Melbourne-based architecture firm Austin Design Associates have breathed new life into a family’s heritage bayside abode. Like many of their previous projects, the Sandringham House embodies the firm’s proclivity towards the phrase “less is more”. As was envisaged for the renovation, the home is both charming and functional, two qualities that directly align with family life. With their strategic furniture placement and material selection, the design team have also managed to colour within the lines of the original home.

Austin Design Associates harnessed light in such a way that marks it as the anchor of this Melbourne home. The curved wall of windows at the back of the house casts sunlight into the main living area, transforming the home into what Austin Design Associates have deemed “a true sun-soaked beauty”. “We wanted the materials palette to be light and bright to complement this,” the firm’s director, Sylvanna Mitri says. The bi-folding glass doors also serve as mediators between inside and outside, establishing the home as a host to natural light.

Keeping the renovation within the home’s existing footprint, Sylvanna adds, was an essential part of the project. “We had to cleverly space plan the main living area within the boundaries of the curved back facade,” she says, including strategically placing furniture to respond to the curve. Such initiatives have allowed the home’s original structure and character to shine through the refurbished interiors.

Sectioning the house into suitable family ‘zones’ was another essential part of ensuring both functionality and spatial fluidity. The inclusion of a master suite and additional living areas allow the family to live both together and separately as they please. 

Austin Design Associates’ Sandringham house reflects a mindful and skilful mingling of old and new in a family home.