Pedder Street by Bence Mulcahy

Bence Mulcahy has accomplished something of a magic trick with this Tasmanian renovation, solving spatial predicaments within a tight footprint without losing the colour and character of a much-loved family home.

While many of its spaces required upgrading, the owners of Pedder Street in New Town, north of Hobart, cherished many of the house’s original details such as the garden and the textured stucco facade. Top of their list of requirements was a better connection between the backyard and the living spaces, which was blocked by a 1920s layout that placed utilitarian spaces to the rear of the home. The residence is also surrounded by larger, taller houses, causing issues with privacy. Add to this a list of modernising upgrades – a new kitchen, dining area, lounge and main bedroom – and the brief was complex.

An elevated lounge provides a private nook above the kitchen, with low-level windows that look out to the garden to give an extended sense of space.

In answer, the architects played with the layout of the house, turning the focus from the rear garden to the front entrance area and placing the new spaces where the problematic service area once stood. These new rooms feature several changes in their levels, which follow the undulation of the land outside. An elevated lounge provides a private nook above the kitchen, with low-level windows that look out to the garden to give an extended sense of space. A built-in window seat doubles as storage and also creates a playful feature, allowing children to climb out directly onto the lawn.

In this way, the sunken central kitchen – a favourite room for these avid cooks – is experienced as part of the garden, its compact space protruding out to a concrete outdoor dining pad complete with a built-in barbecue. The interior dining area then stands a few steps up on the other side of the kitchen, also opening onto the garden and filled with natural light. Throughout these new rooms, storage nooks and display areas for plants and artworks have been cleverly designed into the plan, catering to the needs of the family.

The main bedroom suite upstairs signals a departure from the slightly utilitarian look of the living spaces, with a palette of dusky and deep pinks used for laminates, tiles and walls.

The colour and material palette for these new rooms is mostly governed by the homeowner’s extensive art collection, with the kitchen grounded by warm timber cabinetry, a green-tinted, polished concrete floor, and deep-green stone kitchen counters. Further cabinetry is formed from brickwork and matte laminates, creating hardy finishes for fuss-free living. The main bedroom suite upstairs signals a departure from the slightly utilitarian look of the living spaces, with a palette of dusky and deep pinks used for laminates, tiles and walls. This is matched by a small bathroom on the lower level, which uses green tiling lit from above by a skylight.

Outside, the stucco is enhanced by the addition of a white grid mesh, which will eventually support a green wall of vines. Along with the new interior enhancements and alterations, this helps to deliver on the homeowners’ wishes for modernising the home while also keeping with their eclectic style and the unique essence of the architecture.

Architecture and interior design by Bence Mulcahy. Build: Thylacine Constructions.