St. Anthony Residence

by Parker Studio

When interior designer Caitlin Parker-Brown and her husband Tim discovered a derelict period home in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, they saw an opportunity to not only restore the property to its former glory, but to make it even better. They chose to restore the front part of the house, and to knock down the “shabby back part” and build a space-maximising contemporary extension and new first floor — all to provide plenty of growing room for their toddler son Archer.

“We were realistic about needing more space and light,” Caitlin explains. “We also added another bedroom and bathroom upstairs, and now the kitchen and dining area can be fully opened up across the back, with wall-to-wall glass sliding doors in place.” While the renovation was extensive, the project took just seven months to be completed in March 2020, with help from the architects at Potter & Wilson and builders Build By Design. The home was reconfigured to accommodate two bedrooms, the living area, main bathroom, kitchen/dining space and laundry on the ground floor, and the aforementioned extra bedroom and bathroom plus study nook on the first floor.