Roof terrace outdoor solution for inner-city WA home

Situated on a tiny 183 square metre block, in the inner-city Perth suburb of Mount Lawley, creative design solutions were top of mind when designing this gem of a home.

“We wanted to provide as much floor space as we could which meant the block didn’t have the typical ‘backyard’ outdoor space. In order to create a usable outdoor space, the idea of a roof terrace came about,” says the home’s architect and owner Paul Muggeridge, of its 42 square metre private roof terrace that overlooks the neighbouring rooftops and Perth city skyline.

Roof terrace — The roof terrace is lined with merbau timber

Front elevation — The inner-city residence has parking for three cars

Another key design constraint was making sure that enough light could penetrate the ground floor of the home, which is located in a laneway. “We wanted to walk in the front door and be flooded with natural light. This is evident in the 2.7 metre high glazed doors, the level one courtyard and the skylights washing light into the living spaces,” says Paul.

The availability of light also played heavily into the choices inside the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home – the staircase in particular. “We love the steel cantilevered staircase. Being able to see through each stair tread allows light to shine through from the skylight into the ground floor space,” says Paul.

Elsewhere, concrete was used to great effect, most notably on the floor and in the cantilevered concrete kitchen bench that, while housing lots of storage, makes a fabulous statement in the small living space. The living area also features large cavity slider doors that further open up the space and bring the outside in.

As for the colour palette, the largely monochromatic scheme is broken up with the occasional pop of colour – Nood Co concrete basins make a statement in the master ensuite and a deep blue feature wall has fabulous impact in the adjacent bedroom.