I must confess I miss my (now sold)ย family home immensely. I never thought I’d be someone who’d missed an inanimate object; but here I am, longingly reflecting on the house I called home for some ten years.
So when I saw Step Down House designed by Bijl Architecture (the same team who transformedย my old abode) I knew I’d be in love.
A Sydney federation house with a modern extension, Step Down House fluently blendsย classical and contemporary. However, thatย wasn’t always the case. Ratherย the 110-year-old home initially hadย four small bedrooms and just theย one living area — a challenge for aย familyย with a social teenage daughter!
So, with the desire to modernise theirย home and create a second living area,ย Linda Burger and her partner Michael undertook a nine month redevelopment, which included the creation of a second lounge room, a master bedroom, a large rear verandah, a modernised swimming pool and Linda’sย favourite,ย aย rear extensionย thatย gave way toย a combined living/dining/kitchen area.
“We love the sunny kitchen/dining area which drops down four steps to ground level, bringing the landscaped gardens into the living area. Its lofty, industrial feel is derived from the high ceilings, whitewashed bare brick feature wall and polished concrete kitchen island, all of which is softened by cedar woodwork (window frames and shelves) and bar stools. Then the wide glass bi-fold doors lead the eye to the landscaped gardens and swimming pool area.”
While the classical style atย the front of the houseย was retained, the focal point has certainly become the extension, with the polished concrete island being a particular highlight. “We love the polished concrete island in the kitchen which has become a focal point for all activities โ entertaining, our daughterโs homework, breakfast, cooking, family discussions, handbags, mail – itโs quite hard to keep tidy, but it’s a happy spot.”
Other highlights of the home includeย the lime washed floorboards: “We retained the original pine flooring in the older part of the house, but white washed them. This flows through to the Tasmanian oak floor boards in the new extension, also lime washed. The flooring brightens the entire home.”
Having lived in the home for 13 years prior to the renovation, Lindaย is well and truly in love with the finished product. “Fromย the living area that flowsย through open bi-fold doors to the large rear deck, pool and gardens, to the cooler, newly created lounge room in the older part of our home… it’s all beautiful!”
