Glen Iris House

The clients’ brown brick house was tired and outdated, but living in it had drawn them to modernism, and they wanted to keep its character. They had three young kids and a dog, and a large, private backyard on an L-shaped block that the house completely ignored. To make it harder, the yard sat almost a storey and a half below the main living level.

We left the front largely alone. The brick was bagged and painted, and perforated metal screens went over two front windows to give privacy to an ensuite and dressing room. A reshaped front fence with matching screens keeps a friendly connection with the street, and a timber-lined front door opens to a circular skylight.

Out the back, the upstairs living areas now connect directly to the yard, so the kids have an easy run outside. A staircase clad in studded rubber doubles as seating, or a stage. The study is pulled out into the corridor, so whoever’s working there can keep a quiet eye on the household. Copper and brass details run throughout, adding warmth that will only improve with age, and a large open steel grid at the rear pulls the house’s different volumes together.