Optimising access to the northern orientation in a way that avoids an imposing formal addition, Maylands House extends the solidity of its classic bluestone cottage origins through an open ground floor approach. In responding to the owner’s desire for connection and flowing movement between indoor and outdoor spaces, the focus draws on the existing available aspect and surrounding context. Designed for people who love to entertain, the addition opens up toward the garden across two levels, borrowing views of the surrounding tree canopies and established landscape, as an extension of the home.

In navigating a compact site, the approach remains modest in scale and well set back from the street. The heritage of the inner-suburban home is honoured through the retention of the original stone walls, with the new form sitting tucked behind and aligned to the inner boundary. The contemporary metal-clad addition offers a private retreat in the form of a dedicated master suite and study on the upper level, with the ground level below accommodating a newly defined living zone that is fully openable to the outdoor area.   

The dark and recessive materiality of the addition adds texture through the use of ribbed metal sheeting –  reinterpreting the rough texture of the original bluestone through a contemporary lens. In a balance between both eras – old and new – neither competes formally and instead the focus remains on the connections between inside and out as an extension of how the owners wanted to live.