BLACK AND WHITE HOUSE IN CRAIGHALL PARK
RESIDENTIAL
To remodel this conventional ‘70s house into a more functional and contemporary living home, the most interesting feature of the existing structure offered the starting point and concept for both the conversions and for the new additions: the open roof voids, detailed with exposed rafters and tongue-and-groove ceiling boards and clerestory windows, held potential for spatial quality and a house filled with light.
Tight passages and cellular living spaces were opened up to improve internal flows, the kitchen was extended, its roof converted to match the rest of the house and its gable end fitted with a large triangular window; a new skylight was added over the passage, and walls and ceilings were all repaired and painted white. A somehow awkward split level at the back of the house offered potential for the creation of a double volume space.
This area was converted into the main bedroom suite at lower level, with a gymnasium on the mezzanine, with clerestory windows above the double volume bedroom providing daylight throughout the suite.
Contrasting accents are detailed in black and shades of grey, including new structural steel elements replacing former loadbearing walls, bathroom tiling in a playful herringbone pattern, and modern cabinetry with clean lines, neutral colours and only a few displayed elements. The result? Spatial generosity – a minimalist, yet warmly textured living space, in which the high white ceilings and exposed roof rafters give a sense of expansive volume flooded with natural day light.
