By creating a courtyard PWA has made it possible for this inner city home to enjoy both an open garden setting and its location close to the heart of the city.

Sally and Errol came to us with an old Edwardian house built in Glebe. It is the centre piece of a set of three houses built, circa 1895. It had been converted into a boarding house, a rabbit warren of dim passages and gloomy rooms. Having lived in dark inner city houses, a critical priority became that the renovations to this house bring in as much natural light as possible. Another priority was a studio space and removed from the busier parts of the house.

The home that they sought was one where the rooms were light and spacious, where spaces flowed into one another and out into a garden. It would have plenty of built in storage and be a comfortable place for their extended family and friends to gather and stay.

From the beginning it was clear that the renovation of this house was not to be a restoration, but it was important to all, that the new additions be in harmony with the original fabric of the building. PWA sought to reveal and reinforce the character that exists within the original building with the additions. PWA looked to the architects of this period who were influential in the birth of modern design: Voysey, Mackintosh and Lutyens, were referenced for ways of bringing light into the building and the fine functionality of the detailed joinery.

A huge dormer window was inserted into the roof and the winding staircase was altered to pull light deep into the centre of the building, forming a grand double height entry space. Wrapping the new additions round the western and southern extremities of the block forms the courtyard and garden. All the rooms facing into the courtyard have large openings whose doors slide or fold away incorporating the courtyard into the house. Sally's studio, a guest room and a garage are contained in the stable like building on the southern and rear edge of the block, while the glazed building on the western edge links this building to the main house. The link building contains a laundry, guest bathroom and a sitting room. The kitchen sits inside the original house and forms the transition between the new additions and the old building. The bedrooms are housed within the roof space of the original house and a sense of shelter is expressed with the sloping ceiling space. All the rooms contain detailed joinery elements for storage that imbues each room with a different mood.

An air of mystery still surrounds the original building with its peaked turret and dark heavy walls. Inside, the impact of the alterations has been to invent a much lighter, airier, habitable home. The original character of the house has been released to be enjoyed by occupants and visitors alike.

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