Glass Street
Californian Bungalow
When I first approached this California bungalow, something immediately felt off. A garage sat awkwardly at the front, unheard of for homes of this style, with a strangely shaped bedroom tacked onto it. It was clear the house had suffered from a lack of heritage protection; the original façade had been significantly compromised.
A closer investigation revealed the truth: the house once featured a beautiful brick verandah that had been demolished. My first thought was simple - we must reinstate the verandah. Restoring the original frontage was essential to bringing back the home’s dignity and preserving its original story.
The Challenges:
1. Orientation:
The client needed a new open-plan kitchen, meals and living space. Normally, this would sit at the back of the house, however, north faced the street, meaning the original bungalow blocked sunlight from reaching the rear for most of the day.
2. Layout issues:
The rear of the original house was best described as a rabbit warren. Over the years, walls had been removed, inserted, and patched together again, leaving behind zig-zag rooms and odd transitions.
3. The brief vs existing space:
The family of four needed three bedrooms and a generous living zone. Reinstating the front verandah meant removing the non-original front bedroom, making the existing footprint even tighter.
The Brief:
A modest, functional home that respected its heritage, while giving the family contemporary spaces to cook, gather, and relax. Three bedrooms within the original structure; a new light-filled pavilion for daily living.
The Design Approach:
I always aim to create two clear zones - a quiet bedroom/sleep zone, and an active (noisy) living zone
The compact original bungalow made this naturally achievable. All bedrooms and amenities remained in the existing structure, allowing the new addition to be a simple, elegant pavilion to the rear.
With north at the street, the challenge was getting sunlight deep into the new living spaces. The solution: A roof form that lifts up like a periscope, rising above the gutter line of the existing bungalow to scoop northern light from over the top of it. This transformed what could have been a gloomy extension into a bright, uplifting space throughout the day.
The pavilion’s form is intentionally simple, allowing the materials to bring character and warmth:
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Plywood ceilings for natural warmth
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Polished concrete floors with coloured aggregate, a nod to terrazzo
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Exposed brickwork, grounding the space with texture and richness
The kitchen was kept deliberately pared back. By hiding the fridge in the walk-in pantry, the kitchen reads more like a crafted piece of furniture - an integrated object within the wider space.
The Result:
A striking, sun-lit pavilion with a seamless connection to the backyard, blurring the boundary between inside and out.
A restored bungalow that once again stands proudly in its streetscape, verandah reinstated and original proportions celebrated.
What was once an awkward, heavily altered house is now a beautiful addition to the street, rather than the unfortunate version it had been allowed to become.
