Facelift For a Little Darling

March 24, 2016

Facelift for a little Darling

This article originally appeared in The Age.

“Darling” has to be one of the nicest endearments in the English language and, perhaps not surprisingly, city planners from time to time have been inspired to name thoroughfares in our suburbs Darling.

While some of these may commemorate a distinguised person of that name, it must still be warming to return home to a Darling court, street or road. So it’s an added bonus for the new owners of the 163 Darling Road, East Malvern, which is to be auctioned on Saturday [OMITTED]. They are expecting a sale price of $390,000 plus.

Splendidly positioned between Dandenong Road and Monash Freeway, and close to Darling railway station, the house is also within easy reach of Lloyd Street Primary school, Caulfield racecourse and Darling Park.

Archicentre architect Andrew Czapnik has been commissioned to design a renovation proposal for this property. This is quite an interesting house, he says: it’s single storey, solid brick building with an unusual facade featuring a box-bay window.

Inside the house he notes attractive ceiling plaster work, cornices and strapping. However, there are some problem areas. The traffic flow is awkward in places and the skillion-roof section comprising the kitchen, meals area and laundry is substandard compared with the main rooms and certainly not up to current expectations. Moreover, the living areas do not relate well to the back garden, he says.

Leaving the so-called carport as a portico to shelter the entrance, Mr Czapnik makes two relatively small but telling changes to the very nice four front rooms. First he removes the wall between the main bedroom and the living room, to create a lovely, large, combined living and dining room for formal entertaining.

Next he takes part of the second bedroom to make a new passage to the new rear addition. The remainder forms a study, conveniently close to the front door, for use as a home office if required. He also relocates the main bedroom to the original dining room and adjusts the bathroom to serve as a n ensuite/guests’ powder room.

Having demolished the skillion section at the back of the house, Mr Czapnik builds to the boundary on the southern side, to provide a new 12 metre by 9 metre extension to the house. This incorporates a new kitchen, family living room and a children’s bath and bedroom wing of the property.

Both the bedrooms have french doors and are buffered from family room noise by the bathroom, separate WC and laundry. A wall of timber-framed, bi-fold glazed doors open the family room to the pergola-shaded patio.

A beautiful galley kitchen is semi-open plan in one corner, from which children can be easily supervised and food conveniently transported to the dining room, meals area or garden.

Finally, Mr Czapnik has placed a double carport at the very front of the house where it fits snugly into the building. He has taken care to ensure that the design melds with the facade.