A home extension for a growing family in St Kilda

The owners of this traditional weatherboard home decided that if their family was going to grow, their house needed to as well. With the original two bedrooms and one bathroom not meeting their needs, this St Kilda family saw one clear solution: extending. They got in touch with renovation specialist Paul Cree. Providing his new customers with one point of contact, Paul managed the project end-to-end, completing it within five months.

House renovation specifications

There were a few aspects to this project. In addition to requesting a second storey extension and a bathroom addition, the job also required a ground-level extension, in order to make room for a staircase. A few downstairs changes were made to create a more bright and airy home.

Renovation design

“A light and spacious feel to the home was a key priority and influenced a number of aspects during the design stage”, says Paul. “Although the majority of the work was on the additional floor, we carefully looked at how the ground floor could be optimised at the same time, which has resulted in the ground floor now having a much more airy feel; with a small increase in the living room size, raised ceiling heights and new large stacking slider doors all working well together.”
The downstairs extension and stair installation also provided an opportunity for an innovative laundry design.
“We are particularly pleased with how the hidden laundry under the stairs turned out, making excellent use of the space and adding further practical functionality to the home, which was previously missing”, tells Paul.

Construction and interior decorating

On the first floor extension, height restrictions required the build of a vaulted ceiling. A rear extension, resulting in an overhang, meant that downlights could be added for feature lighting. There was also the challenge of building the boundary wall up against the neighbouring property, which was solved using a HardieSmart ZEROLOT wall system.
With the construction and interior decorating complete, Paul’s customers are left with a far more spacious and light-filled home. Upstairs, Baltic pine flooring and white floor to ceiling paint creates a natural and calming bedroom space. Mirrored sliding doors add to a multi-purpose wardrobe. Having windows spread across three out of four walls aids the rooms in feeling open and well-lit.

The final result

While somewhat small, the bathroom design exudes style and functionality. The new bathroom features a neutral colour and easy to clean materials. A long walk-in shower adds a touch of luxury.  
“The additional space that the extension creates really transforms the home to support a growing family. It has gone from being a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house to a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house”, enthuses Paul. “The customer was very pleased, in particular with the amount of light that now floods into the ground floor of the home. We achieved this by increasing the width and height of the doors to the garden. They also love how much sun reaches the bedroom.”

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*All information is believed to be true at time of publishing and is subject to change.