We were approached by the owners of this home overlooking the river in East Fremantle, to help them make the most of their outstanding location on Preston Point Road. The existing 1980s house featured a dark and confusing layout. Created as a multi-family home with multiple kitchens, a granny flat and a maze-like structure of corridors, many areas of the house were disjointed and difficult to access. This led the owners to underutilise much of the home’s space. What’s more, the home turned its back on the outstanding frontage views over Blackwall Reach which had potential to add a breathtaking quality to the living space.

Our renovation and refurbishment, while only adding 10sqm to the footprint of the home, completely transformed the home into a modern, open, and light filled layout. We used the existing footprint, demolishing internal walls to create a better flow-through, and replacing the roof structure. This helped avoid unnecessary environmental damage of building materials going to landfill while saving the owners significant money. In fact, the owners had spent nearly $150,000 prior to getting in touch with Swell Homes on Architect fees alone, with nothing to show but a high level of frustration. By getting in touch with Swell Homes and our in-house design team Ambient, we were able to realise the owners vision for the home. Even better, the time from planning to delivery was 15 months with a construction time under one year.

The 5 bed, 2 bathroom home’s new layout features a glazed, sliding panel in the open plan living space that frames the river views and creates an indoor-outdoor connection. The mechanised, triple-glazed Velux roof lights bring in ample natural light and allow for cross-ventilation to minimise heat gain in the living zone and kitchen. A cosy and environmentally-friendly ethanol fireplace creates cross-season usability. The seamless transition from the interior living space to the patio, complete with outdoor kitchen, is underlined with continuous Italian porcelain flooring. Two streamlined new bathroom fitouts completed the modern interior.

The street frontage of this home is now completely unrecognisable, giving the home a modern and streamlined street presentation. A far cry from its previous dated terracotta look! The transformation has not only added value to the house, but transformed it into a truly loved home for a family.