When the owners of a heritage-listed Art Deco home enlisted studiofour to design their extension, the brief was to create a space that connected a new living space to the garden.
The home is within the much sought after Hedgeley Dene Gardens precinct, and the owners wanted a stronger link to its surrounds.
The site was previously occupied by a dwelling that had no connection to the landscape and turned its back on the borrowed views available into Hedgeley Dene Gardens. In essence, the brief was for the new addition was to be fluid, permeable and highly connective with the landscape.
The design is minimal in materiality and detailing, placing emphasis on the backdrop provided by the gardens beyond. Interior elements retain simplicity and are extended outside to create a minimal transition between inside and out.
Grounded in a sense of calm, the integrated interior and exterior improves function and enhanced user well-being. This double-height space houses the heart of the home, with a focus on providing a real and tangible connection to the landscape.
The new extension provides an indoor/outdoor transition zone, gently stepping down from the house interior to the garden. Like a residential scale amphitheatre, the design allows for for many varied levels of entertaining, including outdoor cooking, integrated seating and outdoor dining area.
The colour and material palette is soothing and neutral, and doesn’t distract from the view. The beautiful flooring is Blonde Oak from Embelton Floors and the walls are painted in the popular Dulux Natural White. In the kitchen the bench top and splashback are HI-MACS Solid surface in Satin White. HI-MACS is a composition of acrylic, minerals and natural pigments that combine to create a smooth, non-porous, thermoformable and visually seamless surface.
Photography by Shannon McGrath