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Sustainable design underpins Melbourne cottage reno

March 11, 2020 Leave a Comment

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Sitting on a diminutive 195 square metre block in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, this weatherboard workers’ cottage was renovated recently, with Gardiner Architects at the helm. The front section of the house encompassed two bedrooms, a hall and a lounge, while the rear was home to your typical weary lean-to.

“It was small, dark and pokey with low ceilings and no insulation. Along with being hot in summer and freezing in winter, the house, as it was, had no connection to the outside,” says architect Paul Gardiner who set about amending all of those things.

Front of the home
The home’s heritage front was restored; a 1970’s concrete porch was removed, and a bullnose added.

Restoration works were completed on the front heritage section, of the home, while a modern, open-plan extension was added at the back. The home was also opened up to the outdoors at the rear, and with the addition of a courtyard.

“Our approach is to find ways to allow for internal spaces to have adequate light, protection from hot afternoon sun and a visual connection to green spaces and the sky,” says Paul. So, while the home is nestled in a dense, urban area, it feels private and protected with the garden key to this feel.

Backyard
Backyard
Bedroom
The modest home has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a European style laundry and a separate study.

Of the decision to restore the front of the home, Paul sees value in celebrating and preserving heritage buildings regardless of whether regulations require it or not. The practice, rather conveniently, also happens to be sustainable too.

“Keeping construction materials already in use has to be one of the most effective and sustainable things to do. Unfortunately, in Australia we don’t have adequate systems that see demolished materials sorted and sufficiently reused and recycled. So, we say, don’t knock it all down,” says Paul who retained as much as he could from the existing home.

Kitchen
Kitchen
A European laundry is a space saving technique
Situated in the hallway, a European laundry is one of the home’s space saving techniques

And while the architect is keen to restore heritage features, he sees no value in creating a new home that is trying to look like an old one. “Rather than extending the same roofline or using the same materials for the new area of the house, we like to find a way to relate to the old without replicating a period aesthetic,” says Paul.

Bathroom
Bathroom
Bathroom
Bathroom

Sustainable practices underpin the home’s entire design; an aspect that was client driven. And while the owner didn’t fully understand what sustainable building practices were, she was keen for them to be incorporated in the home. Firstly, keeping the house on the small side was a sustainable choice, and the home was designed with passive solar design principles including a northern orientation that allowed for protection from the hot afternoon sun.

“We also chose to incorporate a concrete slab for thermal mass that helps maintain a temperate climate inside. Solar panels and water tanks assist to reduce the usage of mains electricity and water, which in turn reduces the home’s running costs,” says Paul.

Lounge
Lounge

The home’s aesthetic choices were driven by the owner’s existing collection of old furniture and art; a mix of family heirlooms and pieces collected while travelling. “The pieces have a very warm and rich aesthetic,” says Paul. Timber flooring and joinery, as well as white paint, was used to complement to the collection.

“We weren’t seeking a minimalist approach, just a backdrop for all her beautiful belongings to sit within. The spaces have a comfortable feel while being open and full of natural light.”

Photography: Tess Kelly

For more on Gardiner Architects | Self-taught owner builder transforms Melbourne home

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Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
📸 @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭 N The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭

None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

I've lost track of how many baskets I've thrown out because they've gone soggy or mouldy. They look pretty, sure, but they're not fit for purpose and they're often messy and overflowing.

Here's what I love about his @brabantia_australia one:

✔️ ventilation holes
✔️ no need to remove the lid for small items plus it hides your dirty laundry from view
✔️ easily removable and washable inner laundry bag that velcros back on 
✔️ corrosion resistant so fine in bathroom or laundry 
✔️ Brabantia make things as sustainably as possible
✔️ compact, sleek, European design
✔️ 10 year warranty
✔️ tall and skinny so takes up less floor in my tiny laundry

The Rolls Royce of laundry bins? I think so 👌🏻

TOLD you this was going to be exciting!

Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
"Living rooms are important spaces where our publi "Living rooms are important spaces where our public and private lives intersect."

So says stylist @nataliewalton in her gorgeous new book Style, the Art of Creating a Beautiful Home.

"They are where we gather to welcome guests and entertain. But they are also where we decompress and relax at the end of the day. Increasingly, they are open-plan spaces and need to work within a greater scheme. Bringing all the elements together cohesively requires care and consideration. And, if you want a space that lives up to its true potential, make it personal and create with conviction."

Read an extract, the chapter on elevating your living room, on the blog today via link in bio.

Published by @thamesandhudsonau Pix by @chriswarnes 

#livingroomdesigns #nataliewalton #coffeetablebooks #designbooks #interiorsbooks #livingroominteriors #elevateyourspace
Kids and husband messing with my vignettes again🤨

PS. The coaster was RIGHT THERE 🤪
#weatherforit 🥶 Need a new blanket? Look no fu #weatherforit 🥶

Need a new blanket? Look no further than these gorgeous South African blankets from @baobabcollective, sustainably sourced, ethically crafted and imported by a Southern Highlands couple.

On the blog now via link in bio.
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Amy Collins Walker

About Amy Collins Walker

Amy is our regular feature writer, an experienced journalist and interior stylist living in Perth, Western Australia. Find out more about her styling work at http://www.amycollinswalker.com/

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