Before and After: How We Restored a Home with a Century-Old History

Cara Whiting has been helping her architect husband for over 20 years, and after their divorce, she unexpectedly became the owner of a small design studio in Melbourne.

Now Cara has a team of four people and clients with interesting projects. For example, one client asked to restore a historic home while preserving its atmosphere.

What did the house look like before the renovation?What does the house look like after the renovation?

The facade of this building from the late 19th century was kept in its original form — this was a client's request. Only the iron details such as balustrades on the balcony were painted black.

The Somas and Tom Carson, the clients, bought this house from people involved in construction. Therefore, at the time of purchase, the interior was hastily plastered. The finishing materials used were cheap, and the team decided to restore the original appearance of the house while also ensuring all necessary elements for comfortable living.

The first floor was expanded from 80 to 85 square meters. Here, they created a large family kitchen, dining room, living room, home office, laundry room, and bathroom.

The kitchen originally had a passage from the corridor, but Cara decided to completely demolish the wall and give more space to the area. Tom personally laid one of the walls with brick. Cara suggested painting it white, but the homeowner insisted on his choice — and in the end, everyone was satisfied.

To zone the kitchen-dining area, the designer installed built-in cabinets. On the opposite wall, the entrance to the bathroom and laundry room was disguised using furniture handles that match the cabinetry. These can also be used as hooks for bags. By the way, all the cabinetry was clad with tongue-and-groove boards.

The staircase leading to the second floor is antique and was also restored and repainted. Cara even utilized the space under the steps to create storage cabinets.

The second floor houses three bedrooms and a bathroom. Previously, the bedroom had an antique fireplace that took up a lot of space, so they opted to remove it in favor of storage solutions. For example, there are hidden shelves on either side of the bed headboard.

From the main bedroom, one can access a French balcony. From the first floor, you can reach the backyard with an outdoor shower. A small shed for storing bikes and garden tools is hidden there, also clad in tongue-and-groove boards.