Hargrave Terrace

Location

Gadigal Country
Paddington, NSW

Status

Completed

Year

2017

Builder

BAU Group Construction

Photographer

Prue Ruscoe

Landscape Design

Outdoor Establishments

Joinery

Saltwater

Stylist

Alexandra Gordon

This grand Victorian terrace in Sydney’s east had been converted into four apartments during the 1920s austerity era. Our client’s brief was to undo this subdivision and restore the three-level terrace to its former glory.

A discrete new rear addition extends the lower ground level – once a dark, damp laundry – into a new light-filled kitchen and dining area that opens to the garden. The original top level is reconfigured and restored, while the middle, street-level salon and living room, blend materiality and details from the levels above and below – mediating between the old and new.

A palette of natural materials – oak and steel, marble and brass – is used throughout, with different detailing between the new and heritage rooms. The skylit staircase connecting all three levels is simply detailed with a fine oak balustrade that offers a contemporary nod to traditional timber work. Like the reborn house, it is elegant, contemporary and timeless.

A carefully orchestrated layering of history presents an elegant new identity with glimpses of the past.

Darghan Terrace