Cowey House

The brief for the project was to restore the mid-century house, while also adding floor space and a swimming pool. The design had to meet the needs of a blended family of two adults and 4 children. The primary requirements were to add an additional double sized bedroom, laundry, storage and a second family bathroom. 

“Less is More” was our approach. Rather than extending the footprint of the house, we chose to extend the basement level of the house out to the line of the house above. This scheme allowed us to preserve the original symmetrical form, and also keep all the garden areas.

Other works included replacing the kitchen, revealing the full bank of glazing to the garden and integrating cabinetry within the feature brick fireplace structure. 

A pool was placed to the north of the house, relating to the living spaces at both levels. Existing deck structures were carefully reshaped and replaced to form cantilevers, freeing up space for the pool below. A new ‘floating’ garden stair links the upper decks to the new pool area. The rectilinear shape of the pool and a long low wall of stone emphasize the linear form of the house. The wall forms a causal seat to the pool deck and the stone follows the original stone walls and paving around the home.  

This subtle reworking has updated a modest mid-century home to meet the needs of a modern-day family and faithfully enhances the original architectural concept.