Property Buyers Agent Cohen Handler was selected to develop the following brief for the potential buyers of a Melbourne home.
“The home is a traditional single-storey, two-bedroom Victorian weatherboard cottage on a wide, open, tram-lined street,” says Christopher. “A two storey solid brick extension, added in the 1980’s, comprises a spiral staircase and two very large bedrooms at the rear. The family hopes to blend the indoor/outdoor area, add an en suite downstairs, a loo upstairs, and strike a fine balance between Victorian and modern style.”
In his Archicentre Renovation Report, Christopher does not tamper with the heritage-protected façade. He creates a walk-in-robe off the master bedroom with private access to the communal bathroom, which would replace the existing living room.
Moving into the hub of the house, Christopher uses the existing dining area to propose a magnificent staircase. “The new stair will back on to a glass wall that extends to the ceiling, treated with opaque glass or corrugated fibreglass to allow diffused light to shine through.”
Behind the glass staircase wall would be a skinny light court. Meanwhile under the stairs, a storage unit and opposite the fridge, a washer and dryer concealed behind panels.
The existing spiral staircase and bathroom comes down and in its place a neatly geometric kitchen equipped with an indoor/outdoor bench to house the fridge, the hot plates and passing through a window wall to the garden, a barbeque with additional bench space for food/drink preparation.
In a word: civilised.
“We considered keeping the kitchen where it presently is,“ says Christopher, ” but felt that the new location is a better sitting space. There’s a good view from there and it’s a nice, undisturbed pocket. At the moment, a lot of this area is the transitional walking space and we wanted an area that is out of the way for sitting, a space ideal for a long couch, a coffee table and a backdrop wall to hang art.”
Up the stairs leads to an expanded first floor children’s wing with roomy landing, study nook, two dedicated bedrooms with wardrobes, bathroom to share and highlight windows to obtain good afternoon reading light. “The kid’s domain should offer an agreeable journey up stairs with northern light filtering through over the kitchen.”
Estimated project costs ranged between:
| Item | Low est | High est |
|---|---|---|
| Additions/refurbishments | $65,000 | $90,000 |
| Fitouts | ||
| Kitchen | $ 20,000 | $30,000 |
| WIR | $ 3,000 | $ 4,000 |
| Bathrooms | $ 25,000 | $34,000 |
| Bedroom robes | $ 3,000 | $ 5,000 |
| Joinery – living room, study | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Dining room | $ 4,000 | $ 6,000 |
| General repairs | $ 5,000 | $10,000 |
| Heating | $ 5,000 | $ 8,000 |
| TOTAL | $140,000 | $207,000 |