‘The journey from front to rear involvedselective removal of walls, breaking

down the formality and the containment of the Victorian interior.’Matt Gibson, architect

HGHOUSES

134 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN

T

heir renovation began simply enough. The owners

ofthistwo-storeyterracesouthofMelbourne’s

CBDapproachedMattGibsonofMattGibson

A rchitecture+Design to remodel their kitchen

andbathroomsasthefirststageofawhole-house

renovation. But, after seeing what he had in mind for

theirhome,thetwoprofessionals,nowwithonechildat

primaryschool,decidedtogothewholehog.Andlooking

attheseluminous,light-filledspaces,it’seasytoseewhy.

“Once we started discussing the long-term vision for the

house,wedecidedtocompletetheprojectall at once. And

wearethrilledwedid,”saystheowner.

ThecoupleboughttheVictorian-erahomeinAugust2011

after a three-year search. With generous living areas,

natural light, a double garage and sizeable backyard, it

ticked many boxes. They knew it would be liveable for a

while,despiteatiredandbland1970sadditionattherear.

Amongitssinshowever,wereapoorconnectiontothe

backyardandthefactthereardidn’tgelwiththeoriginal

section of the house, despite tweaks in the early 1990s.

Oncetherenobughadbitten,andwiththepossibilities

laidoutbeforethem,therewasnoturningbackandthe

year-long project wrapped up in November 2013. >