With a basic white picket fence and verandah, this cute cottage in regional Victoria has the form of appeal that lasts lengthy after its unique period.

Proprietor and photographer Stef Driscoll had up to date totally different rooms contained in the Nineteen Twenties home over time, however at all times made an effort to retain its quaint really feel. So when she engaged the assistance of Torquay-based agency Leÿer Design Studio for a extra important makeover in 2020, the transient was to create trendy areas and cohesive inside, with out shedding all of the heritage particulars that stuffed the house with character.

‘Stef wished an area the place she might create long-lasting recollections with family and friends across the kitchen island sharing scrumptious meals and wine,’ Leÿer Design Studio founder Rebecca Leijer says.

‘Attending to know Stef and the way she lived and entertained in her residence was essential to set the scene for the mission’s design philosophy.’

They even checked out her meals pictures as references for her dream kitchen, which revealed her must-have options like an island bench with a cooktop, so she might nonetheless work together with company whereas getting ready meals.

‘She had her plans drawn up by Chris Adams Design, altering the ground plan in addition to including an addition to the rear of the property,’ Rebecca says. ‘Once I got here on board, Stef and I labored by way of some extra format modifications collectively for the kitchen, pantry, laundry and loo.’

There was a lot unique brickwork in the home that had beforehand been hidden beneath plaster. This impressed them to create a full-height wall of uncovered brick as focus of the brand new open-plan kitchen space.

‘We knew it was going to be essential to essentially hero it and make sure the supplies we used had been delicate in color,’ Rebecca provides.

The remainder of the tonal inside palette was designed to assist join the previous elements of the house with the brand new addition. New textural bejmat tiles line the island bench in a chalky peach hue, layered with sage greens, terracotta, terrazzo, and heat timbers.

‘Stef sourced some reclaimed timber flooring from a faculty in Melbourne and used as a lot as she might for the timber cabinets within the kitchen,’ Rebecca says. They had been additionally capable of retain the unique timber doorways and a mantlepiece from one of many fireplaces was repurposed as a shelf within the hallway.

Rebecca says it’s all of the little particulars which have helped flip this dated home right into a ‘actual residence’, whereas the brand-new extension already feels prefer it’s been there for a very long time.