Chesterfield House
“A home designed for sustainable living”
As we move forward, architectural styles such as Californian bungalows (built in the 1920s and ‘30s) are staring to become time pieces – with a number of local councils placing heritage status on individual homes as well as in selected precincts. Epping, 18 kilometres north-west of Sydney, is endowed with a number of these homes, including this one, which was restored, renovated and extended by Studio JLA Architects – working closely with heritage architect John Oultram.
Studio JLA Architects inherited a fairly rundown bungalow which required a restoration of its façade, complete with its timber columns and shingles. At the rear, the fairly rudimentary lean-to was removed. However, while the front was easy to address, the house needed a considerable amount of reworking to cater for a couple with two children. So, past the threshold, the house is now part period, part contemporary – with the original section of the house given over to the bedrooms, including the main bedroom and a home office. And while a large part of the house had been stripped of its original features, such as an open fireplace, the decoration that was untouched, such as the plaster ceilings, was restored.
In contrast to the period home, Studio JLA designed a strong contemporary addition. Clad in a Japanese dark-stained Japanese timber ‘sho sugi ban’, the new wing, is orientated to the north and now embraces the garden via large sliding glass doors. Given the width of the block, there was sufficient space to provide the living area on one side and the kitchen and dining area on the other, with a change of level on the site creating the opportunity to delineate both. And to ensure natural light entered into the core of the house, there’s now an internal courtyard as well as pop-out-style lantern-like roofs over both the kitchen and the living.
Mindful of creating spaces for the children, the architects included a new rumpus room as part of the renovation that can also function as a study area for them. The steel and glass doors/windows that frame this space also allow for passive surveillance so parents can see whether its being used for pleasure or for homework. However, when privacy is required, as in the case of the neighbour’s property, timber pillars (in a similar spirit to the home’s façade) create a veil to the courtyard conceived for alfresco dining.
Studio JLA Architects has transformed what would have originally been a modest abode into a substantial contemporary home of approximately 300 square metres in area. It has also taken up opportunities to create unexpected nooks for the children. A new spiral staircase in the main passage, for example, leads to a small attic in the pitched roof – akin to a cubby house but found indoors. And although the house has almost doubled in size, the design cue responds to the scale of rooms and ceiling heights, creating a series of fluid and interconnected spaces designed for contemporary living.
Architect – StudioJLA
Interior Design – StudioJLA
Builder – EM Build
Structural Engineer – SDA Structures
Hydraulic Engineer – Istruct
Landscape – Stunning Surrounds
Council – Hornsby Council
See the Chesterfield House in Epping featured in the Architectural publication, The Local Project.
