YOUNG AT HEART

AN INTERIOR DESIGNER'S LABOUR-OF-LOVE RENOVATION IS IMBUED WITH PERSONAL TOUCHES IN EVERY ELEMENT OF THIS HERITAGE HOME

- KYLIE JACKES

CHARACTER CALLING The heritage features of this Geelong Victorian Terrace won over Bartleby interior designer Lucinda Sleep. "I wanted the new extension to look like it was meant to be there," she says of the open-plan area, which sits at the end of the original hallway, where tiles define the threshold between the old and new. Every interior selection was thoughtfully procured, from the Townhouse Living console paired with an Arte Mirror from Rachel Donath, to the custom tartan hallway runner from Scotland and hallway artwork by John Lendis. Lucinda modified the Schots Home Emporium pendants to resemble moons.

With a passion for heritage homes, history and hunting for old-world treasures, interior designer and artist Lucinda Sleep was in search of a place she could restore and stamp with personality, when a pretty facade caught her attention in 2016 along a street dotted with double-fronted Victorian terraces in Geelong, southwest of Melbourne. "The exterior was in beautiful condition for its age and inside it had 3.6m high ceilings, which was a real selling point," recalls Lucinda.

Devoting time to thoroughly plan the extensive renovation and restoration that lay ahead, Lucinda rented the house for several years while developing a design concept that would successfully meld the home's charming heritage features with a new addition. "Although the original front half of the house was intact and structurally sound, the back had undergone several 'tacked on' additions, including a 90s galley kitchen and pokey bathroom, so the plan was to gut the rear to create an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area," explains Lucinda.