Heart of stone

Contrasting its heritage sandstone construction with a bold contemporary interior design has given this Sydney house permanent status in the future.

- JUDY PASCOE

While all home renovations require a pertinent response, some demand more sensitivity than others and this house in Sydney’s inner west was just such a project. Dating from around the 1860s and of sandstone construction with a distinctive ‘twin peaks’ roofline, it was a home of significance and inherent beauty, and architect Nadine Alwill, engaged for the refurbishment, paid it due respect.

The owners had been renting the house while searching for a place to buy and had been captivated by a property nearby that Nadine had worked on. However they didn’t buy that house and instead bought the one they had been renting.

They knew just who to approach to make the house suitable for themselves and their family of three children. “We got along really well from the beginning which was great,” says Nadine. Having lived in the house, the owners had a clear idea of the functional aspects that needed to be addressed. “It had been renovated probably in the 1980s,” explains Nadine, “but it had a lot of things done to it over the years and had not always been used as a home. The property was certainly in need of some love and a refresh.”

While the owners gave Nadine free rein, it wasn’t possible to achieve quite the radical transformation she sought because of the heritage component. “I really had to listen to the old building and be more truthful to it. We had to keep many elements throughout the house that spoke of its history and original intent. But a lot of the rooms didn’t make sense. The laundry, for example, was outside in the former stables,” says Nadine.