When architect Jeffrey Bokey-Grant of the firm Bokey Grant first set out to remodel a 1920s worker’s cottage in Sydney’s Inner West that he shares with his wife, their plans were “much larger and more ambitious,” says the architect. Then a nine-month deadline set in: the pending arrival of the couple’s newborn daughter.

While the remodel’s goals were the same—to incorporate a third bedroom and better connect the house to the garden—they now had to accomplish those aims within the constraint of the home’s original footprint, which is 1162 square feet. Doing so enabled faster approval via a Complying Development Checklist and fostered a thoughtful plan that balances the home’s historic aspect with crisp modernism.

The original home was subjected to a number of remodels over the years, which stripped it of many original details and added an “asbestos lean-to” at the rear. “The new work aspires to ‘undo’ a number of these questionable improvements, sensitively stitching into—and celebrating—the original heritage fabric,” says Bokey-Grant.

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The architect maintained the home’s central corridor as the principal organizing spine, off which the three bedrooms and bath are positioned. That corridor now feeds into a gracious living and dining space punctuated with expansive openings to the garden.

Rather than fold the kitchen into the main living space with a large island, Bokey-Grant opted to “twist” the kitchen and have it face the narrow side boundary. Doing so connects the room to both the main living spaces and, thanks to a large opening with folding glass doors, utilizes an area that often goes unused: the side yard.

Throughout the revitalized home, the balance between historic reference and contemporary detailing is “intentionally different but not contrasting—it had to be a seamless relationship, which has been achieved subtly,” says Bokey-Grant. “It’s full of subtle details throughout which slowly reveal themselves.”

Related Reading:

An Australian Cottage Gets a Mediterranean-Inspired Revamp

A Rundown Brisbane Cottage Turns Into a Ravishing, Modern Home

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Bokey Grant / @bokey_grant_architects

Builder: Heath Millard & Andrew Connell

Structural Engineer: SDA Structures

Interior Design: Bokey Grant