Inside A 1950s Home With A Fun, Family-Friendly Renovation
Architecture
Beryl by Cera Stribley reimagines a 1950s house and garden.
The clients bought the house for the steel-framed corner windows.
Layered and leafy landscaping by Peachy Green.
The original home had a mid-century sensibility with traces of art deco detailing throughout, which is referenced in the addition.
The new outdoor entertaining area.
The brief focused heavily on connection: connection to the garden, connection between spaces, and connection between family members across different stages of life.
The new works introduced a dedicated wing for the kids, alongside a more secluded main bedroom suite for the parents, allowing the home to support both togetherness and retreat.
The bygone mid-century era was a key reference for the home’s new lay out and the material palette of glass, blonde bricks and timber-lined ceilings.
The gorgeous new tiled pool and spa.
Split-level additions respond directly to the site’s steep slope, allowing the architecture to step gently through the landscape while creating distinct zones within the home.
The new kitchen.
The renovation has unlocked a contemporary edge, without losing the home’s inimitable retro spirit.
Blue stained timber joinery in the kitchen.
The concealed walk-in pantry.
Original windows have been maintained.
The use of blue continues into one of the bathrooms.
The light and bright entry point.
Indoor planter boxes bring the outdoors in.
Natural stone creates a stunning point of interest.
A pared back bathroom palette.
A calming bedroom interior.
Playful peach-toned walls in the original living room.
A custom bar area.
The original entrance.
A significant portion of the original front dwelling was retained and restored.
The renovation of this Glen Iris, Melbourne, home was more than a decade in the making.
The owners, a family of four, purchased the 1950s brick abode back in 2010 with a plan to renovate when ‘the time was right’. It wasn’t until a few years ago, as their children entered their late teens and the family’s needs changed, that they reached out to Cera Stribley for the project.
‘The home had a beautiful mid-century sensibility with traces of art deco detailing throughout,’ Cera Stribley associate director Matthew Hainsworth says.
‘There were several original features that held enormous charm, particularly the steel-framed corner windows at the front of the house, which were ultimately the reason our clients fell in love with the property in the first place.’
At the same time, the footprint was in dire need of an update. The kitchen was isolated, the laundry could only be accessed externally, and sharing a single bathroom had become increasingly impractical.
‘Wherever possible, we sought to preserve the integrity of the original structure rather than erase it,’ Matthew says of their approach.
‘Beyond that, the brief focused heavily on connection: to the garden, between spaces, and between family members across different stages of life.’
The new works introduced a dedicated wing for the kids, alongside a more secluded main bedroom suite for the parents, allowing the home to support both togetherness and retreat.
As celebrating the living room windows was a non-negotiable, the space was cleverly revitalised with playful peach-toned walls that enhance the layered and leafy landscaping by Peachy Green.
The bathrooms and kitchen, with its striking blue-timber-stained joinery, reveal similarly expressive pops of colour, while the extension is filled with mid-century design flair.
This bygone era — described by Matthew as a time when ‘architecture felt calm and optimistic, rather than overly formal’ — was a key reference for the home’s new layout and the material palette of glass, blonde bricks and timber-lined ceilings.
At the rear, the new split-level additions respond directly to the site’s steep slope, allowing the architecture to step gently through the landscape while creating distinct zones within the home.
‘Spaces were designed to frame greenery, borrow views and encourage outdoor living, whether through the porthole window capturing the gumtree canopy and sky, the alfresco dining area connecting front and rear gardens, or the long stretch of backyard running alongside the pool, which has become the perfect setting for family cricket matches,’ Matthew adds.
‘The changing levels also unlocked unexpected views, including sweeping outlooks towards the city that are quite rare for a ground-level home.’
The finished home is a wonderful balancing act; it feels open, inviting, and yet completely private. Best of all, the renovation has unlocked a contemporary edge, without losing its inimitable retro spirit.