Change With Respect
The Age
Saturday September 16, 2006
Change with respect This update makes great use of the original floor plan, writes Lou Sweeney.
PROPERTY REVIEW: NORTHCOTE, 12 Bridge Street $480,000-plus Auction 1.30pm, September 23 Agent Barry Plant, 9489 9422 Melway 30 D10IT'S not unusual to plunge behind the facade of a classic terrace and find a brave new world quite different from what the good folk of the Victorian era called home.What is unusual is to find a place that manages to capture a new-millennium aesthetic while giving respect to the solid floor plan of the erstwhile original designers.While there are plenty of features in this house that would send a scullery maid screaming at all the bells and whistles, the classic long hall, two-bedroom, one-bathroom configuration has been retained and the gloss of the house is all the better tempered for it.The neat front opens on to the hall, where bedroom one overlooks the street and sets the tone with crisp white walls underscored by black carpet.The main bedroom sits directly behind and has a wall of wardrobes and access to a pretty, pebble-and-stone side courtyard.A narrow study nook further down the hall also has access to the courtyard.However, it's the bathroom that let's you know you're not in Kansas any more. Black mosaic tiling covers just about every surface. From floor to ceiling, the sober tones are interrupted and lifted by a large window over the deep bath and twin square sinks atop the vanity. A frameless-glass shower completes an utterly modern look.A hideaway laundry is tucked into the wall before the rear open-plan area.This is a stunning transformation that speaks as much about the way we live today as its expansive design.The designer kitchen sits to the rear of the space and has a composite-stone floating bench/ breakfast bar offset by dark timber-veneer cabinets and stainless-steel appliances.In front is the wide, gallerylike space of the living area.Lit by roof tracking rectangular highlight windows that project from the ceiling, the design means light enters the area at all times of the day, and for a terrace house, the admittance of the sun is almost as important as anything else. Very sharply done.A wall of glass in the form of concertina doors opens the rear of the house to more light and creates that sought-after feature, the indoor/outdoor room.A deck leads down to a stone feature slab that separates it from another deck on the rear boundary. Simple but effective planting frames the whole area.This pocket of Northcote sits near the Merri Creek and is close to both North Fitzroy and the Westgarth strip, so you are never far away from the action.However, if you added a cappuccino machine here and a few umbrellas on the back deck, you might never leave home.
© 2006 The Age
