‘Tramor’ is a small Victorian style house constructed in 1904 set close to the boundary with Sound View Road consisting of a single large hipped roof supported by timber framed trusses with a lean-to addition at the rear.  The 1200 sq.ft. two-bedroom house was in poor condition with an outdated layout and required a complete gut of the interior including all electrical & plumbing infrastructure.

The primary design brief was to keep within the existing footprint of the house as much as possible while adding contemporary functionality and to take advantage of a narrow view corridor to the Great Sound.

Several of the internal partitions were removed to create a larger open plan Kitchen/Living/Dining area opening on to the new porch to the east and the views of the Sound.  The small single bathroom was reconfigured to be more space efficient and allow for more closet space for the main bedroom, which was also slightly enlarged.

The primary addition was the new L- shaped timber verandah and gazebo.  Being a small and historic house, the new verandah would look disproportionate if it was too deep.  Adding the gazebo on the corner allowed the verandah to remain proportionate to the house while giving adequate space for entertaining as well as maximising the narrow view to the Sound.  The smaller leg of the verandah also acts as the new front of the house with double porch columns framing the new front door.

The driveway was relocated off of Sound View Road with a new drivable grass turning circle around the existing mature poinciana tree with a new walkway leading to the new front door.
The rear courtyard was also upgraded with an additional storage building and a new bricked surface.

This project is an example of what can be done on a relatively small budget with good and coordinated design decisions. We can upgrade existing housing stock without having the expense of major additions.