renovate, retrofit, re-imagine: a permaculture approach to a suburban home renovation

Recently I have revisited the process I went through when we renovated our own home, in an article written for Australian permaculture magazine Pip - the Design issue. 
Eight years ago we bought a dilapidated 1940’s Californian bungalow in Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs. It was in a semi-derelict state and had a heritage overlay, flood level restrictions and a long narrow bloc. However the site was extremely special as it backed onto the Merri creek wildlife corridor. The real value for us was not in the bricks and mortar but in the proximity of the majestic, mature gum trees, running water and the deep buffer of native vegetation on either side of the creek, creating a peaceful sanctuary in an urban environment. We began the process of retrofitting and renovating the home by thinking of it as part of a permaculture system that would integrate the built, interior and biological environments and in turn create an urban existence for our family that allowed us to connect to nature and our local community on a daily basis. There are some key ways of thinking about design from a permaculture perspective based on the ethics and principles as defined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren - and below I have outlined how I applied some of these principles in our process. 

OBSERVATION: As we designed the renovation it was important to observe the building over a full seasonal year by spending time on the site and noticing the patterns of the elements - sun, water, wind - in order to harness them for use in our home. 

CAPTURING ENERGY: All buildings have some potential for passive function that can be realised. In order to make the 1940’s weatherboard home thermally efficient we took the whole building apart piece-by-piece and back to its structural frames. We then wrapped it in insulation and put it all back together again, sealing every little gap as we went. The process has a sense of the loving act of mending the holes in your favourite coat. The extension was built on a suspended concrete slab that allowed us to introduce a thermal mass capacity into the home. We located new windows to open up the home to the winter sun, shade ourselves from the summer heat and to capture cooling breezes. We re-oriented the room layout so that all living areas faced north, flooding the spaces with natural light and allowing the winter sun to reach its long fingers inside. 

PATTERNS OF USE: By reconfiguring the layout of the existing home and extending it, we resolved the spatial design around patterns of use. This design solution creates healthy and resourceful living so that the home functions with the ‘path of least resistance’. Our common utility areas butt up against the social areas so that no one feels like they are in purgatory while doing washing in the laundry. When it’s raining, we can walk barefoot in the house under a clear roof off the deck to hang washing outside. Living in the new home our daily tasks and rituals are now performed in an ergonomic, logical and enjoyable fashion. The best ‘storage vessel’ for the heat and energy of the sun is the human body. Ideally we can wake up to the sun, eat breakfast with it streaming through the window and then relax at the end of the day while watching it set.

RESOURCEFULNESS: During the construction process, we sought to produce the minimum amount of waste possible by first looking at what we had around us, and making the most of existing and discarded materials. Demolished materials such as cabinetry and architectural features were collected and stored for reuse, resold, or collected for further recycling. We repaired or partially replaced what we could - salvaging undamaged weatherboards; collecting the old hardwood skirtings and architraves; and sourcing additional salvaged timbers, doors, and fixtures. We consistently placed value on the marginal - the little details and elements of a design that brought character and resourcefulness to our family home. Every cupboard handle, every window winder, every material junction is where you have the opportunity for the greatest change.

salvaged brass door handles and timber doors were used

TIME: The design process requires great consideration, testing and evolution over time. For every week we spent in design consideration the project continued to improve. This also allowed for a nuanced design solution in direct response to our community relationships and collaborations. Clear and honest communication between the whole team was so important to ensure we shared our vision and considered everyone’s concerns. This slow and evolving approach to design reprioritises the experience and connection between people over the goal of a rushed completion date. Our home has been allowed to beautifully ‘cure’ over time, retaining the potential for future adaptations . By using materials that are only fully realized when their natural patinas show up over time, it is then that our home starts to come alive. In our house, I try to choose special pieces that are worth keeping, appreciating the skill and materiality of highly-crafted objects that ultimately create heirlooms.

Secondhand light fitting and furnishings have been used throughout

BREVITY: I had to curb my enthusiasm for collecting stuff and taking up more space. Our cupboards were intentionally designed not to be too deep in order to avoid things disappearing into the dark zone of being too far away. We created one large central space that opened up to the same amount of outdoor decking. It has become a home where we can welcome our extended community, it can be used as a shared resource and has allowed us to host community groups and events. We also welcome help-exchangers and the neighbourhood children at spontaneous hours of the day. Our bedrooms and utility rooms are modestly sized and shaped for their intended use. Bathrooms and the laundry are long and thin to maximise wall space, access to light and minimise unnecessary circulation space. High loft beds in the kids bedrooms create more floor space for them to play. The hallway was made just wide enough to run a desk along its length and create an office area without dedicating a room to that purpose. The roof space has been lined and fitted out with pull down ladders to store seasonal gear. We also have cupboards that run to the ceilings above normal head height so desks and beds can fit underneath. These design outcomes maximize the use of our precious vertical space.

LIVING ON THE EDGE: Typically, the edges in nature contain the most dense diversity and activity and this includes human inhabited spaces. We paid special attention to articulating the spaces on the edge, from the outside to in, from public to private, from down to up. These transition spaces are where people interact the most with one another, and blurring these boundaries can create opportunities for dynamic relationships and communication. We removed any high fences from the front yard so we could talk to our neighbours and passers-by on the street whilst working in the garden. We created a small door in the back garden fence so that the younger children next door could come and go without needing to be walked along the street. Our delight never ceases when our littlest and most curious neighbours pop up in our garden and kitchen. We created a pergola structure to reach the boundary. It provides both summer shade to the north-facing windows but also houses a vertical recycled hardwood screen, creating some privacy and a vertical surface to grow grapes, berries and honeysuckles. Between the backyard and the creek we took down the tall paling fence and replaced it with a low open wire fence. This allows us to observe the creek beds' native vegetation and wildlife. Another two houses in the area have since followed suit, and now our chickens forage periodically on the creek-side saving us cutting back grasses and weeds and providing them (and us) an abundant source of food.

STACKING FUNCTION: We sought to integrate diverse design problems into one solution, maximising the use of the available space. We created play-nooks under the loft and in the fireplace alcoves (these will later become study nooks and book shelves when the kids get older). We use the laundry as an indoor drying room as well as a bulk-goods store. We have located our solar hot water tank inside an otherwise useless space at the top of the stairs so we can dry wet boots, make yogurt and maybe even hatch eggs in the warm cupboard. 

INTEGRATION: I sought out ‘responsive’ materials, finishes and furnishings, by selecting items with a tangible context that relate to the region or have a historical or emotional relationship to us. This enabled me to explore an authentic regional and personal design vernacular. Our home is lovingly filled with hand-me-downs from our family and objects that we have collected, made, salvaged, and found over the years. This means our home does not have a particular look, but is more an accidental collection of personally significant things, gently curated into a pleasing combination of usefulness and decoration.  

A YEILD:  Our home has produced outcomes far beyond aesthetic and economic results. We have fresh healthy food, happy children, meaningful friendships and connection with our community. There isn’t a person that worked on this house that didn’t speak warmly of their experience, despite having to carry everything in down steep muddy paths. We would sometimes stop work to gently relocate wildlife that kept moving into the building site, such as the little ring-tail possum found asleep in the middle of a cloud of bulky insulation one morning. The peripheral yields have been the learning received from and between everyone involved in the project, the guests we have hosted in our home and through the open days and tours I have run. Our home design has fundamentally changed the way we all live and contribute to the community. We thankfully get to live, work and go to school all within walking distance. We are very privileged to live here and to have access to abundant nature within the cultural amenities of the urban life. We experience diverse wildlife daily; we are visited by kookaburras, blue tongue lizards, tawny-frogmouths and the odd tiger snake.
This home has reiterated the importance of urban wild life corridors and shared productive space. We have an opportunity to re-design our suburbs in a context of neighbourhood scale resilience and autonomy, creating homes and landscapes that contribute to this end.

All photographs by Emma Byrnes

clifton hill cabinet party

Just before Christmas last year, we finished this modest living/dining-room cabinetry fit-out in a Clifton Hill townhouse. The brief was for a cabinet design to fulfil everyone's needs in this creative family - part DJ console; part TV alcove; part book and art object display; part play-nook for the children. We designed this wrap-around unit, complete with a floating turntable platform on sound absorption pads to stop the speaker jumping and it was beautifully made with care in Victorian ash hardwood and veneer by Auld designs. The brick home, designed in the 1980s, had some period style additions that were not true to it's late modernist design so they were stripped back and the simple quality of exposed brick and long garden views maximised. 

One of the highlights of this project was the new baby girl born into the family on the day their cabinetry was installed! A very productive time for all involved, and we felt very pleased that the family could come home to their new space and settle in for the summer. These types of jobs are why we love residential work at Brave New Eco. The owners are looking forward to hosting some fun parties in this space - just as soon as they get some sleep!

All photographs by Emma Byrnes

yin and yang wet rooms

The owners of this lovely, modest Yarraville home were tripping over the washing baskets (and each other) in a dim, dysfunctional laundry and old bathroom. Their bulk household supplies were stacked on shelving in front of windows in the laundry, making it feel dark and crowded. They came to Brave New Eco wanting to harness the best layout from the two spaces, whilst allowing for a second shower and toilet.
To provide this solution, two L-shaped spaces were created, locking together in a yin and yang fashion. In the the bathroom a luxuriously large shower nook and wide custom made timber vanity unit ensure that, what is essentially a small room, is easy for more than one person to use at a time. Meanwhile the laundry and extra ensuite were created in the other space, side-tucked neatly into the corner of the complimentary "L", with a shared laboratory-style basin. 

Beautiful custom-designed mirrors, a vanity cabinet and towel racks were made by Auld Design combined with some warm details such as locally-made turned timber lights and cabinet handles. The wet areas are now functional, light and lovely. 

And how do the owners feel about their new bathroom/laundry solution?

"I love the way you designed the new layout so that there is maximum useful space and lots of light. The combination of timber and grey and white tiles is very peaceful and beautiful and the custom design of the vanity and mirror is spot on. It has lots of nooks and storage. We also love the quirky light fittings. The space is much more functional now, and the surfaces and textures are perfectly suited to their uses like the laundry bench and the smooth floor tiles. I just like to go in and gaze at how beautiful it all is!"- Lucy, Yarraville. 

Despite having added an ensuite into the space it seems larger overall, with plenty of full height storage in the laundry for linen and bulk supplies. 

All photographs by Emma Byrnes

oh' rosanna!

Here is a little project we worked on this year in the lovely Melbourne suburb of Rosanna that is full of large post-war brick houses on elevated blocks with established trees. It is the home of a keen gardener and every room looks out onto beautifully maintained native and productive gardens. The house has modestly proportioned rooms in a great existing layout that flows from one room to another. Sadly, the 1970's bright yellow laminate kitchen was beyond repair and and the owner was keen to replace it with both the uber-functionality and clean lines of a Cantilever designed kitchen, but combined with some handcrafted and vintage touches in keeping with the rest of the home.

A local 'wood genius' and friend of the owner, known as Chubb, sourced recycled spotted gum and lovingly turned it into a large island bench at one end of Cantilever's kitchen. At the other end a wall dividing the kitchen and dining was opened up and spotted gum shelves, also made by Chubb, were suspended from copper pipe rods found in the attic space. Hand-turned handles were fashioned from the left over timber offcuts.

Compact and highly efficient appliances were selected including an induction cooktop. Stainless steel tap-ware was chosen for the kitchen and laundry to avoid using chrome.  Japanese tiles that echoed the original stonework around the fireplace in the living room were selected. Vintage mid century lighting was sourced from Australia and Europe to add a touch of the owner's personality and the homes inherent style.  The result is highly cohesive, earthy and inviting low-maintenance spaces in a very enjoyable collaborative project.

All photographs by Emma Byrnes

the tiny kitchen with a big heart

This is one of those projects I affectionately call a 'LOVE' job.
The inspiring clients - live at The Plummery in Northcote, an impressively productive 280sqm urban block. They are the type of home-owners I respect as they have finished all of the "less-glamourous-but-sensible-jobs" first - adding solar panels; setting up a nectre wood heater; installing home-made double glazing (bubble wrap); and building a wonderful sun-trap conservatory out of reclaimed materials that shelters seedlings, warms the house and even grows tropical fruit! They have also spent many years developing every square inch of The Plummery permaculture garden hence creating an abundance of produce in a self-sustaining nutrient cycle. This cycle includes composting waste; nourishing soils and organic matter; and growing fruits and vegetables from which seeds are then saved for planting the following year. At certain times of each season there will be a glut of produce - with kilos of feijoas, blackberries, grapes, persimmons and plums passing through their tiny lean-to kitchen to be preserved, fermented, dried, bottled and baked.
After years of using this old dysfunctional kitchen Kat and Nik were ready to create a purpose-built kitchen to do all the busy work. In an agreement with Brave New Eco that was part barter-exchange (I've had all my seedlings hand-raised at The Plummery for the past year) we set about designing the ultimate hard-working tiny kitchen in the same six square metre space as the original kitchen but replaced it with high-quality efficient appliances, no hard-to-clean surfaces or fiddly deep cupboards, and with everything they need within arms reach.

"The kitchen is the heart of our permaculture system. We grow most of our fresh produce and make meals from scratch and so the kitchen needed to be able to handle heavy use and lots of dishes! It has a tiny footprint of only a few square metres so we needed bench space and storage solutions. Using local, recycled and sustainable materials was paramount for ethical reasons, but we also wanted a bit of a modern twist. Looking back there are certainly conflicts in our brief - recycled and rustic yet modern, tiny floor plan but with lots of space, heavy duty but with a light footprint - but Megan has somehow delivered on each one of them", says Kat.

For all of the utilitarian function desired by the owners we wanted to steer clear of a cold and minimalist outcome in a home that truly embodies "cosy". To avoid this from happening Brave New Eco merged industrial functionality with an organic, homemade charm. One side of the kitchen became the utility bench with all of the appliances required to make a small kitchen hum. An induction cooktop; a built-in oven; an efficient 450mm wide dishwasher and a tiny 1.25m sink were included under a stainless bench-top making a seamless junction between wet and hot areas that is less likely to get damaged and easy to clean. Terrazzo floor tiles give the splashback a lovely natural stone palette and minimal grout reduces the amount of cleaning needed. In collaboration with the owners we designed a reclaimed Blackbutt drying/shelving plate rack that was made by a local craftsperson, Sam Joddie. It was thoughtfully designed for plates and cups to drip over the sink area.  Kat had the idea to line the shelf trays with the cut-outs of recycled plastic bread crates- this solution worked an absolute treat.

A floating shelf over the island bench houses anything fermenting, soaking, rising, drying or otherwise needing passive observation without cluttering the workbench. This shelf had to be such a height that one shorter and one very tall house-holder (read: Kat and Nik) could both reach it and see under it, so much detailed measuring ensued.  
Knowing the owners had many friends on country properties I set them with the task of finding a dry fallen branch of the right proportions to use as a semi-structural vertical element for the floating shelf unit. They soon returned with a beautiful Redbox branch not too curvy, not too straight. They whittled the bark off themselves to show the beautiful surface below and Sam incorporated the branch into the shelving thus completing our marriage of utilitarian and organic elements. 

"We especially love our dish draining rack which combines drying and storage to cut the chore of putting away dishes. The overhead shelf to store our ferments, cultures and produce which is out of the way but visible so we can keep an eye on what needs to be used up is also fantastic and so beautiful that it has become a real feature in our living room" observes Kat.

The walls were painted in Murobond paints and energy-efficient LED strip lighting is recessed under the open shelving. Kat hand-felted the 'wolf back' pendant light using natural wool.
"We always spent a lot of time in the kitchen but now we relish that time. Jobs like cooking, cleaning, washing up and preserving produce have become so much easier and more enjoyable. So the irony is that we now need to spend less time in the kitchen but we're wanting to spend more time in there", says Kat.

All photographs by Emma Byrnes

westgarth house renovation

In Melbourne's inner-city Westgarth area, this grand old home is the definition of good bones with it's lofty ceilings, multiple bay windows and impressively wide proportions. Despite this, a previous renovation had created a kitchen and laundry that felt pokey, dysfunctional and was falling apart faster than the original home! And like many older homes - especially those with high ceilings, old windows and gappy floorboards - it was proving costly and inefficient to run.
Brave New Eco was engaged to design an interior renovation that would provide a better quality kitchen, family bathroom and laundry; feature generous storage throughout; and make energy efficient retrofit changes. Most importantly, the result needed to sit with the original features and be of the quality that a beautiful family home like this deserves. 

The kitchen cabinets were created with a mix of EO (zero emission) - rated laminate, hoop pine plywood and recycled Australian hardwoods. All of the timbers and plywoods were oiled using natural oils and tints.  Custom fabricated slim-line brass handles were created for all of the cabinets.

New locally-made brass and ceramic pendant lighting and high efficiency LED lighting were installed throughout. The entire interior was painted in low VOC paints and all timber finishes are recycled and oiled in naturally based oils. A graphic colour palette was used to create cohesion between the original and newer parts of the home and to provide a good base for the family's colourful collection of artwork and curiosities. 

We maximised the available space for the kitchen and laundry by reconfiguring the rooms. We removed a dividing wall separating the rooms and replaced it with a space saving double-sided cabinetry unit, then flipped the kitchen and laundry to give the kitchen direct outdoor access and installed a new glass door to allow more light in. The kitchen was opened up to the dining room, allowing better connection between the two spaces and a sightline from the dining to the garden.

Into the dining room went a new cosy window seat, with record storage underneath. Heavy backed 100% linen curtains throughout help keep the heat inside the house as the weather grows colder. Wall and ceiling insulation were added and efficient space heating was installed in the open-plan living area.

To reduce the waste involved in upgrading the kitchen, the old kitchen cabinets were re-purposed in another client's laundry fit-out. Appliances were re-used, and pull-out metal pantry shelves were re-used in the new cabinetry.
The kitchen is divided into two zones: the cooking and washing (wet/hot work) zone and the snacking/ drinking/ socialising zone where family members can make drinks and snacks without disturbing the person at the stove of sink. 

The long thin bathroom was reconfigured to create more circulation space and better functionality. A new shelf was added along the entire length of the bathroom to place useful things in easy reach. Handmade lighting, recycled timbers and vintage mirrors were chosen for their enduring details. 

And finally a few words about the project from our client, Rebecca Burdon:

"We wanted to transform our crafty old house into a much more comfortable and workable home. It is a Victorian house that had been renovated about 15 years ago by a builder/developer. The house had not been insulated and many shortcuts had been taken in the original renovation. Brave New Eco provided sustainable, practical, well designed solutions. (They have) excellent problem solving skills; great knowledge about options, suppliers and quality of different products; great relationships with tradesmen and great attention to detail and advice regarding finishes.
We're enjoying all aspects of our home more. It is far more comfortable to live in. Everything looks and works better. It's a pleasure just to be at home now."