Malvern Project

Let us walk you through…

The scope of works - Front house complete remodel with clients living on premises
The designers - Taimi Sanders and Elissa King of Sanders and King Interior Design
Build - Nook Construction

The Home

This home, nestled in a leafy pocket of Malvern, was our canvas to build an extraordinary home.

This home had previously had an updated kitchen, rear bungalow style extension and pool, but the front part of the home was showing some age and did not merge well with previous works. The interior was unresolved with many odd internal corners and small bulkheads making the home feel cluttered and unfinished. Undefined living and dining spaces needed addressing and the home was crying out for a suitable study with a library for our two ‘work-from-home’ clients.

The beautiful facade on an Autumn day

The Project

The Team at Sanders and King came to us with plans for a new ensuite space along with master bedroom with huge built-in robes, new study/library space, front sitting room, updated living room, dining room that complimented the new kitchen, and a really fun and eclectic powder room.

Front section of home was the construction zone

The Pre-Construction Stage

To start our construction process, we came up with a plan to section off the home so that the clients could still live in the space. This included a temporary wall with plaster and insulation to seal any dust and noise pollution, side access so the clients could enter and exit the rear part of the home without walking through the construction zone, and a lockup management plan for security. An onsite toilet was also utilised to keep trades out of the living quarters. Client comfort is key when a client chooses to continue to live in their home while a renovation is happening.

The Construction

Included the removal of all skirting boards, carpets, cornice, ensuite back to bare frame, old cabinetry and fireplace hearth in the front sitting room.

Framing stage was quick and easy with the erection of a dividing wall to create the Study/library and living room. Sound insulation was used to keep television noise to a minimum so the study could remain a quiet space for working. As builders we really put ourselves in the client’s shoes and think about how a home needs to function and what we can add to help make every space work to its absolute potential. Our years of experience with custom homes and working closely with clients, architects and designers has made us knowledgeable in this field and it is something we definitely   pride ourselves on (along with a raft of many other things!).  The ensuite was re-plumbed, squared and sized to work tile layouts and aid in spatial flow, no longer making the home feel cramped. We squared off many unused doorways and bulkheads to create simple and minimalistic lines (no steps in walls and ceilings!).  A new air conditioning/comfort system was installed in the roof space as well, servicing all rooms. It can be very challenging logistically installing a huge aircon system into an existing home but we had all bases covered so this install would be a huge success. Minimalist grills and diffusers in the ceiling were used to keep ceiling clutter to a minimum.

Plaster and tiling was next. Victorian cornices and ceiling roses were used to recapture the period of the home. The guys at Williamstown Plaster are masters of Victorian details.

The Materials and Finishes

The tiles selected by the designers were a sophisticated mixture of terrazzo, large format stone-look floor and wall tiles, and exquisite Japanese mosaic feature tiles that would bring great drama and interest to the wet areas. The bath perched next to a full wall window overlooking a beautiful Japanese maple garden makes the bathroom truly a sanctuary of relaxation.

A relaxing soak with a view

Another great detail was the use of internal vertical lining boards were selected to create the illusion of extra height and to also worth with a large format lineal return air diffuser. Shadow lines top an bottom create a really sleek and long lasting junction at floor and ceiling.

A large part of the scope for this project was to give some much needed love to the beautiful big French doors in the master bedroom, study and lounge area. We decided to retain the doorjambs as they were in good enough condition to keep and reconfigure. The team removed  [rebated]  part of the door jamb so the doors could be hung on the outside. This was crucial to the design of each room as when any of the doors were left open to let in much needed fresh air into the home, the doors could have taken up precious floor space. All 6, 3 meter high solid hardwood doors were stripped of hardware, sanded down, epoxy filled to remove all defects. With new hardware comes new housing/checkout requires so the doors had to be resorted completely back to factory state. Hardwood blocking was used as plugs and wedges to instead of relying completely on epoxy. For strength and rigidity, we use hardwood blocks and wedges instead of large amounts of epoxy. After paint was applied, the final touch was to install new minimalist door seals inside and out to create a better air seal to keep warm/cool air in and keep hot/cold air out.

An example of the restored french doors. A true labour of love

A large portion of the project was the install of the cabinetry by our talented joinery team at Complete Cabinets. A mixture of oak veneer, solid ash and two-pak paints was used through out the joinery scheme. Custom inset finger pulls we used in bedside tables, study filing cabinets and ensuite joinery. This allows the cabinets to meld into their new environment without taking away from hero pieces like the amazing library joinery in study, Japanese feature tiles in ensuite and Victorian architectural details in master bed. Clever, large format oak door hardware was used on the master bedroom built in robes and ensuite cavity slider to bring warmth to the cabinet doors. Little details like this goes a long way to completing a space.

The Handover

Fit off is the most exciting part of a project. Lights hung, door hardware, bathroom fittings and fixtures were installed. Our floor sander came through and applied the stain and finish to the new Victorian Ash solid timber flooring that really set off the design. Our dividing wall was taken down, and finally we could see how the new space interacted with the original. The light from the kitchen flooded into the once dark dinning and hallway. We were just as excited as our clients!

Final touches, turning a project into a home

After a professional clean of all surfaces, site toilet removed and work areas cleaned up back to original state and punch/defect list all sorted, we could hand over the keys to our very happy clients Gab and Andrew. Another beautifully built home by Nook!

FIN