Simple’s Sake—Darlinghurst Terrace Reimagination

When it comes to small houses, good architecture can often be out of reach due to budget limitations. Bucking this trend, TRIAS brought creative solutions to the realisation of this Darlinghurst terrace, as well as a more collaborative approach to the design process in order to help clients Laura and Aman achieve their desired home within a tight budget. “We all brought a spirit of experimentation, looking for value, and thinking about every element for what it was bringing and what it was worth,” says TRIAS co-founder Jennifer McMaster.

Built in the 1890s, the heritage-listed terrace, located on a 45-square-metre site on a back street of Darlinghurst, was showing its age. It was dark and damp with small rooms, an enclosed rear addition, and a steep staircase awkwardly bisecting downstairs. Laura and Aman wanted better light and airflow, and to reconfigure the spaces to suit their way of life, reducing two upstairs rooms to a more generous main bedroom and incorporating more garden. “We understood this was never going to be a family home and liked the idea of keeping it for two people and two pets,” says Laura. As a heritage item, the colourful façade and interior layout needed to remain, while the rear addition could be replaced.

Inspired by a mutual love of the simplicity and beauty of Japanese architecture, Laura, Aman and TRIAS’ design direction was guided by the idea of a home being a respite of calm amid the vibrant city. “We wanted to create a place of peace where every detail contributes to the whole and the home becomes its own world,” says Jennifer. Both Laura and Aman are creatives – Laura has a ceramics studio (Mennt) and Aman is a visual designer – and they worked collaboratively with TRIAS to balance a desire for quality with finding value. Laura crafted and sourced tiles, and designed hardware and furniture, while TRIAS streamlined the design process knowing Laura and Aman trusted the strong creative vision. “We tailored our process to suit these highly creative clients who were able to visualise and understand the design without a laboured process,” Jennifer explains.

Maintaining the original layout, the living and dining areas are in the front two rooms, with a new addition containing the kitchen and courtyard garden. Each area is marked by a subtle spatial shift while remaining open, connected and as generous as possible. Following the topography of the site, the floor steps up from the living area to first the dining and then the kitchen, and a bench extends along the side of the living room seamlessly becoming seating for the dining table and a step to the kitchen. A courtyard garden brings light and air throughout downstairs and introduces garden and sky views. Laura designed and made the glazed tiles that wrap the upper level of the lightwell, as well as the terracotta tiles on the kitchen floor contributing to the crafted, textured aesthetic.

The kitchen is pressed against the back wall, providing the essentials for Laura and Aman’s lifestyle. There is no full-height fridge or cabinetry. Rather a half-fridge, drawer dishwasher and pantry drawer are beneath the brass benchtop, and a small sink and two separate hobs maximise the benchtop surface.

Stairs rise alongside the newly bagged brick wall and enter between the bedroom and bathroom. Previously two enclosed bedrooms, upstairs is now light and open with cupboards rather than walls providing separation, but also connection. “It’s a slightly unconventional way of approaching a bedroom and bathroom. We were inspired by hotel rooms, which can afford to be more experimental, and by Japanese models of living,” says Jennifer.

The bedroom is at the front and the bathroom at the back. The toilet and wardrobe are sleeved within timber-lined blocks to create the sense of separation, while allowing light, air and views throughout. This design also retains the heritage layout, as the walls sheathed within the timber blocks read like two rooms on the plan. Both the bedroom and bathroom look out to nature, with a view of the neighbour’s tree at the front, and the new rooftop garden on top of the addition at the back. Designed by landscape architect Kirsty Kendall, the garden blends rocks, natives, and other plants, providing urban green space and habitat.

The refined and reduced material palette includes Victorian ash timber floors and joinery, and blackbutt doors and window frames. Laura also sourced the bathroom tiles (a seconds find), and designed the brass handles and hooks, and the timber dining table, sofa and day bed.

With light, air and nature views, Laura and Aman’s terrace is a calm oasis in the city, achieved by a team intent on making good design and sharing a strong creative vision. “It was teamwork and effort on everyone’s part and a joy to fulfil,” says Jennifer.