The places in which we grow up have a unique pull on our heartstrings. While looking for a new home for their growing family of four, keen renovators Monique and John found themselves drawn to Avalon, a popular coastal town on Sydney’s Northern Beaches where Monique had spent some of her childhood. “Coming here with my mother as a child, I loved the holiday feel of the place. We wanted that for our kids [twins Mia and Bella] to enjoy as they grow up. We also loved the feeling of space and community,” she says.
When the couple came across a 1940s weatherboard bungalow, appropriately named Jacaranda Cottage for its beautiful flowering jacaranda trees, they promptly snapped it up, with the intention of making it over. “We liked the slope of the land at the back of the house and the way it caught the sun,” says Monique.
They lived in the house for five years before making any changes. Eager to retain some of the home’s original features – such as the verandah, the sandstone foundations and the fireplace – they opted to renovate rather than knock down, turning the home into one spacious open-plan level with a U-shaped internal layout – the kitchen, living areas and bedrooms wrap around a central covered deck area. “We wanted the renovation to be sympathetic to the rest of the houses in the street,” explains Monique. “All the original houses had been single storey, which is a lot easier with young kids.”
source Home Beautiful
Posts
