A thoughtful renovation that gives this Mayfield home a renewed street presence while preserving its connection to an existing courtyard garden.

The design retains the kitchen, relocates the living room to the front and positions two bedrooms at the rear, reshaping the home around the family’s daily routines.

The family’s much-loved dogs were an important part of the brief, with their movement between indoor spaces, the garden and family activities helping inform the design.

The brief was to refresh the home’s street character and rethink its internal arrangement while retaining the existing kitchen and courtyard garden.

Maintaining the relationship between the home and its internal courtyard was central to the approach.

The design needed to support the whole household, including the dogs, with careful consideration of how everyone would share and move between inside and outside spaces.

The existing kitchen and courtyard garden became the starting points for the renovation. These retained elements anchor the concept, maintaining the home’s familiar connection to the garden while allowing the surrounding spaces to be reconsidered.

Around these retained elements, the layout was reorganised, placing the living room at the front of the home and two bedrooms at the rear.

The revised arrangement responds to the family’s daily routines, with the relationship between living spaces, the kitchen and courtyard guiding the design.

The garden remains an important part of the home’s organisation, rather than a separate outdoor space.

The proposal balances a new street identity with the familiar spaces and garden connections the clients wanted to keep.

While the exterior is refreshed, the retained kitchen and courtyard maintain a sense of continuity within the home.

The concept brings these existing and renewed elements together, giving the house a clearer architectural identity without losing its connection to the family’s everyday life.

The design retains the existing kitchen and courtyard garden.

while reorganising the home around a clearer connection between shared rooms and outdoor space.

Circulation is considered for the whole household, including the dogs, so daily life can move comfortably between the interior, courtyard and alfresco area.

A refreshed street façade gives the home a cohesive new identity.

The refreshed elevations pair dark vertical cladding with pale masonry and warm timber accents.

The pitched roof forms preserve the home’s familiar silhouette, while a clearer entry, carefully placed windows and low planting give it a more cohesive street presence.

The material palette pairs dark ribbed cladding with warm timber and the varied texture of reclaimed brick. Pale stone brings lightness, while native grasses and foliage soften the edges.

Together, these elements give the home a contemporary street presence that still feels warm and connected to its courtyard garden.

COURTYARD: Retaining the existing garden and its relationship with the surrounding interior spaces.

LAYOUT: Moving the living room to the front and locating two bedrooms at the rear.

LIFE WITH DOGS: Considering the dogs as part of the household, with indoor–outdoor movement and family interaction built into the brief.

These images trace the project from early environmental thinking to its resolved architectural expression.

Passive design moves, including winter sun, cross-flow ventilation, privacy and efficient service planning, shape a warm, grounded home;

Where dark cladding, brick and timber strengthen the connection between interior spaces and the landscape.