Houzz Tour: A New Floorplan Creates Extra Space in a Small Home
An efficient and well-considered layout improved the functionality and living experience in this two-bedroom house
Creating more space is a common request in client briefs, especially for small heritage cottages. Often, however, there’s no room to extend backwards or upwards, so it becomes necessary to rework the floorplan to create more – and better – space in house.
This two-bedroom weatherboard house in Sydney, Australia, occupied most of the property, so an extension was out of the question. “Instead, the design brief required we work within the existing footprint of the house and rearrange the spaces to achieve a more functional layout to suit the client’s needs,” architect Kitty Lee, director of Kitty Lee Architecture, says.
This two-bedroom weatherboard house in Sydney, Australia, occupied most of the property, so an extension was out of the question. “Instead, the design brief required we work within the existing footprint of the house and rearrange the spaces to achieve a more functional layout to suit the client’s needs,” architect Kitty Lee, director of Kitty Lee Architecture, says.
The internal renovation improved the functionality of the house, opening up the rear to create an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area that connected to the rear courtyard.
Two bathrooms have been relocated from the back of the house to the centre, where they are closer to the two bedrooms, and the bedrooms have been updated and new wardrobes added.
“The most important task was to redesign the floorplan to achieve a more seamless connection between the different areas used for sleeping, bathing and living,” Kitty says.
Two bathrooms have been relocated from the back of the house to the centre, where they are closer to the two bedrooms, and the bedrooms have been updated and new wardrobes added.
“The most important task was to redesign the floorplan to achieve a more seamless connection between the different areas used for sleeping, bathing and living,” Kitty says.
Working within the constraints of the existing house provided both a challenge and an opportunity. Retaining most of the structure minimised waste during construction, maintained a small building footprint and allowed the consumption of resources to be kept to a minimum.
Thinking of renovating? Find an architect near you on Houzz, browse images of their work and read reviews from previous clients.
Thinking of renovating? Find an architect near you on Houzz, browse images of their work and read reviews from previous clients.
The view down the hallway was formerly of the staircase to the mezzanine.
It sat alongside the living area, which had a low ceiling.
Kitty transformed the former living area into two bathrooms plus a walk-in pantry and laundry, and relocated the staircase without taking up space from the hallway. It now wraps around the new bathrooms, and skylights bring more natural light into the centre of the house.
Chowder loved to sleep under the existing staircase, so he has his own purpose-built cubbyhole now…
…complete with a porthole window to provide a view to the main living area.
Previously, the kitchen was dark and outdated and didn’t have enough space to accommodate the fridge.
Kitty redesigned the kitchen, creating space for the dining area alongside. The curved island worktop is convenient for ease of movement around the kitchen and dining area, and the walk-in pantry and laundry is concealed behind a door at the end of the room.
“The owners were surprised they were able to gain a walk-in-pantry that wasn’t part of their design brief,” Kitty says.
“The owners were surprised they were able to gain a walk-in-pantry that wasn’t part of their design brief,” Kitty says.
A splashback window brings more natural light into the kitchen and dining space and provides a view of the trees outside. “The house has been designed to maximise the use of daylight and therefore reduce the reliance on electric lighting during the day. All the lights installed in the house use low energy-consumption LED lamps,” Kitty says.
The walk-in-pantry/laundry is an extension of the kitchen, and includes space for the coffee machine and wine fridge.
The Moon Garden terrazzo worktop provided the starting point for the materials palette. “The soft grey colour has been picked up in the joinery, tiles, carpet and curtains, while the specks of blush have inspired the use of warmer tones in the timber, bathroom tiles and paint colour in Chowder’s cubbyhole,” Kitty says.
The new dining table, chairs and artwork by Kimmy Hogan complement the kitchen palette.
The new living room was created by demolishing the two old bathrooms at the rear of the house. The large, light-filled room takes up the full width of the house and flows seamlessly from the kitchen and dining area.
New sliding doors and timber steps improve the connection to the rear courtyard, and new clerestory windows replace the smaller original windows, opening up the house to sky and treetop views.
“The addition of new windows and doors also encourages air movement and cross ventilation for improved passive cooling of the house,” Kitty says.
“The addition of new windows and doors also encourages air movement and cross ventilation for improved passive cooling of the house,” Kitty says.
The two existing bedrooms have been renovated with new carpets, wardrobes and timber shutters.
One of the wardrobes was specially designed to house the owner’s trainer collection.
The bathrooms are now located in the centre of the house where they’re much more convenient for the bedrooms. The en suite is off the second bedroom.
The main bathroom is accessed at the bottom of the stairs, and it borrows natural light from the en suite through a highlight window above the vanity unit.
The mezzanine was redesigned to create a cosy second living room/guest room and is now also used as a work-from-home space.
“The design of this house demonstrates the importance of having an efficient and well-considered floorplan first and foremost,” Kitty says. “When the owners approached me to redesign the house, they had an idea of how they wanted to achieve the brief, but I’m proud I was able to give them more than what they’d imagined and create a house that feels so much brighter and larger without an extension.”
Tell us…
What do you like about this redesigned home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like about this redesigned home? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Who lives here? A couple – a software engineer who collects trainers, and an accountant who loves yoga – and their chow chow dog, Chowder
Location Sydney, NSW, Australia
Size Two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an additional mezzanine/guest room; 103 sq m
Architect Kitty Lee of Kitty Lee Architecture
Builder Wyatt Projects
Joiner Intrend Joinery
Photos and styling by The Palm Co
The couple purchased the house after looking in the area for several years. It had a small garden and was close to the parks for Chowder. But they wanted to improve the interior space and the street appeal.
Kitty developed a new colour scheme for the exterior, including repainting the roof sheeting, and added timber battens on top of the front fence and a new timber-battened side gate.