It was a yearning for a better flowing living space that led the owners of this Bondi residence to renovate. The dark house and unmanageable garden had to go, making way for a light filled haven the whole family could enjoy.

“They wanted to do a major landscape re-design and requested more light into the living areas’’, builder David Edelstein says.

“Our brief was to make a more open flow between inside and outside’’.

The owners had renovated the kitchen seven years prior when they bought the house, and at that time they also painted the interior. Despite the initial cosmetic changes, it got to the point where the couple felt they were not getting the full benefit of the space.

The existing weatherboard exterior was replaced with brick and render. At the front of the property, new cedar entrance gates were installed, instantly freshening the look from the street.

The landscaped gardens

“[The gates] came all the way from Western Australia’’, David says.

“It was quite a mission getting them here but they look fantastic’’.

Bright Idea

A new feature is the crisp-white carport with six skylights that throw light on to the front door at the side of the house.

“We needed to let light through to the front door, hence the skylights,” David says.

“We initially wanted to move the front door to the front of the house, but it would have been too expensive, so the skylights were plan B’’.

The red-brick pavers in the front courtyard were ripped up to make way for travertine stone tiles. A tranquil fishpond tucked under a tree, with a quaint timber bench nearby, completes the idyllic scene.

Inside, both bathrooms were renovated using similar travertine stone to create a strong connection between inside and outside. However floor rot was discovered when the existing tiles were removed.
“It meant that we had to reinforce the joists,” David says.

“That was the only challenge we had in the bathrooms.”

The owners chose European fittings and fixtures in both bathrooms.

“There’s a deep but narrow bath in the ensuite. The owners were keen to renovate sustainably, so it holds a little less water,” David says.

“We put new windows into each bathroom to let in more light and both needed new ceilings. We managed to keep the plumbing intact, which saved money.”

“As much work went into the outside as it did into the inside”

To open up the living area, the existing French doors were replaced with bi-fold doors that run the width of the house. David says to let more light in, they raised the height of the doors.

The height of the doors were raised to let more light in

“In practical terms, we got the joists of the ceiling and connected them to a beam,” he says.

“That was to make it structurally sound.”

Outside a timber deck was laid as a continuation of the internal timber floors.

“We added the external kitchen, which has a barbeque built into a bench, and rendered the external wall,” David says.

David says a lot of work was put into the landscaping of the backyard. The pool was updated and a new, clear-glass pool fence erected.

“They really wanted inside and outside to merge. As much work went into the outside as it did into the inside,” he says.

Jenny Ringland

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