Ageing gracefully

A 1920s worker’s cottage is sensitively coaxed into the 21st century with an emphasis on light and an ingenious rear excavation.

- Karen Spresser

STREET ENTRANCE Exterior painted Dulux Tranquil Retreat, trims in Dulux Lexicon Quarter and front door in Dulux Boathouse.

HALLWAY An arch leading to the living room inspired the curved motif that runs throughout the home. The large artwork in the hallway, Gold and Silver, is by Martin Coyte.

The facade of this charming weatherboard house may indicate its history as one of the many worker’s cottages dotted throughout Sydney’s inner west. But step through the front door and an extensive renovation has infused the interiors with new life and light.

Built in the 1920s, the cottage had undergone a few changes over the years before its current owner asked architect Brooke Aitken to design an update. “I wanted modern and bright, not square and boxed in, and I think Brooke did an amazing job,” says the homeowner, who bought the house 10 years ago. She and Brooke initially talked about going up in height and adding a main bedroom suite, but not being able to get the space they wanted meant they decided to extend downwards instead.

The era of the house was very much front of mind during the design process. “It’s a heritage conservation area, but we also felt that the existing house was beautiful,” says Brooke. “One of our design principles is to continue the life of a house as much as we can, so the idea that this was a 1920s home had an overriding influence in how the design evolved. At the same time, we wanted it to breeze into the 2020s.”