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This once-bland house on Sydney's Lower North Shore has been transformed into a glam family home with a distinctly Mediterranean flavour.

- Judy Pascoe

For the well-travelled owners of this home on Sydney’s Lower North Shore, every day feels like a Mediterranean holiday thanks to the imaginative makeover executed by Three Birds Renovations. The transformation is impressive: once a bland, ‘patchwork quilt’ of a house with a rabbit warren of rooms, it’s now an open, bright and glamorous abode with spectacular views of the harbour and surrounding bushland.

Introducing curves and arches throughout, adding textured render and an organic stacked stone wall as well as a colour palette of soft blue-green against a warm white backdrop has brought the flavour of modern Mallorca to the house that is perched on a sloping block. The 900m2 site is tiered upwards from the street-level garage with the pool on the same level as the main entrance to the five-bedroom, three-bathroom house.

Having bought the home in 2017 the owners and their two school-age daughters persevered with its awkward layout until contacting Three Birds in 2020. Handing over the keys to the team required a leap of faith as the owners also entrusted their budget and creative control, returning to a fully renovated and styled home.

With their winning formula, the Three Birds principals – Bonnie Hindmarsh, Lana Taylor and Erin Cayless – set to work gutting the interior and reorganising, adding to and refining details during the process. Their particular brand of stylish yet practical magic was layered on top of the owners’ brief to deliver four bedrooms, two studies (one permanent and one flexible space) and an overall Mediterranean vibe.