Victorian Villa by McCluskey Studio

Heritage details and historic charm are woven into the sensitive transformation of an 1860s home that is now a contemporary family residence that harmonises with inner-city living.

When McCluskey Studio was approached to update Victorian Villa, an 1860s double-fronted home in North Melbourne, the brief was to preserve its historic charm while evolving it into a space suitable for a 21st-century family lifestyle. Refreshingly, the clients – a professional couple with a teenager – embraced the spatial realities of inner-city living, opting not to demolish or extend the home.

Clever solutions were required to draw light into the house, which is positioned between two double-storey dwellings.

Kate McCluskey Kyle, founder and director of McCluskey Studio, aimed to maximise functionality and space by reconfiguring the existing walls around the home’s historic details. The two front rooms – the master bedroom and the study/library – remain from the original floorplan, but the rear has been painstakingly opened up to suit a contemporary lifestyle. An external structure once housed the only bathroom; post-remodelling, the property features two internal bathrooms, including an ensuite connected to the master bedroom. Each space opens to the rear of the home, directing flow towards new steel-framed doors leading to the courtyard, pool, pergola and the former bathroom, which is now a home office and laundry.

Clever solutions were required to draw light into the house, which is positioned between two double-storey dwellings. “Instead of scaling up, there was an opportunity to make use of existing ceiling heights, drawing attention to the details with floor-to-ceiling joinery and tiles and the addition of skylights,” says McCluskey Kyle. In the kitchen, the walnut and Calacatta marble island with low-height cabinetry gives space for the ceilings to soar.

“I’m proud of the minimal intervention but maximum impact the design has contributed to our clients’ lives.”

Maintaining the home’s heritage elements, even as a contemporary living space was mapped onto its historic bones, was key to this project’s success. Cornicing, skirting and arch mouldings have been retained, and the original pressed-tin ceiling in the kitchen and dining space was restored. An ornate fireplace in the living area has also been restored, as has a stained-glass window in the dining nook, which bathes blue leather bench seating in green light. “I’m proud of the minimal intervention but maximum impact the design has contributed to our clients’ lives,” says McCluskey Kyle. “The way we occupy space has evolved exceptionally since this home was built, meaning the design and planning phases were particularly important.”

The modern additions carefully complement the heritage elements and traditional craftsmanship. In the front rooms, original timber floors have been refurbished and are complemented by honed pale pink terrazzo floors that brighten up the kitchen, living and courtyard spaces, and terracotta-toned terrazzo and pink glazed tiles continue the theme into the bathrooms.

This smart update adds a new chapter to the story of this period home, rather than deleting its history. “The result [is] a compact city home that is a direct reflection of our beloved client,” says McCluskey Kyle.

Interior design by McCluskey Studio. Build by Form.