Top: Engineered oak floors contrast
with white surfaces, for a refined
look in the living area.
Legend: 1 living, 2 kitchen/dining,
3 study, 4 bathroom, 5 master,
6 Walk in wardrobe, 7 ensuite,
8 drying room, 9 bedrooms
Facing page: Solid stairs lead to the
mezzanine study with riserless stairs
continuing up to the master suite
and other rooms on the new floor.
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level, with the seven steps from the living spaces
to the dining area and further steps down to the
garden negotiating the dropping ground level.
“With the ‘60s refit gone we were able to
create an open flow to the new rear yard with
floor-to-ceiling glass doors and a wall-sized pic-
ture window above,” says Firkin. “Inside, we
divided up the soaring rear volume created by
the drop away in two ways – vertically with a
new mezzanine level, to be used as a study, and
horizontally in terms of ceiling height and use.”
Introducing the mezzanine floor naturally
resulted in a low ceiling height directly beneath
it and the architect slotted the contemporary,
white perimeter kitchen into this central area.
The other side of the rear volume is given
over to the dining area. This achieves a refined
air from the double-height void that rises above
it, past the mezzanine to the 4.5m stud ceiling.
“The sense of internal space is accentuated
in other ways, too,” says Firkin. “The open-plan
lounge looks down and through the dining
area, creating long sightlines. Elements like the
stairs and the gas fire are built into the internal
formwork – for an uncluttered aesthetic.”
In addition, the custom riserless stairs further