WOOLLAHRA TERRACE

Woollahra Terrace injects space and light into the terrace house typology. Reimagined for contemporary family living, the house was calling to have its original character uncovered whilst being transformed into a peaceful and functional family home.

Previously a dark and moody residence, the task was to recover the vibrancy and uniqueness of the existing house whilst enhancing this by adding the necessary proportions in the new addition. In a design that seeks to celebrate existing period details, a pair of arched doors connect the new living space to the terrace house referencing the arched motif of the original brick doorway openings.

Woollahra Terrace’s thoughtful adaptation into a tranquil family home relies on creating different focal points in the interior spaces together with new vistas and spatial layering within the home. The new addition is contemporary and calm. The sunlit kitchen is central to the layout, with the spaces thoughtfully scaled and framed by joinery and steel windows facing the garden.  

A monochrome background palette to the home is offset by such framed repetition of scenes of greenery viewed through square steel window and door frames. The precise graphic squares of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh chair backs continue this theme into the interiors. There is an almost photographic atmosphere in the home enhanced by the placement of evocative images such as Michel Abboud’s “The Lovers”.

Concrete and crisp white paint are the external materials which offer a stark backdrop to the completely green, intentionally flowerless garden. A tranquil interior palette of oak, carrara marble and white painted joinery unify the existing and contemporary additions.

Traditional custodians: The Gadigal people of the Eora Nation

Photography: Prue Ruscoe

Styling: Jack Milenkovic

Team: Madeleine Blanchfield and Sonya Hammond