Out of suburbia — Local Paddo

It’s a pattern real estate agents are seeing more often in Paddington. As couples become empty nesters, rather than retiring to a cramped apartment building, they downsize into a comfortable terrace in a good location.

“While it can be hard to move from a suburban home with open space around it and larger living areas and so on, a good design (in a terrace) can meet a client’s needs and make the transition seamless,” says Paddington-based Jen Humphry, whose Modify design and construction business is a local powerhouse of terrace transformations.

“In the case of this property, the owners are a downsizing couple who moved from out of the area — a suburban home — into Paddington to enjoy the inner-city lifestyle and be closer to ‘the action’ and live within a more village atmosphere.”

The couple bought the four-bedroom, two-bathroom house in Regent St in 2020 and before moving in, sought to renovate.

“The terrace was in reasonable condition when we were engaged, albeit the rear of the terrace was extremely pokey,” says Humphry. “The brief was to modernise the rear, retain original features throughout where possible and draw light and openness into the spaces.”

The house had the advantage of being filled with heritage features that could be retained and worked into a more modern design.

“The terrace was built in the early 1890s, though the heritage consultant discovered it is not clear exactly when it was constructed as there is a gap in the maps of Paddington. It was a vacant site in 1890 maps, but was a built form in the 1894 maps," Humphry says.

“The property is in City of Sydney council area and is in a heritage conservation area. It has the wonderful aspect of being adjacent to a small park and therefore has an open vista on the northern side, allowing it to be flooded with light with thoughtful design.

“The owners were very keen to use beautiful existing furniture and marry in a more open, clean-lined modern rear extension that was light-filled, with the wonderful existing features of the original terrace in other areas. The whole terrace needed to be timeless and provide many years of enjoyment for the couple."

Humphry believes that creating a functional home in a heritage property is achievable with well-considered design.

“Our practice always considers function and aesthetic/form together as people need to be able to live comfortably within a home. Considering function does not need to be at the expense of aesthetics and form of architecture and design, but needs to be considered as part of it," she says.

“Light and ventilation were an absolute must in bringing life back into this home. As the rear yard is small and predominantly used as a parking space, we wanted to bring a softness to the rear with a green roof. This also draws the nature that this site enjoys, with its open vista across the adjacent park, into the home to make that relaxed, sanctuary feel within the home.

"The living spaces were small but work well for the couple and are also able to easily support guests and family when visiting. The open kitchen area is light-filled and enables a social space that spills both to the rear living and also to the dining towards the front of the home to make it a social living and working space.

“The bedrooms and bathrooms were all about ‘heroing’ the heritage details and marrying them with fun little quirks in the joinery, playful but classy and timeless finishes in the bathroom spaces, and general updating of all areas throughout the home,” Humphry says.

The owners were open to using some interesting materials throughout the house to bring out its character in the modern context.

“The stone used in the kitchen is New York honed marble. While the clients wanted the kitchen to be simple and minimal in terms of detail and colour, they were keen to explore some fun stone options and landed on the striking New York stone which is the hero of the kitchen.

“The owners are delighted with the outcome and are thoroughly enjoying living in the area, and living in the space itself,” Humphry says.