Renovation / Addition Project Over $2 million

The client brief for this project was to transform a circa-1897 Victorian home in Hawthorn into a more modern and enjoyable space for a family of five. The builder has achieved that and more, expertly overcoming a range of challenges in the process, including replacing a rotten existing subfloor, and installing structural steel in the roof space for the first floor addition. New arched openings in existing walls have greatly improved connection between spaces, while still keeping with the original home's style. The builder has gone to exceptional lengths to retain and enhance period features, including restoring the original tessellated tiles, and painstakingly retaining and relocating the existing marble fireplace. Plaster ceiling roses, cornices, architraves and skirting boards were all custom made to match existing original mouldings. Luxury finishes are featured all through the home, including beautiful use of Bianco Carrara marble. The home now enjoys much more natural light, and improvements to insulation and energy performance were also made. All works have been carried out with great skill, and the judges summed this renovation up in a single word: phenomenal.