Heirloom by Trotta Architecture and Litera Design

Trotta Architecture and Litera Design reimagined a fire-damaged 1903 bungalow into a layered, sculptural family home grounded in permanence and material richness.

Set on a generous 3,000-square-metre site, Heirloom began with an unlikely prospect: a heritage-listed four-room cottage that had partially burned down, the roof collapsed and a small forest growing within. The clients – a young couple with two children – approached the project with a clear ambition to restore the home to its former glory while creating a generous, light-filled extension that could support their growing family. As avid entertainers with a large extended family, their brief centred on crafting a home that would feel equally comfortable in the everyday as it would during large gatherings. The resulting plan embraces this duality, with communal spaces oriented around a north-facing courtyard, and interiors designed to open up and flow with ease from inside to out.

As avid entertainers with a large extended family, their brief centred on crafting a home that would feel equally comfortable in the everyday as it would during large gatherings.

Visitors enter through the rebuilt front portion of the home, where a study, moody library, guest suite and powder room retain the scale and intimacy of the original cottage. Every detail has been carefully reinstated – from cornices and bay windows to stained-glass windows and brickwork – offering a sense of continuity and memory. This restored wing sets the tone for what unfolds as a collection of spaces, each distinct in character yet unified by material and flow.

A softly vaulted ceiling leads to a glazed link, where repeated arched thresholds draw a gentle line between past and present. The home then expands outward and upward, with a plan structured around three key zones: the heritage core, a light-filled central pavilion and a contemporary rear volume that opens to a courtyard and garden. “I consider Heirloom as a collection of homes, weaved together through considered planning and materiality – it’s a journey from its heritage past, to a modern entertainer’s dream, to a rich and moody underground level that transports you to a completely different world,” says Chris Trotta, founder and director of Trotta Architecture.

The new addition is defined by a pitched off-form concrete roof – introduced in response to council expectations that the structure remain sympathetic to the form of the original cottage.

The new addition is defined by a pitched off-form concrete roof – introduced in response to council expectations that the structure remains sympathetic to the form of the original cottage. “The pitching off-form concrete roof was borne of these considerations,” says Bronwyn Litera, founder and managing director of Litera Design. “It is an architectural feature that sits in proportion to the heritage home but brings a unique and sculptural resolution.”

This gesture anchors the new volume. Beneath the soaring roofline, a central staircase – its stone slabs stacked and subtly offset – rises beneath a vast skylight, drawing light deep into the plan and offering a moment of sculptural clarity within the home’s shifting volumes.

The layout continues to unfold: a kitchen, casual dining space and scullery occupy the glazed central corridor, the main living and dining area opens to a courtyard and pool, and a rumpus room is tucked discreetly behind the stairs. On the lower level, the program expands to include a wellness zone with spa, sauna, ice bath and gym, conceived as a moody retreat distinct from the rest of the home. Reclaimed brick, ambient lighting and up-lit arched ceilings create a sense of immersive calm. Upstairs, five bedrooms – anchored by a generous primary suite – offer light, retreat and quietude.

A restrained palette of blonde Krause brick, natural stone and steel-framed glazing creates a visual rhythm across both old and new. Grounded, deliberate and deeply personal, Heirloom is a story of connection – to memory, to material and to a long future ahead.

Architecture and interior design by Trotta Architecture and Litera Design. Powder room and library interior design in collaboration with Decus.