It’s laborious to consider an 1835 residence on only a 40 sq. metre website can comprise two bedrooms, two loos, and three outside areas, however such is the ability of this Surry Hills renovation.

When designer and Room on Fireplace founder Chloë McCarthy, and her associate Jesse McCallion of Belle Frederick Initiatives, bought the pint-size sandstone residence, the ground plan consisted of nothing greater than a lounge, kitchen, lavatory and courtyard on the bottom flooring, and a single bed room above.

Chloë and Jesse noticed potential to create a extra spacious residence on the identical footprint, by changing the attic into a further bed room with an en suite, and laundry; and increasing the primary flooring to accommodate the kitchen, eating, and residing space.

‘The land dimension is just about 40 sq. metres (three metres large internally), but we had been capable of squeeze in 65 sq. metres of inner flooring area, plus about 10 sq. metres of exterior area over the three ranges,’ says Chloë.

Connections to nature have been built-in on each storey by way of a floor flooring fern backyard, first flooring outside seating space, and higher flooring balcony. The brand new principal bed room within the transformed attic opens to the latter, full with an outside bathe, and views of town skyline and Centrepoint Tower.

Exterior curtains additionally conceal a laundry throughout the roof area, offering probably the most sensible location within the residence to dry washing.

The interiors are heat and textured, in search of to revive the unique design of the Sydney sandstone residence inbuilt 1835. Over 100 years of paint and plaster have been eliminated to show the unique sandstone wall within the kitchen, and façade home windows and entrance door recreated by Wayne Mavin based mostly on archival photographs of the house.

New inside particulars embody the examine nook, the primary flooring banquette seating beneath the perforated steel attic stairs, and an total palette of hardwearing pure supplies meant to gracefully patina.

Tasmanian blackwood provides a cabin-like layer to the house, terracotta flooring tiles invite calm, and microcement gives a sculptural high quality to the bottom flooring lavatory.

A stunning second revealed solely to these within the know is the travertine mosaic-lined en suite hid behind a wardrobe door.

Setting up the renovation was a laborious course of as a result of property’s minimal entry with no rear lane.

‘For many of the job the one factor connecting the three ranges was a single ladder. Over 30 tonnes had been eliminated by hand up and down this ladder,’ says Chloë. ‘Equally shifting instruments and supplies round was like Tetris and this restricted the variety of trades that might be on website at one time… Each strong tallowwood floorboard needed to be dealt with in via the small kitchen window and each brick needed to be carried by hand up three flooring by way of the ladder.’

The finished challenge is a masterclass in spatial planning and inside ornament. ‘The dimensions and scale of the furnishings additionally needed to be very thought of given the design is considerably like being in a caravan,’ Chloë says. ‘Classic Danish items had been chosen primarily because of this and so as to add additional character and patina to the area.’