Located in Sydney’s Hills District, this family home was renovated and extended recently with interior designer Robyn Hawke of Inspired Spaces at the helm. “The house is home to a family of five with teenage kids. They loved the area, community and location and this renovation and extension resulted in their forever home,” she says.
The project included a complete overhaul of the entry, bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry, kitchen, living and dining room and a new extension has created substantially more liveable space. The extended part of the home has resulted in a larger kitchen with butler’s pantry, more oversized bedrooms, a mud room, an enclosed indoor/outdoor entertaining area and larger garage.
Street appeal
Hugely impactful, the home’s dated exterior was completely overhauled using render to replace dated brown bricks. New windows and doors helped to amplify the street appeal too. “Due to the nature of the block, we couldn’t extend the living areas to the rear,” says Robyn who, in an unusual but necessary move, made the home wider instead.
The entry was modernised with new engineered timber flooring, a new front door, timber cladding on the wall and new lighting. A clean colour palette of blues and neutrals offsets the warm timber details.
Kitchen
The original kitchen was dated and lacked storage – it was difficult to keep decluttered and it was quite an inefficient space overall. “With the focus on lifestyle and entertaining, the new Hamptons inspired kitchen has a large island with ample storage,” says Robyn who also added an expansive butler’s pantry. The extra kitchen space has a separate sink, drawers and shelves that run to the ceiling. “As a result, the kitchen presents tidily, hiding the dirty dishes in the pantry away from view.”
Dining/living
Previously two separate spaces, the dining and living rooms were opened up for a much more modern feel. “We removed the wall between the existing dining and living and were able to create an open and airy space,” says Robyn who reused the room’s white bookcases and dining room table post-makeover.
“We don’t believe in clearing the home of existing furniture or other items that mean something to the client. Here we have reused the white bookcases and dining suite,” says Robyn.
Bathrooms
When it came to the home’s bathrooms, there simply weren’t enough of them. “The distinct lack of bathrooms was a major concern so two extra ensuites and a main bathroom were configured into the floor plan. These are perfect for a growing family and offer privacy for the parents,” says Robyn.
The home’s reconfigured floorplan allowed for an ensuite to be added to the master bedroom. Additionally, the second bathroom is now unrecognisable with its new monochrome scheme that includes hexagonal tiles alongside a black bath and matching tapware.
Before & after: Dated brick wall becomes star of 1980’s reno
