Citrus Heights

2024

The original home was a single-storey bungalow with exquisite stained-glass windows, rich in character and detail. Having recently returned from California, the clients were inspired by both the warmth of classic West Coast design and the ease of contemporary living. They wanted to honour the home’s heritage while adapting it to suit a growing family.

The project presented an exciting challenge. The home occupies a prominent corner block perched above Bronte Beach, with its long side facing north. Often, when renovating a heritage home, the instinct is to append a modern extension at the rear, keeping the original street-facing elevation unchanged. But here, the long side of the home was too important to hide. Instead, we designed an addition that would engage with the street, not retreat from it.

The new northern elevation is a playful composition of vertical and horizontal elements—a pergola, a sculptural copper shingled chimney, north-facing windows that flood the interiors with light, a vibrant stained-glass window and a  second-storey parents’ retreat with a garden roof terrace, tucked behind a pergola to provide shelter and reduce visual bulk.

Inside, colour and pattern take centre stage, transforming each space into a sensory journey. The palette transitions from ocean blues and greens on the exterior to deep reds in the entry and soft dusty pinks in the kitchen and living areas. At the heart of the home, the dining room glows in a golden yellow, its walls lined with Mark Hearld’s Wren wallpaper from St. Jude’s  Fabrics, chosen to complement both the stained-glass window seat and the clients’ beloved painting,  Harmony in Citrus Heights —a vivid geometric  work by Aleh Murashka, brought back  from California. Grey ironbark floors ground the composition, allowing the colours to sing.