Renovated brick home with modern addition in Kirrawee Sydney

Bounty House

Renovation
Bushfire Design
Sustainable Design

Transforming a classic home into open-plan modern living

Project overview

Architect Ironbark Architecture
Location Kirrawee, Sydney, Australia
Type Residential
Scope Sustainable & bushfire design
Completed 2018
Builder Belair Design + Build
Photography Andy Macpherson

Brick facade renovation with timber screening in Sutherland Shire
After Before
Outdoor terrace with brick fireplace and timber pergola
Timber pergola creating filtered light over outdoor space
Timber screen detail softening brick facade

A considered transformation

Bounty House is a reimagining of an original, dated nineties project home.

Once burdened by an overbearing brick facade and a pokey interior layout, the home has been transformed thanks to a contemporary material palette featuring spotted gum hardwood timber and a new roof.

A lush planter box stretching across the building’s facade softens the exterior and breaks up the expanse of brickwork, whilst also providing a filter to the windows of the upper level bedrooms.

Outdoor seating area with brick fireplace
Sustainable design renovation outdoor house in Sydney
Covered outdoor living and dining area with timber structure

Unlocking space and flow

The original layout was once cramped and poorly arranged, leaving the family on top of one another without sufficient space for the activities of daily life.

Through the renovation, the interiors were transformed with a modest one metre extension at the back of the house which was sufficient to entirely change the flow and function of the home.

This small change saved the unnecessary cost of a major extension and did its job in unlocking the possibility of an open plan with a seamless flow between kitchen, dining and outdoor areas.

Indoor outdoor connection between kitchen and terrace
Modern kitchen with black cabinetry and timber finishes
Kitchen island within open plan renovation

Bringing the landscape in

Originally, this home barely looked out to the beautiful bushland at the back of the block, and had poor access between the house and the yard.

Comfortably and elegantly letting the outside in and framing the wonders that nature serves up is something we pride ourselves on, and the boundary between indoor and outdoor living is now blurred, allowing for a symbiotic relationship between the home and its environment.

An open fireplace, bench seating, and a built-in barbecue—all constructed from the original bricks removed from the back wall of the original house—complete the outdoor room, offering a cosy retreat that truly brings the outside in.

Outdoor living area with fireplace at dusk

    • Reworking of a 1990s project home with an overbearing brick facade

    • Introduction of a contemporary material palette including spotted gum hardwood timber

    • New roof to redefine the home’s form and presence

    • Planter box integrated across the facade to soften the brickwork and filter upper-level windows

    • Modest one metre rear extension to unlock open-plan living

    • Reconfigured layout to improve flow between kitchen, dining and outdoor areas

    • Strong indoor-outdoor connection to the bushland setting

    • Outdoor room including fireplace, bench seating and built-in barbecue

    • Reuse of original bricks from the existing house in the outdoor space

    • Targeted, minimal extension to avoid unnecessary construction cost

    • Spatial reconfiguration to resolve a previously inefficient layout

    • Material reuse from the original structure

    • Design approach focused on improving connection to site and natural surroundings

  • Architect Ironbark Architecture

    Lead architect Chris Freeburn

    Builder Belair Design + Build

    Photography Andy Macpherson Studio and Owner

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Tell us about it or give Chris a call on 0416 130 246