You can’t judge a book by its cover

Posted on Wed, 28 Oct 2015 by midcenturyjo

A cursory glance at this period property in Armadale, Melbourne might lead you to believe it’s all about tradition and historic features. That concrete driveway to the left should give you a hint that things are not all that they seem. Let’s just say that it may be stiff upper lip at the front of the property but it’s all party house out the back. Old meets new in this extension and renovation by Nicholas Murray Architects. “The property was dilapidated when purchased and involved complete underpinning and restoration of the Gothic Victorian facade and front four rooms. Beyond that everything was demolished to make way for a vehicle basement and two levels above. A large pond was introduced into the core of the building to delineate old from new.”

Ula says:

I adore this fireplace always 🙂

A Cut Above says:

You definitely can't. I wasn't expecting the rear side of the house to look so different. Great transition.

d of dogland says:

Once again, Australians really seems to have mastered creative, inventive remodels. Obviously, a lot of money went into this project. But, in the US, even when a ton of money is thrown at a project, I just haven't seen the creativity, attention to detail and craftsmanship. Yeah, there are the spectacular multi-million dollar NYC townhome and loft rehabs but, rarely do I see the ingenious and elegant melding of old and new.

huh says:

RE: d of dogland

you need to get out more, or at least get out of nyc

d of dogland says:

Huh? Your assumptions about me are wrong and oddly personal for a design blog.
Time and time again DTI has shown us creative, beautifully executed Australian remodels. They seem to have a particular knack for inventively combining old and new. The work is admirable.
I've seen thousands of remodels, in all price ranges, throughout the US and elsewhere. Unfortunately, the number of poorly executed attempts far exceed the brilliant. I have had experience undoing several less than brilliant remodels, AKA the "remuddle."

d of dogland (not NYC)

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