The original house was a single storey Victorian cottage in the beachside suburb of Bronte. As happens to many old houses the backyard had become a maze of badly built, ill conceived lean-to additions. The rear of the house faces north and the lean-to's took no advantage of the potential sunshine. A single Jacaranda was the focus of family activities.

Several issues were important to Sarah and Mark. First maintain as much garden space as possible and the next was to maximise the amount of area without dramatically altering the view of the house from the street.

PWA's strategy was to pare back the house to its original form, lift the ridge line and add a large rear dormer that comes down to ground. The cottage character of the front of the house was maintained while completely opening the house to winter sun, the garden and the Jacaranda tree.

Summer sun and privacy were controlled in two ways. The Jacaranda tree was a natural solution, to which an exquisite timber box was attached to the house, framing the tree and garden while controlling light and privacy.

The light box attached to the back of this Victorian cottage opens the house to the sun and the garden. Completed in July, 2000