The World Within—Quirky 1960s House in Sydney’s Paddington

The streets of Paddington, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, are lined with Victorian-era homes: rows of elegant terraces adorned with ornate cast-iron filigree, and modest workers’ cottages expressing the beauty and texture of their sandstone walls. Smash Repair House occupies a corner site amid these heritage homes. Designed by Matt Elkan Architect, it presents a contemporary and unassuming façade in contrast to the Victorian-era showiness. But this comparatively plain exterior belies the rich timberwork, detailing, light and space beyond the brick walls. “It’s the contrast of a hard exterior and soft interior,” says Matt. “I was influenced by my travels to Japan where the townhouses have an anonymous façade, but the possibility of a richly detailed internal world.”

The homeowners didn’t want a typical Paddington house. While terraces and cottages are often sought-after and prized, they can lack light and space unless major renovations are undertaken. And even then, their shared walls and long narrow form enforces constraints on the adaptability of the design. Instead, the couple bought a house built in the 1960s. Describing it as “sunny, happy and quirky, but a bit ugly,” they saw far greater possibilities for its design, and potential for how they would live in the house.

The original house (which was once a smash repair workshop) was two storeys with a flat roof and a bridge over a central courtyard connecting to an open terrace on the rooftop of a garage. The courtyard allowed plenty of natural light to filter inside the house through the north-facing glass wall, and the terrace offered a view over the Paddington rooftops to the Sydney CBD. But while the clients loved the privacy the original house afforded, it had some idiosyncratic features: Greek pillars, lemon-coloured finishes and a spiral staircase encased in a frosted glass cylinder.

The clients wanted to create more space by building into the large courtyard, and to move the kitchen, dining and living areas to the second level where they receive greater light and aspect. They also wanted a second living area, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Presenting a sense of anonymity to the street, the original brick walls have been retained and painted, and new pitched roofs over the terrace and third storey have the same profile as neighbouring houses. The entrance is recessed into the side of the house, and a large steel door opens to the entry foyer and the now-smaller courtyard, visible through large glass doors. “The corner site with internal courtyard means the house looks inward so it’s a completely different life you can achieve in a place like this,” says Matt, comparing it with the terrace.

Downstairs is a television room that doubles as a guest bedroom, plus a bathroom, laundry, study and the entrance to the garage. Upstairs is the kitchen, living and dining, terrace, bathroom and guest bedroom. The main bedroom with ensuite is on the third floor – a new addition the pitched roof enabled space for. Timberwork provides texture and warmth throughout the house, and was meticulously built and detailed by Brad Swanson of Arc (Architectural Renovations + Carpentry). The ground level has a concrete floor, and unpainted fibre cement panels are on the staircase walls.

In keeping with the original house, the north-facing windows bring natural light into the living and dining area, with a double-height space in front of the windows and skylight in the back corner enhancing the light even more. The dining banquette and sideboard are built-in, and the builder made two dining tables with the timber joists reclaimed from the original ceiling.

The kitchen joinery is a rich contrast of timber, dark finishes and white recycled-brick walls, and a section of the floor has long timber slats spaced with a small gap to pay homage to the former bridge. The kitchen faces north-west to the courtyard and opens to the terrace, and the ceiling lifts to a high pitch that extends over the terrace to provide protection from sun and rain.

The upstairs bedroom looks out to the courtyard, with timber shutters blocking the morning light and a ribbon of windows framing the western view. Joinery behind the bed incorporates bedside tables, shelving and drawers, with the wardrobe cupboards behind.

Louvre windows throughout the house allow the homeowners to fine-tune the ventilation, and external blinds on the west- facing windows provide solar control. All the windows and door frames are made from 100 per cent recycled timber, and any imperfections have been purposefully maintained. Because the timber hasn’t been sanded down, the frames are thicker than usual, and the crafted handles are solid and tactile.

“Everything in the house, like in Japan, is done with a lot of consideration and workmanship. It speaks of care and is not done for show,” says Matt. “I like that the house has a hard-ish edge to the street, but it unfolds inside and becomes very rich.”

Inside issue 79 — Grab the issue here.