Renovations and additions to existing houses are the most common architecturally designed homes. The challenge with renovations is to incorporate the style and layout of the existing building with the modern needs of the family. When down well, renovations combine the charm of traditional buildings with the conveniences of modern living.
Here are just a few incredible architecturally designed renovations:
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8 April 2022
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Poppy's House by Northern Edge Studio
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Updating a Modernist Home Without Losing Its Character
Damp-ridden, cold and leaking, this 1960s home needed a revamp. Luckily, a sensitive approach retains the home's unique character.
Fitzroy North Residence by buck&simple
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Modern Addition Creates a New Heart for This Weatherboard Cottage
By removing poorly constructed add-ons and creating an open-plan living area as the new heart, this quaint cottage is transformed...
Offset House by Amrish Maharaj Architect & Kitty Lee Architecture
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When a Series of Renovations Leave a House Feeling Confused...
A house can become dysfunctional as poorly planned renovations alter the layout and strip away original details. But it can be fixed!
Thirroul House by Lisa Breeze Architect
Featured Project
Addition to a Home in a Flood Zone Is the Perfect Refuge
An addition sitting high and dry (literally) above the flood level, creates a refuge from the main family home and potential floods.
Kingsford House by GSBN Studio
Featured Project
Extending the Original Roofline Creates Stunning Cathedral Ceilings
Wanting a place to entertain friends and family, this new addition creates a grand living area overlooking the garden
Castray Apartment by Field Labs
Featured Project
Ply and Steel Joinery Items Turn This Heritage Warehouse into a Home
This heritage warehouse has been sensitively transformed into a home with the careful insertion of joinery units to divide the space.
Ripple House by FMD Architects
Featured Project
A Series of New Spaces Unfurl From Single-fronted Victorian Cottage
Far from the classic box-like addition, a series of unique spaces unfurl from the rear of the cottage, opening up to light and garden.
Surry Hills Terrace by CO-AP
Featured Project
Terrace Transformed Without Extending the Footprint of the Home
A series of expert moves brings in more light, improves livability and connects this terrace to its courtyard all without extending.
GER/ by PLY Architecture
Featured Project
Clever Design Brings Light Into the Heart of this Bungalow
Bungalows are charming homes, but they tend to be dark. This addition finds a way to bring light into the depths of this bungalow.
Longueville House by Vanessa Wegner Architect
Featured Project
A Modern Take on the Verandah Creates a Connection to the Garden
The front verandah of this Californian Bungalow is reinterpreted at the rear of the home to create a shady outdoor living space.
Pop Up House by Fabric Architecture
Featured Project
1970s-era Red Brick Home Completely Transformed by Modern Renovation
Not that you'd know it now, but this sleek, modern-Japanese-inspired home was once a tired '70s brick pad and what a transformation!
Flinders Addition by Michael McManus Architects
Featured Project
Charred Timber Creates a New BAL-12.5 Wing for This Country Home
To create space for the kids as they grow, this new bedroom wing sits beautifully in the landscape and meets BAL requirements.
Brighton East House by Ansari Architects
Featured Project
A Quirky Fireplace Becomes the Focal Point of This Modern Renovation
The owners would have ripped this out-of-place fireplace out if they'd had their way, but it's become the centrepiece of this reno...
Little Maggie by ROAM Architects
Featured Project
Little Maggie: The Perfect Sunny Addition to this Weatherboard Cottage
Creating a light-filled addition where the garden and outdoor spaces feel like an extension of the living areas for year-round use.
U House by C.Kairouz Architects
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Is a Light-filled House With a South-facing Backyard Possible?
Creative ways to bring more light into the home, even when the backyard doesn't get much sun, makes this home light-filled and airy.
Moorooka House by Maytree Studios
Featured Project
1970s Home Transformed by a Charred Timber Addition
The charred timber addition float in front of the home, complementing the original cream brick and transforming the street appeal.
Art House by SG2 Design
Featured Project
A Forever Home Designed to Showcase Art and Furniture Collection
This Carlton terrace renovation updates ageing interiors to create the perfect home for a collector of colourful art and furniture.
CrossCut House by Bijl Architecture
Featured Project
Sometimes Your Home Might Already Have Enough Space...
The amount of space you have is one thing, but its functionality, light and flow is a whole other thing.
Robinson Road House by Chan Architecture
Featured Project
New England-style Home Needed an Addition to Complement Not Copy
An addition to this period home sits comfortably alongside the original, oriented to catch the light and open up the backyard.
Brunswick Green by Drawing Room Architecture
Featured Project
Architect Creates a Spacious Light-filled Home Against the Odds
Despite a seemingly impossible set of constraints, this terrace has been transformed into a light-filled and sustainable family home.
Ainslie Cottage by buck&simple
Featured Project
Government-built Home Lovingly Transformed Into a Mid-century Gem
The renovation of this post-war house leans on mid-century details and views of the native landscape to create a special home.
East Fremantle House by Nic Brunsdon
Featured Project
The Most Important Part of This House Is the Space That Is Not Built
A generous north-facing courtyard becomes the best part of this house, bringing light, breezes and the outdoors into every space.
Munro by Lisa Cummins Architect
Featured Project
Historic Chimney Stacks Inspires Incredible Double-height Space...
Chimneys of the old brickworks immediately caught the architect's attention and she knew this renovation needed to capture that view!
Malvern East Bachelor Pad by Eliza Blair Architecture
Featured Project
Bachelor Pad Reno Finds Unique Way to Create a Better Home for Owner
Transforming a 1960s apricot-brick unit into the perfect bachelor pad meant rethinking the space and adapting what was already there...
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Black Ribbon House by Studio 15b
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Queenslander Renovation Creates a Home to Enjoy for Years to Come
Rather than relocate, this family decided on a Queenslander renovation to create the home of their dreams in the street they love.
Gold Street Residence by Sarah Kahn Architect
Featured Project
A Clever Addition Turns a Potentially Problematic Site Into Gold
Others overlooked this heritage-listed home because of its exposure on three sides, but a playful addition turns it into an asset.
Wild House by Jon Lowe Architect
Featured Project
Inner-city Maisonette Transformed Thanks to New Living Space
A new 60 square metre addition creates a bright and modern living space for this inner-city home.
Step Down House by Bijl Architecture
Featured Project
Step Down Into This New Airy Pavilion Which Spills Into the Backyard
Perfect for entertaining, this new living pavilion at the back of a 1910s home is light, airy and open to the backyard.
NTH/ by PLY Architecture
Featured Project
Addition Expands This Home in Search of Light and Access to the Yard
An addition which doesn't overshadow the original heritage house, but improves the home's spaciousness, access to light and the yard.
Deco House by Mihaly Slocombe
Featured Project
Love Art Deco? Here's a Take on It That's Perfect for Modern Living
If you love the curved lines and detailing of the Art Deco period, but crave open spaces and natural light, this home is for you...
Milkman's Cottage by Preston Lane Architects
Featured Project
Tiny Heritage Cottage Transformed into Surprisingly Spacious Home
Once home to the local milkman, this quaint cottage has been transformed into a light and bright home with a surprising sense of space.
Scott by Foomann Architects
Featured Project
'Box in the Back' Creates an Elegant and Cost-effective Home Addition
A simple, rectangular, double-storey addition was a cost-effective way to gain the space this family needed. Plus some indulgences...
Empress House by YSC Architects
Featured Project
Like a Jewellery Box, This Home Is Perfect for Your Precious Family
This home, inspired by a jewellery box, is perfect for your most treasured people and possessions: beautiful, safe and ordered.
Shadow Roll House by Megowan Architectural
Featured Project
An Incredible Addition Tucked Behind a Heritage Protected Cottage
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.
Paddo Terrace by Sandbox Studio Architecture & Design
Featured Project
Light and Bright Addition Turns This Tiny Terrace Into Spacious Home
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.
Carlton Apartment (AKA Kathryn) by Tom Eckersley Architects
Featured Project
Space-efficient Apartment Renovation Finds Room for a Home Office
Rearranging this apartment opens it up to the views, builds in lots of storage space and finds room for a home office space to boot!
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Manly Apartment by Annabelle Chapman Architect
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Dark '90s Apartment Is Now a Bright Home Full of Coastal Style
The owners of this whole floor apartment in Manly loved the location, but not the dark unfriendly spaces. Luckily, there was a solution!
Knocklofty by Preston Lane Architects
Featured Project
Voids, Volume and Views. This Warehouse-inspired Home Has It All…
Transforming a 1980s house into a warehouse loft-inspired home involved removing the roof but the results are more than worth it!
Paperback House by Ben Callery Architects
Featured Project
Home for Two Publishers and Family Makes a Hero Out of the Bookshelf
Every good architectural story needs a hero. In this renovation, it's a striking bookshelf which screens a work-from-home space...
Mavis House by
Featured Project
South Facing Backyard? You Can Still Enjoy Passive Solar Design...
This addition to a post-war brick home has a trick up its sleeve to guarantee access to sunlight despite the backyard facing south.
Glebe House by Supercontext
Featured Project
Addition on a Narrow Four Metre-wide Site Defies Its Constraints
Defying its narrow site, challenging east-west orientation and heritage restrictions, this skinny home manages to feel spacious.
Balgowlah Residence by
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Transforming a Californian Bungalow Into the Perfect Family Home
A west-facing backyard and poorly-designed additions left this family with dark mornings and overheated afternoons, but no longer...
Brick Residence by Preston Lane Architects
Featured Project
Renovating a House That Has Been in the Family for Almost 70 Years…
Imagine having a classic modernist house in the family for three generations? How would you sensitively renovate it?
Back Box House by OOF! Architects
Featured Project
A Staged Reno Over 10 Years Helps This Home Change With Its Family
Staging the renovation of this home into two phases made budgetary sense and allows the home to adapt to the family's changing needs.
Small Grand Apartment by Tsai Design
Featured Project
Compact Apartment Feels Luxurious with Hollywood-esque Dressing Room
Clever planning allows this small apartment to feel grand and glamourous. Wait until you see how the dressing room transforms...