Hindsight

After discovering a lovely family connection to their new home, anna and tom experienced a “dream run” expansion and update of the old weatherboard house

From the moment Anna Whitehall entered this Edwardian home in Kensington, Melbourne, she knew it was special. But she didn’t comprehend its full significance until months later, when she and her partner, Tom, found out that the first home they’d purchased – after bidding on 10 auctions – was where her grandma, Elvie, had grown up. “Elvie’s family rented it when she was a child and she went to the school at the end of the road – where our son, Lenny, will go, too,” says Anna. “Of all the places, I couldn’t believe we ended up here, in this house!”

When the couple decided to update the century old, two-bedroom house, they turned to architect Nick Harding, of Ha Architects. The addition of a bedroom and mezzanine study was sympathetic to the family roots, but also transformed the home for a new generation. Here, Anna and Tom reveal the lessons learnt along the way. 

1. THINK CREATIVELY AND EXPAND YOUR BUDGET Renovating can quickly become a costly exercise. Anna and Tom sold most of their house fittings on Gumtree, including their old kitchen, hot water system and fireplace, so they could splurge on extras like designer lighting. “We really wanted to be able to light the entire home, and in particular the back space, in different ways,” Anna explains. Not lovers of downlights, they installed a selection of dimmable lights from Artemide. “It’s great to be able to change the mood and have different options,” she says.