How An Architect Designed a Timeless Family Home (House Tour)

The New Traditional is located in Woolloowaa, close to the Cronulla beaches in southern Sydney. I'm Victoria Vine of Avenue Studios Architects and I was a project architect. And I am Loretta Wilson of Lowery Interiors and I was the interior designer for the New Traditional. The original house was built in the 50s and like many houses of this era had numerous additions which confused the identity and functionality of the home. The brief that the clients came to us with was to take the bones of the existing house and turn it into their forever family home. One of the owners grew up in Canada and she wanted us to recreate some of the beautiful homes that were nostalgic of her childhood, bringing in some of those traditional elements of beautiful Canadian homes. As you come through the front door your eyes drawn towards a deep archway that takes you through into the main living space. This north-facing area of the house is the heart and soul of the home. There's an abundance of natural light in the main living space with skylights over the kitchen and dining areas. A large arched window looks from the kitchen area out to the pool which was a really important aspect for the family. In the kitchen we lay different materials, beautiful natural brass tapware. We chose the shaker profile for the cabinetry to bring in that traditional feel along with a beautiful rich timber veneer which we mirrored above in the exposed beams. The exposed timber beams above the kitchen were a really important part of the initial client brief and they really bring that traditional element to this space. The guest bedroom which is on the ground floor is to accommodate overseas visitors for extended periods of time and has its own ensuite and robes. The two children's bedrooms benefit from a mezzanine that was part of the existing home. These were renovated and became a play space for each of the children. Next to the bedrooms on the ground floor is the main bathroom with timber look herringbone tile floors and natural marble mosaic floors as well as a arched area for the shower. Sectioning off the shower like this makes this bathroom double as the powder room for guests when they visit. Moving up the stairs you're flooded with natural light from the skylight above. Landing at the top of the stairs there's the secondary living space. The main bedroom is located at the rear of the dwelling. As you enter the main bedroom your eyes drawn to the rooftop garden beyond. You step out onto the balcony and you're surrounded by rooftop planting and you have a beautiful vista to the golf course trees beyond. You enter through two archways through the walk-in robe into the ensuite where there is an engineered stone on the walls and a natural marble mosaic on the floor along with the herringbone timber tile floor. The beautiful freestanding bathtub you have a beautiful view out the window to the sky above. The alfresco area was designed as an extension of the inside living space. These spaces collectively create a great atmosphere for entertaining. As part of the renovation we retained the existing pool structure and added the oval spa. We incorporated a large curved roof over the alfresco area at the rear. The pool balustrade follows the curve of the pool and this weaves in and out of the line of the curved roof above. The landscaping was a really important part of this project and we intentionally integrated the planting into the architecture both at the back and the front. From the rear yard you can see how the arch steel window and the curved roof soften the angular roof form. What I'm most proud of in this project is that we've taken the bones of the existing house and turned it into a really functional and beautiful backdrop for this family to live in. The seamless flow between inside and out that we've managed to create.