Toxteth House

by Welsh + Major

Toxteth House by Welsh + Major Architects is a project that endeavours to challenge the contemporary default of simply using the backyard as a method of making a home feel more spacious. Using the existing framework of a grand old terrace located within the inner-city Sydney suburb of Glebe, Welsh + Major have redefined inner-city living by maximising existing space and making the relatively modest home feel more grandiose in size. A living and entertaining area has been created by connecting the backyard to the kitchen, ensuring the residents are able feel at home within this modernised terrace environment.

The kitchen is so often the focal point of social activity within a home, no matter where you find it located in a plan. The existing kitchen of this grand inner-city Sydney terrace, typically located in the rear wing, was visually and physically separated from a small courtyard to the rear. Rather than relocating the kitchen, Welsh + Major utilised its current position to re-focus the internal and external spaces around it. This succeeded in shifting the relationships between spaces, recalibrating apertures, detailing thresholds and connections, framing views and creating backdrops.

The kitchen has been redefined using a powerful blend of materials giving a whole new feel to the existing space. Copper, timber, marble and steel have been combined throughout the kitchen and extended out to the rear and side courtyards. Steel benches, timber cobbles, stone and concrete have been used to provide detailing to the space. This rich mix of materials has been able to give the relatively small spaces a significance and substance that belies their modest size.

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