Renovation and small addition makes home better suited to modern lifestyle
A small black box extension totally transforms the back of a 1930s brick townhouse, adding space, natural light and indoor-outdoor flow

While older homes may have attractive character features, they often still bear the layout of a time when lifestyles came with different priorities. And in many of these houses, it's the kitchen that stands out as being most out of step.
Although this 1930s red clay brick townhouse had had some renovations to it in the 1990s, the basic problems still existed says architect Natalie Dionne.
"In the kitchen, you couldn't see outside there was a small window onto a side alley and neighbouring property, but no outlook to the garden," says Dionne.
Add to that a wall dividing the kitchen from the adjacent dining room, and the back of the house felt dark and closed up.

Removing the wall required some structural work, and began the process of opening the interiors up. But to increase the available space and connect both the kitchen and dining room to the outdoors, Dionne took a less conventional approach with the small addition that extends the ground floor and the first floor bedroom.
Clad in high-quality fibrecement board, Dionne refers to the addition as a Black Box, grafted onto the original brick structure. Punching a hole through the brick wall upstairs and downstairs has completely opened up the back of the house.
For the kitchen and dining room, this connection is enhanced by the back of the house at ground level now being a wall of glass and bifolding doors.
"The Black Box adds more space to the kitchen which now opens to a courtyard for outdoor eating, while the dining area has a covered outdoor space in front of it, so it can be opened up even if it's raining."

The home's original oak floors were refurbished and provided the starting point for materials selected for the new interiors. The long island top is solid oak, while rift and quartered white oak veneer was used for cabinetry and as the interior lining of the Black Box.
"By reconfiguring the outdated internal divisions and grafting on the two contrasting black volumes, the existing architecture is enhanced and better reflects the modern lifestyle of its owners."
Credit list
Architect
Builder
Flooring
Paint
Cabinets
Sink
Oven, cooktop, microwave, dishwasher, ventilation
Lighting
Dining furniture
Kitchen designer
Windows
Wallcovering
Cabinetmaker
Benchtop
Faucet
Refrigerator
Kitchen stools
Story by: Trendsideas
Home kitchen bathroom commercial design
Renovate your home loan to help you renovate your home!
Furniture look kitchen exudes good taste
Bringing the outdoors in
Home Trends Vol. 34/1
If you're designing a bathroom for a new home or renovating your existing one, you'll quickly discover how involved the process can be.It's not only the challenge of how to fit the different functional zones into the often limited space available, but also the bewildering number of choices for the fittings, fixtures and materials required.