Monsieur G — Bellevue Hill

Alterations and Additions

2021 Completion

400 SQM

Decus — Architect

Decus — Interior Design

Dave Wheeler — Photographer

Brief

Situated in Sydney’s historic suburb of Bellevue Hill, this 1940s bungalow had undergone numerous unsympathetic renovations, resulting in a maze-like layout of varying floor levels and disparate directions. Our client's desire was to restore order and harmony to the home, to bring in more natural light and to create open but defined, usable spaces for the young family.

Architecture and Interior Design was led by Decus, who applied significant spatial replanning to the internal layout and refocused the home around a dramatic central circular staircase. A large tiered skylight was designed to be positioned over the central stairwell allowing natural light to flood both levels of the home. A good proportion of the existing structure also needed to be retained in order to keep the total footprint of the home and interior finishes would then have to be assembled and installed to the remaining modified shell.

Outcome

A project requiring extensive retention of the existing structure and the focus on detailing finishes meant that close collaboration was essential. The central tiered skylight; a key architectural feature of the home involved heavy coordination between architect, client, builder and specialist trades and we undertook a rigorous process of markouts by hand, prototyping and adjustments to successfully realise the initial concept.

Midway through the build, our clients would prepare to welcome another child which required amendments of the footprint and we repurposed entertainment space to create an additional bedroom.

The replanned spatial layout created an effortless flow between the defined relaxation, social and entertainment zones of home. The bespoke design and integrity of finishes elevated the interior detailing and due to the site location everything was produced onsite by hand - curved walls, microcement surfacing, curved stone basins and many custom bespoke pieces which we worked closely with the Architect to create and build together.

Full height steel windows now frame the established gardens and open up the home to its surrounding environments, providing new life to a classic home and a young family.