The pink palace
When considering the future of this remarkable house on one of Paddington’s busiest one-way streets, there was one outcome architect Jane McNeill had in her sights.
“We sought to create a reclusive and calm oasis that turns away from busy Paddington and looks to the harbour beyond,” says McNeill, of Luigi Rosselli Architects.
And why not? With its elevated aspect that went beyond the 'harbour glimpses' enjoyed by many Paddington terraces, the property had the good fortune of a superb location, a huge 474sq m block and a view that could never be built out.
Purchased in 2018 as an unrenovated but immensely roomy four-level property with a rogue garden and faded 1980s pool, a total overhaul was required to bring it into the present day.
“Our clients wanted to update the interior of the house to introduce as much light as possible within the terrace and provide spaces for their extended family to be able to both gather and retreat,” McNeill explains.
“They wanted the house to feel light and airy both inside and out. We also wanted to make a feature of the iron lacework and external Victorian ashlar coursing and lintel features. The provision of a lift was sought to future-proof the house for the clients' mother, who lives with them.”
Sold as a five bedroom, two bathroom, one car space abode, the transformation resulted in a newly considered property comprising four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a powder room, multiple living spaces and two off-street parking spaces.
“The house’s heritage character and features were left largely intact and unspoilt, except for the more recent 1980s additions which were removed and replaced,” McNeill says. “The redesign sought to retain and work with the more original fabric in a respectful, classical and timeless manner.”
She adds that the terrace is one of Paddington’s oldest, having originally been part of James Underwood’s Paddington Estate, dating back to the 1830s.
“The property was formed in 1839 in the Paddington Estate subdivision,” McNeill says. “The house was built for Leonard Smirnoff-Cooper, the chief clerk of the NSW Legislative Council. It was known as Eltham at first, and became Torquay around 1901. The original part of the house is dated 1873, with a rear addition added in 1895, and later additions including the rear verandas, then modern additions dating back to the 1980s.
“Although the house is not heritage listed, it is in a significant Heritage Conservation Area and is a handsome example of a three-storey late Victorian Paddington filigree terrace-style house.
“The significance of the place is largely embodied in its terrace style, its primary gabled roof form, the sections of the early rear windows and extant original fabric. These were all sought to be retained.”
Although the designers were keen to honour the heritage of the house, one key element of the redesign became a sticking point.
“The council originally refused the addition of the lift form to the front of the house,” McNeill says. “The form relates to that of the adjacent arched windows and doors. But they finally came to their senses and allowed the addition, which is separated from the older part of the front facade by a strip of glazing with a lattice screen that is slowly becoming a vertical garden.”
McNeill had “no concern with the house’s heritage elements and saw them as a rich character to work with”.
“This project, we would argue, can be seen as proof that the ancient typology of the row house can adapt and evolve and endure over time without losing its history.”
The rethink of the house included considering the colour of the paint inside and out, with a light pink hue chosen to bring a sense of airiness to the property.
“The external colour we arrived at is subtle and warm, akin to the colour of Himalayan salt,” McNeill says.
The palette extended to the interiors, with peach soft furnishings, custom pink marble vanities in the bathrooms and exquisite City Stik Brodware from luxe Paddington bathroom supplier, Astra Walker.
“The client favoured a soft and feminine palette,” says interior designer Tania Handelsmann of Handelsmann + Khaw. “We generally kept the public spaces neutral, with fresh white walls and natural stone and timber flooring, and concentrated her favoured pastel colours in smaller defined areas where they could make a strong statement, without distracting from the beautiful period and contemporary architecture.
“For instance, in the bathrooms and kitchen we introduced colour through tiles, dramatic marble and hand-painted joinery. This is evident in the master ensuite, with its Norwegian rose marble vanity and pink Popham tiles.”
She says the atrium space created in the redesign of the house was “gallery-like in scale and feel and called for a curation of striking sculptural pieces”, including the original 1960s Lara Sofa by Pamio, Massari & Toso for Stillwood and the vintage Bonacina occasional chair, both sourced from Tigmi Trading.
“The varied shapes and heights of the furnishings create a dynamic dialogue and necessary contrast with this crisp white box. Several timber pieces were selected for both the atrium and sitting rooms, echoing the tones of the original sandstone walls and alluding to the original Victorian detailing throughout the home, and bringing a necessary warmth to these spaces,” Handelsmann says.
For landscaper Will Dangar, of Dangar Barin Smith, the creation of an urban oasis outside was a natural progression for the house.
“The original garden was a small lawn surrounded by mixed plantings,” Dangar says. “The screening elements to the west were retained and the rest were removed to make room for the pool and spa.
“We were also very fortunate that the garden to the east was a project of ours from several years before, so we ‘borrowed’ from the landscape next door, which at a higher level made the garden feel very mature instantly.
“The clients were exceptionally easy to work with which always makes the design phase more enjoyable. They wanted a garden that was lush and rich with the overarching brief being privacy. Our practice loves to work with texture and form so the result was very satisfying.”
Dangar says the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle in remaking this property was the installation of the egg-shaped pool and separate spa.
“The original design had the spa as part of the pool. We experimented with separating them, which was what was eventually built. The soft geometry of the pool allowed us to wrap the shapes with lots of tropical plants and the wonderful oasis was the end outcome.”
PADDO POOL TERRACE
Design Architect: Luigi Rosselli
Project Architect: Jane McNeill
Landscape Architect: William Dangar, Dangar Barin Smith
Interior Designer: Tania Handelsmann, Handelsmann + Khaw
Builder: Buildability
Joiner: David Reddy Furniture
Pool & Spa Contractor: Malibu Pools
Stonemason: Bobby Choroomi, Granite & Marble Works
Photography: Prue Ruscoe
A chequered history
Maps and council documentation from the 1870s show this terrace originally had a coach house plus a particularly generous garden and was built for Leonard Smirnoff-Cooper, the chief clerk of the NSW Legislative Council, who was the son of an English empire bailiff and a Russian aristocrat.
Over the years, bankruptcy, infidelity, divorce and remarriage saw the house pass through many hands and with many turns of fortune. It has been in the hands of dentists, tailors, builders and, in the early 1970s, following Paddington’s loss of prestige, a labourer. Eventually an architect with a passion for history purchased it and, from 1973, housed his offices here, a reflection of the rediscovery of the charm of Paddington as a suburb and the intrinsic beauty of the terrace house.
— Luigi Rosselli
