GitarrenHaus

by Bijl Architecture

A three-level interwar 1920s cottage transformed to an open easy living and modern space.

Located on a steep block, with majestic harbour views of Sydney, clarity of the original interwar cottage interiors had been muddled by decades of ad hoc alterations.

Economic stringency and the move towards modernism, were reflected throughout the 1920’s home, with the heavy influence of Spanish Mission, Georgian Revival and Art Deco throughout, designers Bijl Architecture had to rethink and rearticulate the flow of the whole home.

The new design incorporated a more substantial ground floor level and a renewed lower ground floor level music room and cellar cut into the incline of the steep site.

Intent on simplifying the interior scheme and opening up sight lines to the exterior, all excess partitioning has been stripped back to create open spaces, and the roof had been punctuated with deep skylight wells, providing much needed natural light throughout each space of the house.

Large glazed sliding doors allow the home to seamlessly segue onto the revitalised deck, looking out to the view and the subtropical garden surrounds.

By simplifying the dwelling, the humble embellishments of this Walter Burley Griffin-inspired structure began to take on real grandeur: the hipped and tiled roof, the gentle sandstone arches, and the manner in which the house nestles into its surrounds.

Photographed by Katherine Lu.

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