ENDURING ELEGANCE

THIS SMALL BUT MIGHTY PREWAR HOME IN BRISBANE WAS LIFTED AND EXPANDED, TOP AND BOTTOM, TO PRESERVE ITS CHARACTER AND ACCOMMODATE A GROWING FAMILY

- KYLIE JACKES

For Brisbane couple Lorena and Sergio, both engineers who hail from Argentina, the only way to go was up after buying a character home at auction four years ago. "When we saw the home and its outlook to mountain views, I thought this is it'," recalls Lorena. But while its location near the inner city was ideal, the two-bedroom floor plan was not. It required major changes to transform it into a family home robust enough for the couple and their sons Alejo, Tomas and Guido. "We needed more space for our teenage children, who love to have friends over, and for Sergio and me, who work from home a few days a week," says Lorena.