FLYING HIGH

A contemporary refresh and small but smart expansion has allowed this heritage home to spread its wings.

- CARLI PHILIPS 

Period houses can be like a loose thread on a jumper when you pull on it, the whole thing can start to unravel," explains designer Chelsea Hing, whose eponymous design studio is based in Melbourne. It's a common scenario in heritage homes, especially those that have been picked and prodded in a piecemeal fashion over their lifetimes - and this house in Melbourne's Bayside suburbs was no exception.

When Chelsea began work on the double-storey corner block, the brief was for a renovated upstairs main suite and kitchen, but the home's typical terrace layout had significant spatial shortcomings. "In renovating older homes, there's only so much you can do. In this case, the floor had already been sanded back as many times as possible. As a designer you want to honour the client's wishes, but as a professional you also know the limitations. In between all the shiny new things there's the realistic necessities such as pipe work, ceiling repairs and upgrading electricals. Once you touch part of a terrace it's hard not to touch the rest."