Previous pages: Grafting a black box made of
high quality fibrecement onto the back of this
1930s brick townhouse has addressed many of
the problems with the old home, while preserving
the authenticity of the existing architecture. On
the ground floor, the addition gives much needed
space and light to the kitchen and, at the same
time, improves connections to the garden.
Above: A skylight in the addition floods the
kitchen with natural light. The oak veneer ceiling
of the addition complements the home’s existing
oak floors, which have been refurbished.
search | save | share at
While older homes may have attractive
character features, they often still bear the
layout of a time when lifestyles came with
different priorities. And in many of these
houses, it’s the kitchen that stands out as
being most out of step.
Although this 1930s red clay brick
townhouse had had some renovations to it
in the 1990s, the basic problems still existed
says architect Natalie Dionne.
“In the kitchen, you couldn’t see out-
side – there was a small window onto a
side alley and neighbouring property, but
no outlook to the garden,” says Dionne.
Add to that a wall dividing the kitchen
from the adjacent dining room, and the
back of the house felt dark and closed up.
Removing the wall required some
structural work, and began the process of
opening the interiors up. But to increase
the available space and connect both the
kitchen and dining room to the outdoors,
Dionne took a less conventional approach
with the small addition that extends the
ground floor and the first floor bedroom.
Clad in high-quality fibrecement board,