Elizabeth House
On a very small budget - how much can we 'add' without doing any extension
“It was a dark, closed-in house — now it’s open, light, and feels so much bigger without adding extra footprint.” (Julie Evans HUNTERhunter)
A 1990s brick veneer home in Mayfield, Newcastle, has been transformed into a light-filled, Scandinavian-inspired residence through careful reconfiguration and thoughtful material choices. The renovation focused on enhancing natural light and ventilation by removing the garage, introducing a central corridor with louvres, and repurposing spaces for open-plan living.
Key design elements include polished river-rock concrete floors, cork flooring for warmth and acoustics, and exterior updates with blackbutt timber battens and boxed-out window reveals. Recycled materials, such as reused bricks for garden paving, emphasise sustainability and cost efficiency. The project demonstrates how rethinking an existing layout, rather than expanding, can deliver significant functional and aesthetic improvements within a short timeframe and on a modest budget.
“Rather than extending, reconfiguring what was already here completely changed how the house works...It was done in five and a half months — that’s unheard of, and a testament to working with good people and good trades.” (Julie Evans HUNTERhunter)
This project was one of our first projects as a new architecture practice - it is an example of how simple architecture can be very good and more importantly canbe playful, joyful and just work.
