It was the light-filled living room with its decorative ceilings and original features that persuaded the owners to buy this grand 1920s house in Sydney's eastern suburbs. "I love the living room," they say. "We've had a lot of fabulous parties in it - it's the reason we bought the house. It has windows on both sides and opens out to a big verandah that has wonderful views."
After buying the home in 2016, the owners made a few minor alterations. A first-floor addition had been built about 30 years prior, but it needed updating, so for the first couple of years, the family all lived on the ground floor and shared one bathroom.
When it came time to renovate, Bianca Pohio and Chris Adams of Pohio Adams Architects were asked to take on the project; the pair were familiar with the house, having already designed a couple of bespoke pieces of furniture for the family.
The renovation was done in stages - first the upstairs area, where the brief was to include bedrooms, a bathroom and a living area for their teenage sons and, then downstairs, to create both an ensuite and a dressing room for the main bedroom, as well as a powder room for guests.
"The idea of the first floor was to set up something almost apartment-like for their sons," says Chris. "The space was totally gutted then divided by big sliding panels to create two bedrooms with a living area in between, the latter of which can be used as another bedroom when needed."
The first floor also includes a kitchenette, spacious bathroom and a study nook.
"There's a lot of flexibility with how it can work with the barn sliding doors. The aim for the top floor was to be a relaxed, casual place," says Bianca. "The ground level is much more opulent and decorative."
Downstairs, the architects reworked the floor plan through the front of the house to create the ensuite, dressing room and powder room. A steel-framed glass door now separates this parents' area from the rest of the ground floor.
"The design that Bianca and Chris came up with was to put a wall down the entryway to create a corridor and one of the bedrooms became the dressing room," says the owner. "So it's like a parents' apartment in a way. It's lovely."
Crisp white walls and dark floorboards form a strong base throughout the ground floor and make a perfect backdrop for touches of colour brought in through the furniture and artworks.
"Chris and Bianca were very much involved in the decorating as well - it's amazing to work with architects who really notice and feel your style and take it to another level," says the owner. "They inspired me to do the best version of the vibe I had in mind."
While the back of the ground floor had been renovated earlier - the kitchen and dining areas open to a landscaped garden and pool - Chris and Bianca created a walk-in pantry in the kitchen and redid the staircase from the ground floor to the first floor.
They also refinished the floors throughout for consistency and to improve the flow from room to room. "They had about four different types of flooring," says Chris. "Pulling them all together with one finish helped to unify the spaces."
The whole design was about being sympathetic to the building's origins while modernising the flow and functionality of the house, says Bianca. "We wanted to create a sense of cohesiveness in a house that was a grand old lady, with lovely bones but which was a bit discombobulated from additive kind of approaches over the years. I think this intervention pulled it all together. with the intent of respecting that level of decorative beauty houses of the 1920s had.
"The way it works now is as a couple of apartments. I think in terms of coming together and separating out, it does everything they want," says Chris.
The owners say the renovation has definitely revolutionised the way they live in the house. "It's changed everything. When we began the renovation, the boys were on the cusp of teenagehood and it was getting hard for us to all live on one level with one bathroom. Now they have their own space and they make noise and have their own mess and I don't have to deal with it unless I really want to. It's given us the privacy and the room we all need."
Pohio Adams Architects, Paddington, NSW; 0408 918 058 or pohioadams.com
Superior Interiors, Haberfield, NSW; superiorinteriors.com.au