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Aberfeldie Residence
richardwilson.com.au/projects/Aberfeldie/
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Project & Brief
The Aberfeldie Residence was a contemporary renovation to a two-level 1960's residence overlooking the Marybyrnong River in Aberfeldie, Victoria. The brief included a combined lounge and dining space, kitchen, four bedrooms, study, rumpus/media room, swimming pool with an outdoor entertainment area, and more. In addition, maximising views to their own extensive gardens as well as the river and parkland beyond were to be a priority for the owners.
There were some challenges ahead. The property itself is unusually large for the area, however, only a small portion of it could be developed due to many restrictive easements. Moreover, the land available was very irregularly shaped and steeply sloping with the existing lower level embedded into the hillside.
Design Solution
A part of the solution was to think of the residence as a distinctly separate house sitting on top of an outcrop projecting from the side of the hill. The existing lower level contained a 2-car garage sitting prominently in front of the entire house. Perched above was a conspicuously positioned terrace with elevated views across the road to the river and its surrounding parkland. This terrace was replaced by the striking new lounge and dining area to take advantage of the primary view year round. This simultaneously created a new focus for the entire house, taking the emphasis away from the garage by using it as a plinth for the room above. This space also has direct access to the new upper level alfresco and swimming pool which has a dramatic overflowing infinity edge.
The existing house had two existing bedrooms on each level, all of which were undersized with very poor storage. All are now upstairs to create a unified living zone. A new master bedroom suite was located in one of the two previous lounge rooms, giving it its own views as well as direct access to the pool. The remaining three bedrooms were placed together at the other end of the house in completely reconstructed space to allow for spacious bedrooms with proper wardrobes, bathroom access, and an ensuite. Below this, the lower level was reworked and extended for a new rumpus/media room which is used as a private area for the kids. This level also contains the new laundry and much needed internal access from the garage to the upper floor.