GREENSBOROUGH
Words by Stephen Crafti
JUNE 2026
Sometimes it’s easier to start from scratch rather than renovate an old house. But with many houses, a family can be attached to the past and the memories shared with family and friends. So, for this early 20th century double-fronted timber home, the house was retained with a new contemporary section added.
Designed for a couple with two grown-up children, the original two-bedroom house was fairly basic – with ad hoc extensions cutting off the back garden, both in terms of accessibly and vistas. The owner-builder was not only keen to be closely involved with the construction, was keen for the project to follow strict passive guidelines – a challenge given the period home is timber, with a number of air pockets and a much weathered frame. The house was made ‘good’ with new timber floors and a new roof, and the floorplan was completely reworked – including new outdoor decks that connect both to the garden and orientation, North-East and North- West. And rather than tamper with the original kitchen or fiddle with the lean-to, an entirely new open plan living wing was added, with generous glazing that brings the outdoors inside.
The home’s new two-storey wing, is constructed of a timber frame and clad with a combination of shiplap timber cladding and Colorbond standing seam steel profile. Rather than simply opt for a black-clad box as is often the norm with period homes, LUCY Architecture used a combination of Shon Sugi Ban (a burnt Japanese-style timber) at ground level, with cream painted timber weatherboards – the latter referencing the original Edwardian house and adding a lightness to the addition.
Given the site backs onto the Plenty River, there was the opportunity to include a large picture window on the first floor, now the main bedroom. As the lot is generous (just under 700 square metres in area) there’s a sense of being in the country rather than in suburbia. While the setting is a picture postcard, the site is in a flood-prone area. Hence, the skill here was navigating the site, elevating rooms and decks at certain points, but as importantly, strengthening the connection to the garden. This also had to be addressed with height limitations set by the council, ensuring that the first floor of the home was well within the prescribed guidelines.
Words by Stephen Crafti