Reaching out to the scenery

Designed by Dorrington Atcheson Architects

From the architects:

The setting

From the road, this bungalow gives little away of the green-filled valley it overlooks at the rear. 

The renovation has maximised this outlook, bringing much needed light and sunshine into the living spaces and incorporating  wide views of the garden and the borrowed landscaping beyond.

Our homeowners wanted to increase the floorplan of their tiny weatherboard cottage, to create more family space, improve liveability and create a better connection through to the rear garden. 

Internally, the reworking of the existing cottage interior allowed us to create a series of cohesive and connected spaces that modernised what had been there before.

Our response was in two parts. 

We reworked the floorplan of the existing cottage to create two children’ bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room combining a sunny lounge area and a home office space. 

The addition is loosely arranged as a square. 

One quarter houses the main bedroom and ensuite; another has the kitchen and dining space – which connects to the lounge quarter on a diagonal axis. 

The final quarter is a covered deck area recessed into the corner of the house.

The kitchen

Kitchen, living and dining seamlessly co-exist and are spacious enough to allow the family to be together within this space and apart at the same time. 

The kitchen/dining area is designed as a hub for family living, with curved corners to ease the natural flow around the island block.

Our owners were particularly keen to maximise light and morning sun – something we achieved with full height windows facing east and high level windows that bring in light from the west as the day progresses.

The result is a light, bright inviting space for the family.

We wanted to create visual and tonal connections with the garden and the borrowed landscape, so having the cabinetry in soft greens and warm timber panelling accents helped draw the indoors and outdoors closer.

Butler's pantry

A butler’s pantry and laundry is tucked behind the main kitchen and can be shut off when required. 

An open shelving unit integrates into the main kitchen and conceals the door to the main bedroom. 

The shelves repeat the curved edges of the island block and provide the perfect spot for cookery books and other objects.

Issue resolved

The main constraint we faced was the sloping site, with the rear garden significantly lower than the floor level of the existing cottage. 

The addition needed to serve as a link to the rear garden, but we also wanted to make the most of the views available from the level of the existing cottage. 

This meant finding a way to do both without compromising on either.

Designed by: Dorrington Atcheson Architects

Story by: Trendsideas

Photography by: Simon Wilson and Emma-Jane Hetherington