Most people dread renovations, but Andy and Joan Coldwell have now done two to their Short Street home.
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Ten years ago they turned the 1860s building into two short stay apartments. Then, once their children had left home, they went back to the architects to redesign the house to suit their needs.
Mr and Mrs Coldwell will let the public into their home during Open House Bendigo. What the public will see there is a home that really makes the most of its small site.
Sitting on a corner, the architect Lucas Hodgens had to work with a range of constraints.
Mr and Mrs Coldwell wanted their living area upstairs, a view of the Cathedral, and a balcony to enjoy it from.
The house sits on a small corner block, meaning space to achieve an airy open plan design was limited. A lean-to bordered the street at the rear, and took up a large part of the block.
The final product also had to work within a heritage overlay of the street, which was made up of Edwardian and Victorian homes.
Read more: Bendigo’s best buildings open their doors
By knocking down the lean-to, but leaving an outside wall, he was able to pull the extension back from the street creating space for outdoor areas.
Upstairs is a large kitchen-living-dining area, where Mr and Mrs Coldwell spend most of their time.
Three bedrooms, an open plan living area and a kitchenette sit downstairs.
The extension is clad with zinc, and finished inside with blackbutt timber. Both are materials which fit with the style of the area, but have been used in a contemporary way.
“We wanted to clearly indicate that it was a contemporary extension to a historical home,” Mr Hodgens said.
“It has to maintain that rhythm of the street, but it also has to be identifiable that it’s from 2013.
“It was quite an achievement to get such a contemporary building in place in such a historical street.”
Repurposing and rejuvenating historical homes is becoming a frequent part of Mr Hodgens work work in Bendigo.
“It’s one of the first contemporary insertions into that particular street in Bendigo, which is pretty much intact from a heritage point of view,” Mr Hodgens said.
“It’s becoming more and more common as the way people live has changed and the older houses don't accommodate for the lifestyle of today.”
But why did the Coldwells buy a home that took not one but two renovations to suit them?
Well, it’s just a great area to live.
They moved into the house from Strathdale after the second renovation and love it.
“It’s just a fantastic spot. You don’t have to drive anywhere, you can walk. It’s close to everything,” Mr Coldwell said.
Open House Bendigo will take place on October 27 and 28.
For more information visit openhousemelbourne.org/bendigo
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