ABOVE The front living room off ers
a spot to enjoy the fi replace
OPPOSITE Clusters of art add vibrancy
and personality on the trip up the stairsWORDS // ANNABELLE CLOROS
T
errace houses are integral to the
Sydney ethos, lining the streets
with history and character.
Architect Annabelle Chapman
secured herself a diamond in the rough that
had been stripped of its original details, but
this didn’t stop her from drawing up a plan
to rebuild the residence and restore it to its
former glory.
They say visualisation is the key to making
things happen, and in this case it certainly
worked. Before Annabelle took the leap and
purchased the Paddington house in 2013,
she designed it in its entirety — essentially
turning her vision into reality. “The fi nal
design was almost identical to the initial
sketch plan,” she says.
The terrace was renovated for the worse in
the ’70s, with the removal of original internal
details and some external details, too, but
when life gives you lemons, make lemonade
— or in this case, start from scratch.
The brief revolved around creating a
three-bedroom, three-bathroom house (it
was originally two bedrooms) on diff erent
levels for Annabelle and her family. “The
brief also included the total renovation of
all the living areas, which resulted in the
demolition and rebuilding of the entire
house, keeping only the existing front and
side walls of the terrace,” says Annabelle.
“I wanted to create a contemporary space
using steel, recycled ironbark and concrete
as the main materials. As it was a terrace
house, with an internal width of just over 4
metres, it was important to design the space
with minimalism.”
Beginning the project in January 2015,
the build was a collaborative eff ort and the
home was signed, sealed and delivered in
February 2016. “I had great rapport with
the builder and all the workmen on the
project,” says Annabelle. “I was on-site
almost every day for an hour or so in theDETAILS
HOUSE PADDINGTON HOUSE
LOCATION PADDINGTON, SYDNEY
DATE COMMENCED JANUARY 2015
DATE COMPLETED FEBRUARY 2016
COST $1.7 MILLION