Balwyn Road

The original mid-century house, built in 1963, was left untouched at the clients’ request. What it needed was room for the kids, and a reason for them to get outside: before, they rarely went out into the garden.

The new children’s wing (three bedrooms, a bathroom, a laundry and a rumpus room) speaks the original’s language without copying it. We weren’t interested in recreating a period piece. The aim was to translate the brief into something with a mid-century spirit that still belongs to now, and the colour throughout is brave and confident.

The biggest change is how the kids use the garden. There’s now a sequence from their bedrooms, through the rumpus, onto a terrace, into the yard and straight onto a built-in trampoline. A new kitchen and meals area updates the way the family cooks and eats together, and at the front, a guest pod was a pleasure to design and should be just as much fun to stay in.

Shortlisted, 2012 Victorian Architecture Awards, Residential Alterations and Additions.