Puzzle solved

Interior architecture and design by Katherine Charlton Design (KCD)

From the designer:

The owners bought a Californian bungalow in Kew, Melbourne in 2018 as a home for their young family. 

It had been previously renovated in the late 1990s but had not been updated since. 

The interior space was all there, it was just awkwardly laid out and, in some areas, there was too much space for the owners to know how to furnish it and live in it well. 

Having lots of existing space was a bonus and meant we could reconfigure things within the existing floor plan and save on cost.

KCD was approached to help re-shape the floorplan and update the entire house to better suit the family. 

The owners wanted something family friendly, contemporary (but warm and welcoming), and with a place for everything (lots of storage).

Space planning is the part of the design process that gets me the most excited. 

Exploring all the possibilities and working on the plan like a puzzle, trying to get the pieces to align and flow is problem solving at its best.

 After coming up with a few plan options and presenting them to the owners they knew right away the option that would enable them to live the way they had hoped.

For these homeowners it was all about gaining a proper main bedroom suite with an ensuite and huge walk-in robe. 

She had clothes stored in the various cupboards around the house and it had always been a dream of hers to have a proper WIR. 

The other drawcard was a new larger kitchen and built-in living room joinery which helped to ground the space, giving it ‘book ends’ and making it feel more purposeful and beautiful at the same time. 

By deleting an existing staircase that was taking up far too much space and that had made the downstairs zone feel disjointed we were able to add in a study and a much-needed powder room off the main living zone.

One of the other major changes was to remove all the faux colonial style trims, windows and details that were part of the 1997 renovation and modernise the ‘new’ part of the house. 

We decided that everything beyond the four original rooms would be considered ‘new’. 

We replaced all windows with black steel frames and added simple, elegant living room joinery, and a new kitchen – making symmetry the hero, which resulted in a calm, unified interior. 

We divided the house into three zones: 

• Lower ground floor – the shared family zones, including the kitchen / living / laundry / study / powder (study and powder were added). 

• Upper ground floor – the master suite with WIR, ensuite and formal sitting rooms opposite for the parents' retreat (ensuite and WIR were added). 

• First floor – the childrens zone upstairs including three bedrooms and a family bathroom – we updated the bathroom and put in new carpet to the childrens rooms.

Story by: Trendsideas