Alexandria Terrace Renovation

A single-fronted terrace in Alexandria, in Sydney’s inner south, opened up so that the ground floor runs as one long, bright space from the front door to a courtyard at the back.

From the street it is a modest single-storey terrace, with its decorative brackets still in place on the party walls and an upper level rising behind the front roof. [Greg: when was the original terrace built, and what state was it in when you started?] Like most terraces it is narrow and deep, with a lane at the back. [Greg: who was it for, and what did they ask for?] [Greg: was this a Development Application (DA) or a Complying Development Certificate (CDC), and were there any heritage controls?]

Inside, the ground floor is one long room: living at the front, then the kitchen, then dining, ending in a wide opening to the courtyard. A dark concrete floor runs the full length, and a stair clad in dark timber, with storage built in underneath, rises from the living area. Upstairs, timber-framed windows, external louvres and highlight windows look into the trees, and one bedroom sits under the roof with raked ceilings. [Greg: which of these parts did you design, and which were already there?]

The house now opens from front to back, with the courtyard working as an outdoor room off the dining space and a roller door through to the lane. Upstairs, the bedrooms take in daylight and treetop views. [Greg: how do the owners use the house now, and is there a line from them we could quote?]