A Sydney Home Gets a Modern, Spacious Makeover Fit for Entertaining

When Three Birds Renovations were tasked with opening up this house to create space for a relaxed family lifestyle, the designers opted for a light, airy extension and timeless, fuss-free materials that gave this home a much needed facelift. Read on to find out how they pulled it off.

A FUNCTIONAL FAMILY SPACE

An entertaining area that is both beautiful and practical can transform any Australian abode, and this family home in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills is no exception. Before Three Birds Renovations worked their magic, this home was an “Aussie suburban eyesore” with pokey, dark rooms and a small kitchen with one door that led straight onto the grass in the backyard. Three Birds Renovations added a 70m2 extension with a contemporary indoor-outdoor living area that made the home suitable for a modern lifestyle. With the addition of key features such as the much needed second bathroom and open plan kitchen area, this modern makeover has given the three-bedroom house a greater sense of space to welcome guests and enjoy family activities, while utilising hardwearing materials that will stand the test of time.

Through creating an extension, the transition between indoor and outdoor living rooms becomes seamless.

In every renovation they do, Three Birds believe lifestyle and how the space will be used is the most important factor for the design, and should be incorporated into the plans from the get-go. In their latest project, the contemporary extension creates a seamless flow between the indoor kitchen and outdoor dining, making it perfect for entertainers to host large groups of family and friends.

FRENCH PROVINCIAL WITH A MODERN TWIST

For this project, Three Birds Renovations were inspired by images of homely-looking black cottages. “You could say it has a bit of a French Provincial feel, but with a modern twist,” Three Birds Renovations note. “We wanted it to be dark and moody on the outside with a fresh, crisp interior.”

The majority of internal walls and details are Dulux White on White, with some added pops of colour. Three Birds Renovations note that having a clear vision of how you want your home to look is key to a successful renovation. “Make sure your vision board is nutted out! And work with a builder who you are confident can bring your design to life,” they suggest.

LIGHT AND BRIGHT

“We’ve designed this home so that there can be lots of entertaining out the back, with the alfresco area opening off the kitchen and living space,” Three Birds Renovations say. “There are different zones within the outdoor area to relax, eat and socialise.” The house was designed to suit a family lifestyle with plenty of common spaces for socialising as well as private retreats.

A sizeable extension was added to the kitchen to create an open plan room which flows onto the outdoor area, allowing the owners to enjoy the warm weather. “It needed to have a high, raked ceiling to make it feel light and airy,” Three Birds Renovations say. Axon™ Cladding 133mm was chosen for internal cladding on walls and ceilings to create a unique, pristine finish. “We’re not sure it’s possible to ever use too much cladding – it adds texture, detail and character to any room!” they say.

Three Birds Renovations used Axon cladding to bring texture into internal space and add character to the window seat.

CLASSIC KERB APPEAL

For the exterior, Three Birds Renovations wanted to create a weatherboard look that added character and street appeal to the previously unattractive facade. This was achieved with Linea™ Weatherboard 180mm, painted in Dulux Domino with Dulux White on White trims. “We love the shadow lines of the Linea Weatherboard, they give character to the exterior and add beautiful detail,” Three Birds Renovations say. Linea Weatherboard was also used externally as a privacy screen in the entertaining area as a durable, low-maintenance alternative to timber. “It works fabulously to create the feel of an outdoor room,” Three Birds Renovations add.

“We were really fortunate that there was a huge wall of tall bamboo on the side of the property, so we incorporated this with Linea Weatherboard to create an outdoor room – we love how you can use outdoor rooms to make a whole house feel bigger,” Three Birds Renovations say. Lush greenery at the back of the property inspired the creation of a tall picture window in the extension, which was boxed in using Axon cladding to make it a real feature. “The whole house can be used to entertain friends, to dine outside or just to relax,” Three Birds Renovations add.

FACT FILE

Linea Weatherboard 180mm

Weatherboard colour: Dulux Domino