living area which feels like an extension of the garden.

A dark tunnel transforms into a bright, open space at this Cremorne terrace which celebrates the transition from old to new.

Owned by a landscape gardener, this 1880s bluestone cottage is now connected to the garden and full of natural light and sea breezes.

This architect used the renovation of his home to improve his mental health and immunise himself and his family for the future.

Careful to leave much of this heritage building intact, the architects have created new spaces above and behind the existing home.

Brunswick has a rich history of bluestone quarries and brickworks. Quarry House updates a Victorian terrace with this history in mind.

An extensive renovation of a Melbourne home gives the owners all the benefits of inner-city terrace living without the drawbacks.

If you're an introvert you'll know that the world we live in can be overwhelming at times. Sometimes you need somewhere to hideout...

This renovation shines with a light well bringing light deep into the house, bright red accents and pops of personality throughout...

A tiny terrace is transformed thanks to a new neighbouring addition that compliments and contrasts the original.

When a family of four decide to renovate their terrace on a tiny site, some big ideas need to be packed into a little space.

By replacing space lost to the renovation with a roof deck, Stick House ensures not a millimetre of outdoor space is sacrificed.

Renovating and extending a typical Victorian terrace always poses a unique set of challenges. Hawthorn House exceeds those challenges.

Bridport Residence extension grabs northern light and creates a quiet safe haven to the rear of the property.

Unlike most renovations, Park Lane House isn't tucked away in a backyard -- it's out there for all to see.

Edwards Moore Architects's Cubby House is a pint-sized apartment packed full of fun. A cubby house made not for kids, but for sophisticated adults.

A complex, compact site on a slope and facing a busy road calls for a creative solution: switching the front and back!

To create space for the kids as they grow, this new bedroom wing sits beautifully in the landscape and meets BAL requirements.

Despite a seemingly impossible set of constraints, this terrace has been transformed into a light-filled and sustainable family home.

In many ways, Feng Shui aligns with the principles of good design. Here, Feng Shui achieves a light, harmonious and delightful home.

The owners of a mid-century home loved the qualities of their home but needed a modern addition to bring it into this century.

On the corner of two main thoroughfares, a new room conceived as a large balcony gives this home a way to connect with the community.

Creating a home for an introvert and an extrovert means balancing openness with a need for privacy; prospect and refuge.

Renovating is a messy art full of compromise but, if you roll with it, the result can be the perfect-imperfect home for your family.

With a block of just 117 square metres, this inner-city reno required some creative thinking to make the most of all available space...

With hints of those classic beach houses, but all the modern needs of a family home, living here would feel like an endless holiday.

A total rebuild of this terrace house was required, but glimpses of its history are exposed throughout the house.

A home for a couple and a separate home for their adult children. Plus it's on a very public, very tricky triangular site!

A simple, two-room addition radically transforms the feeling and liveability of this previously dark, introverted home.

Materials are reused in new and unusual ways in this renovation, instilling the home with unique personality - even the new parts!

An efficiently-planned rear addition to this narrow house creates space and light to grow a family without losing the home's charm.

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!

The clever design for this challenging site allows the home to deal with the threat of bushfire, while still taking in the views.

A strong visual and physical connection to the garden is achieved without significantly altering this inner-city terrace.

Sometimes the constraints that can make a project more difficult end up creating something unique and wonderful.

Craving more space (and sun) and considering a move? Are you really better off uprooting your family and moving somewhere new?

By dividing a complicated inner-city block into a patchwork, a new home sits comfortably between heritage buildings and gritty laneway.

An architect, a builder, and a joiner walk into a dark and dingy terrace...

A garage and studio with seperate access from the laneway is a flexible and sensitive space at the rear of this inner-city terrace.

Arranged around three courtyards, this new open-plan extension is a delightful counterpoint to the existing Californian Bungalow.

If you love '60s style, decor and art, you'll have to take a look at this swinging transformation on the Gold Coast.

Orientation is the best way to make your home feel light and bright. So what can you do when your home faces the wrong way?

Dealing with poor orientation this North-facing cloistered space acts as circulation and additional indoor/outdoor living space.

By building an extension at the end of a narrow site, Austin Maynard Architects created a courtyard instead of a typical light-well.

The renovation of this Fitzroy house marries two influences — a refined industrial aesthetic and traditional Victorian architecture.

Period ornamentation out the front, contemporary simplicity out the back. This home makes a beautiful transition from old to new.

Long Courtyard House reorients the typical courtyard to the side of the house to bring in North light and create indoor/outdoor living.

Behind these unassuming terraces' heritage facades is an unexpectedly modern home blurring the boundaries between two once separate houses.

From distant water views to the nearby sculptural native trees, Bass Street Residence angles itself to take it all in…

A renovation of a Victorian terrace house, the Bondi House was conceived as a first floor timber tube above a ground level brick box.

A modular home constructed of engineered timber (instead of steel) is the perfect fit for a steel slope in New Zealand's seismic zone.

Architect Peter Miglis lists “light, space, and air” as the elements that form great architecture; he has incorporated all three into his own home.

A house inspired by 20th Century naval camouflage. There's something you don't hear everyday…

A previously dark terrace is transformed into a light and bright home with the help of some unusual 'light cannons'.

An inner city Victorian cottage of heritage significance is renovated with contemporary design and sustainable building practices.

Despite only adding six square meters to this home, Welsh and Major's reconfiguration and tiny pavilion have made a dramatic difference.

Two homes. Both owned by the same family. A new extension designed to flank the rear of both homes to provide extra space.

An extremely small house extension transforms a heritage cottage. You'll be surprised the difference clever planning and small addition makes to occupants.

This luxurious loft apartment is full of organic curves that could be carved from butter - appropriate because it occupies space in a former butter factory.

FMD Architects have taken a tread from their client's brief and stitched the old and new together in this clever home extension, Cross Stitch House.

Ditch the retirement village with this private accessible luxury retirement home filled with light and sustainability features...

Creating a modern home that takes advantage of its semi-rural setting with plenty of mid-century flair is no simple task...

Redbrick and terracotta-tiled Californian Bungalows are beautiful homes, but they can be dark. Here's a bright solution...

Moving from their large family home where the kids grew up, this family opted for a modern home closer to the things they love.

With stunning bush and ocean views, this home is perched to soak it all in and create a space for relaxation and rejuvenation.

With the water at the back door and a lush tropical courtyard bringing in light and breezes, this duplex has the best of both worlds.

Looks can be deceiving. Hidden behind this narrow frontage is a spacious, light-filled and fun home thanks to a recent renovation.

A pigeon pair of townhouses allow two brothers and their young families to live side-by-side; the perfect place to raise their kids.

Creating a light-filled addition where the garden and outdoor spaces feel like an extension of the living areas for year-round use.

Others overlooked this heritage-listed home because of its exposure on three sides, but a playful addition turns it into an asset.

This home, inspired by a jewellery box, is perfect for your most treasured people and possessions: beautiful, safe and ordered.

From the street, all you can see is a sliver of the stunning new addition, designed to protect the heritage value of the original home.

Imagine having a classic modernist house in the family for three generations? How would you sensitively renovate it?

With the site's Bushfire Attack Level of Flame Zone, achieving the incredible expanses of glazing took incredible attention to detail.

Internal courtyards are the answer to finding natural daylight and preventing overlooking issues in this inner-city renovation.

Some clever solutions mean even a home on a long, narrow block can capture scenic, wraparound views of the ocean.

With only minor changes over its 50-year life, this mid-century home retained its original charm but desperately needed a little TLC.

Architecture isn't about the bells and whistles. It's about creating spaces which help to improve your lifestyle. Like this home!

Unusually-shaped boundaries can be a challenge, particularly on sites as tight as this; you've got to turn a challenge into an asset!

Imagine if all our inner-city homes were eco-friendly urban farms: what a difference we could make! Here's what that might look like...

Ultimately council agreed to let them make some changes behind this heritage facade, convinced no one on the street would be the wiser.

Looking for a simpler lifestyle and to indulge their passion for horses, this modern home for their acreage is perfection.

This stunning modern Australian beach house has a whole wall of glass, taking in spectacular views of the beach and headland beyond.

These owners didn't want a 'generic open-plan box'. Instead, a series of interconnected rooms are linked by a dramatic brick colonnade.

What this home lacks in a dining room is made up for with a fun, communal island bench for seven: a perfect way to host a dinner party.

The lace-like screen protecting the rear of this home is a way to tie old and new together while also dealing with practicalities.

Previously cut off from the backyard by a hefty level change, this new addition flows effortlessly between inside and out.

By designing a new, open-plan addition to this heritage home, the owner has a light-filled space to inspire his creativity.

Settling into regular life takes some adjustment for a fly-in-fly-out worker who spends a month away from home. This new home helps.

The good qualities of both old and new are highlighted by creating an addition which is the binary opposite of the original.

The history and beauty of this old home are respected and celebrated by a bustle dress-inspired addition.

Floating above the original milkbar is a recently renovated pavilion which makes this unique family home feel like it's a treehouse.

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...

Renovating an older, inner-city home comes with a peculiar set of challenges - how to make it seem bright and spacious when it's not.

Thanks to recycled brick, this new studio looks like it could be the oldest building in this Richmond laneway.

Your home doesn't need to be physically big to feel spacious. There are a few tricks to make your home feel larger than life.

In a suburb of houses three times its size this home makes the most of its narrow block and compact size by capturing views of the sky.

Reimagining a heritage home to fulfil the modern needs of three generations of the one family, highlighting its layered history.

This light-filled extension has an industrial feel to it thanks to using the mix of nearby garages and light industry as inspiration.

In this woman's retirement plan? A desire to downsize and determination to age in graceful style in a city central apartment.

An eco-friendly, 7 star energy rated addition to an inner-city terrace feels bright, breezy and, importantly, comfortable year-round.

A home for entertainers who also travel a lot. Claremont Residence expands for parties or locks down when the owners are away.

A stainless steel net for growing deciduous vines wraps this narrow home, transforming it into a nest for vertical family living.

New Zealand home and writer's studio fuses the look of rural farm buildings and the dramatic local landscape into one sculptural form.

The use of humble timber dowel rods in various forms throughout this refurbishment serve a practical, decorative and unifying purpose.

Alterations to the rear of this house to draw in green vistas, sunlight and cooling breezes making the most of the weather year-round.

Rather than demolish and rebuild the rear 1970s addition to this home, the architect incorporated the walls into new, thicker walls.

Kelvin House is refurbished to create a new open plan living area while a new deck creates better access to the north light.

A disorganised and poorly oriented extension to the rear of heritage listed home is reconfigured into a beautiful open-plan space.

Home to a professional couple and Biggles the cat, this modern design aims to enhance the owners daily living experience. And succeeds.

One of Balmain's earliest homes, a humble sandstone cottage, is renovated to reveal its inherent beauty - revealing layers of history.

A series of separate, disconnected rooms are transformed by a central, open planned living space that maximises north light.

Too often homes dictate how we should live. Upside Down Back to Front House is different — a redesign suits how the owners really live.

Rammed Limestone is the perfect material for Wall and Wall House — locally sourced, beautiful texture and natural colour and high thermal mass.

Renovating an inner bayside family home to be flexible as the family grows and subtly remind the owners of time spent on beach holidays.

Hill End Ecohouse in Queensland is a new home constructed almost entirely from the house it replaced and a leader in sustainability…

Northcote House 2 is a three storey urban residence which utilises the existing shell of its former incarnation as a medical centre.

The Armadale House addition creates an open plan living area with a great connection to the garden, maximising the small site.

Today, thanks to a modern addition, Arcadia bears its name proudly and a family enjoy the peace and pastoral happiness of its setting.

Normally we fill our homes with objects that remind us of our past. At Bower House, the house itself is made up of elements to remind the owners of their past.

Thanks to a clever refurbishment this South Melbourne House becomes a communal multi-zoned space in keeping with the family's desire to live and work together.

A piece of engineering ingenuity, Shallard House's living area is suspended like a bridge to capture lake views and maintain privacy.

Set in stunning surrounds Wakatipu Guest House is a two bedroom home that provides comfortable accommodation for up to eight people.

A tight inner-city site is transformed with double height spaces and floor-to-ceiling, seamlessly connecting the indoors and outdoors.

A pulley system extending through the atrium of this House Bruce Alexander is designed so the owners can store bicycles and winch them out of view.

The brick exterior of Five Courts House belies its light-filled interior which surrounds five courtyards arranged around the perimeter.

Designed in a flood-prone area, this modest, sustainable beach house touches the earth so lightly it appears to float!

At Alexandria House 2 full height glazing and louvers let the house breathe and skylights are used strategically to maximise natural light…

Ilma Grove is an extension to a heritage home in Northcote, Victoria. The extension provides more space and guarantees a sustainable lifestyle.

The Delta Cabin uses local materials which contrast with the natural surroundings, while still feeling warm and human.

The narrow (3.9 meter) Erskineville House gets a spacious and light makeover thanks to a double height, multi-functional light-well.

A bayside extension clad inside and out in timber battens blurs the functional and decorative.

An unashamedly modern extension manages to integrate old and new by putting a modern spin on materials and colors from the original home.

Moor House's family needed was a well designed renovation to provide space and privacy for their growing children. Oh, and all within just 4.5 meters width!

Tight site, stringent planning and heritage controls, and a difficult orientation -- Nic Owen Architects pull off the architectural equivalent of a miracle.

If you arrived at this house blindfolded, you might assume you were in a secluded jungle house. But you're actually just 3km from the heart of Sydney!