Upside Down House


KEW


  • A kitchen with black cabinets and a white counter top

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  • A kitchen with black cabinets and stainless steel appliances

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  • A dining room with a table and chairs and a vase of flowers on the table.

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  • A dining room with a wooden table and chairs and a black kitchen.

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  • A white ceiling with a skylight in the middle of it

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  • A living room with two chairs and a table.

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  • There is a bowl on the table in the middle of the room.

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  • A laundry room with white cabinets and wooden handles.

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  • A bathroom with a sink , toilet , shower and mirror.

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  • A bicycle is leaning against the railing of a staircase.

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  • A house with a wooden fence in front of it

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  • A living room with a table and chairs and a ceiling fan.

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  • There is a large swimming pool in the backyard of a house.

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  • There is a swimming pool in the backyard of a house.

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A living room with a table and chairs and a ceiling fan.

The Challenge


MORE LIGHT AND MORE FAMILY FRIENDLY SPACE


When our clients — a young family of four — came to us, they knew they wanted two things from their existing 1970s double-brick home: more light and better use of the space. The challenge with this renovation was a sloping block and a floorplan that had living spaces on the ground floor and sleeping quarters on the upper floor, making it hard to draw light into the semi-subterranean living spaces.


What if …


WE TURNED THIS ONE ON ITS HEAD?

 

After exploring a number of design iterations and constructive workshops with the owners to make the existing arrangement work, it became clear that some lateral thinking was needed. To get the most light and usable space for the living areas, we would need to turn the whole design on its head, literally. This would be the ‘Upside Down House’.


By relocating the living areas to the top floor and shifting the bedrooms to the ground floor, we created a layout that delivered far superior usable space for the family. The upper living areas now flow naturally onto the elevated backyard — with its refurbished swimming pool and new pavilion — and provided a greater sense of connection with the outdoors. This solution also minimised structural complexity (and associated costs), as the open-plan nature of the living spaces were more easily accommodated above.



A kitchen with black cabinets and a white counter top

“Our dream home materialised from the drawings and sketches.  We were led through this process by Inbetween Architecture who showed boldness and courage to turn our house literally upside down.”


VICKY & IAN - OWNERS


A living room with two chairs and a table.

Opening up to the sky


FINDING MORE LIGHT


To deliver more light into the dark centre of the home, we devised a simple, cost-effective technique; standard-sized skylights combined with large, tapered shafts. These flood the home with diffuse natural light throughout the day. The skylights are oriented to capture the gentle morning sun, while avoiding the direct, harsher afternoon sun. The use of an enlarged stair void and glass balustrades further draw light deep into the heart of the lower level.



Working closely with the family and Interior Designer Aldona Pajdak, we crafted a bold yet calming interior. Natural timbers add warmth and tactility, while generous natural lightallows the high-contrast palette to feel elegant and timeless.



Hight performance facelift


NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER (BUT GOSH, WHAT A NICE COVER)


Externally, we worked within the existing envelope. The dark-brown brick was clad with insulating foam panels and rendered to update the home’s appearance and vastly improve thermal performance. Black-framed windows, new front and garage doors, and refined landscaping completed the transformation.


A house with a wooden fence in front of it
A living room filled with furniture and a television.

Forever home


THERE'S NO BETTER BRIEF THAN A HOME DESIGNED TO LAST


We loved designing the Upside Down House and finding ingenious solutions to complex challenges. With trusting homeowners and an amazing builder — with whom we continue to work — we have delivered not just a house, but a forever home for this family.