Sydney architects Tom Mark Henry adapted this terrace house in the inner-city suburb of Paddington to cater to the modern lives of a family of five.
Dubbed Windsor House, the terrace house was built in the 1970s and had existing features the architects wanted to preserve, including a unique street presence, a central staircase and an open floor plan.
Aside from creating physical connections between this split-level terrace house, the stair also brings light into its centre. Tom Mark Henry restructured the basement to create space for a steam room, powder room, laundry and entertainment suite and extended the stair to connect to this new level. The kitchen was then moved from one side of the house to the other to create an easy entertaining area that connects to the rear courtyard through 3m-high steel framed doors and also connects to the new lower level.
The kitchen is at the heart of this terrace house and features a full suite of Fisher & Paykel appliances, chosen for their ease of use and streamlined aesthetic. The interior design is contemporary but in keeping with the original style of the exterior architecture, with a material palette that includes rendered walls, v-groove ceilings, timber joinery, limestone flooring, and ribbed glass to visually connect spaces.
The homeowners wanted to be able to live comfortably in the house and the furniture chosen is both contemporary and cosy.
Windsor House is a modern terrace house that is family friendly and stylish.
I'm Kushla, one of the directors of Tom Mark Henry,
and we're in Windsor House in Paddington.
Paddington is known for lots of terrace houses.
This terrace is particularly unique.
It was designed and built in the 1970s,
unlike a lot of the very old terrace homes.
So whilst it fits in with the context
of Paddington being a terrace home,
it really does stand out with its street presence.
The original architect had fully embraced
open planning and split-level homes.
It has a central stair,
and we wanted to work with that and not against that.
The challenge with the split-level home
was creating a connection between the spaces.
So we extended the stair,
we turned the basement level
into a functional lower ground floor
with a steam room, a powder room,
a laundry and an entertainment area.
We flipped the kitchen
to then create access to the new level,
and we embraced the central stair
as a key spatial planning element.
The open stair connects the spaces
and allows light to travel
to the various areas of the home.
So the main goal for our clients, Clint and Helena,
was to create a functional family home
for their family of five,
and also for it to be one
that they could easily entertain in.
We were very happy with all the material choices
that Tom Mark and Henry chose.
They understood our grief from day one.
They just knew that we needed something
that was functional, robust, easy to clean,
easy to keep looking good.
We didn't want to have a highly specced,
high design house where we didn't feel comfortable to live.
They just got it.
They just got us and our family from the get-go,
and everything they chose,
everything they put in the house,
we absolutely love.
The design of the home itself is quite linear.
The furniture was chosen specifically
to help soften that geometry.
You enter through the formal lounge,
and you can go up to the informal lounge
or down to the ground floor kitchen area,
which connects to the rear-facing courtyard.
Heading back up the stairs,
there are the bedroom levels.
So the kids' rooms are on the first floor.
Up one level again is the master bedroom and en-suite.
And finally, there's an additional third bedroom
on the top floor with its own en-suite.
Material selection was definitely impacted
by the open plan and split-level design.
We wanted to maintain transparency wherever possible
so that light could travel
throughout the different levels in the home.
We've got limestone floors on the ground floor,
which seamlessly transition from inside to outside,
marble bench tops,
and beautiful detailing like ribbed glass on joinery,
which allows a visual connection between the split levels.
Ceiling heights in a home just creates an energy,
obviously allows a lot of lighting.
And what complements those ceiling heights the most
is probably the dining and kitchen area,
where we've got over three-meter-high steel doors.
You really do get that captured,
framed indoor-outdoor experience.
Not a lot of terraces have that sort of level living.
Really important to me particularly
because the kitchen is the heart of the home.
It's where we spend most of our time.
We needed to find the right appliances
to allow us to be able to entertain,
fit in with our budget,
and also have an integrated look and feel
with the designer kitchen that we'd created.
We felt very comfortable with the Fisher & Paykel brand.
I originally thought I was going to go for a gas cooktop,
but when I saw the new Minimal Induction Cooktop,
I was just sold straight away.
Sleekness.
The sleekness, the way that it just sinks straight
into the beautiful marble bench top looks great,
and it's so inconspicuous.
I also got the dishwasher, which is great,
and the column fridge has been an amazing choice.
The longevity of my fresh produce has been amazing.
They last two to three weeks longer
than what they did before,
so very, very happy with the fridge choice.
I think a good appliance is defined
by how easy and intuitive it is to use,
and the Fisher & Paykel range
definitely hit the mark with that.
The ovens have a touchscreen.
They've got stored recipes.
It's so easy to use,
and motivated me to do even more cooking
and even encourage the kids
to get a little bit more involved,
which has been great.
What we're most proud of in this home
is the feeling that you get walking through it.
There's a level of calm that's ensued by the finishes,
and the light is very soft.
My favorite part of the house
is the connection on the ground floor
between the kitchen and the courtyard.
The courtyard, when it's open,
essentially doubles the entertaining and living space,
and it was an amazing use of the site.
The Fisher & Paykel team worked really closely with us
to ensure that their appliances fit in with the design.
They're modern, they're sleek, they look great,
paired with the traditional aesthetic of the joinery.
I think I'm most proud that we were patient
and waited for the right property.
I think all the things that you hear,
make sure you buy in the right location,
the right street, facing the right direction,
all of those things are really important.
And fortunately for us,
Windsor House ticks all those boxes.
It's a really nice space to be in and live in,
and I think that's really the key to a successful project.
