Erle Levey
The renovation of a traditional Queenslander in Tewantin to one with modern colonial features was one that took the 2023 Master Builders Sunshine Coast Housing and Construction Award judges by surprise.
The Bahamas at Crank project by Silk Design and Construct took out the Home Renovation Project from $650,000 up to $1 million.
The uniquely designed, north-facing property was renovated to be the homeowner’s final home.
This fundamental requirement affected the functional and design decisions.
The high ceilings, sophisticated layout and clever use of transitions reflect how the clients live their lives.
The home is a quirky fusion of traditional Queenslander, with modern colonial features.
The character of the original house along with the clients’ visions were carried through the extension where a new kitchen and lounge were created.
A second storey was added, creating an additional two bedrooms and spacious ensuite.
The home boasts a seamlessly integrated indoor-outdoor living and entertaining space, with a pool and pool house completing the home. The morning sun rises over the pool providing a beautiful display of light to start your day.
The street appeal was significantly enhanced through the sympathetic use of modern materials and bay windows.
The facade is brought to life using VJ sheets, decking materials, and light features.
The property is accessible through the charming front deck and low maintenance garden surrounding the perimeter.
Innovation
The design brief was to create a spacious home, incorporating as much natural light as possible and deliver an indoor-outdoor living experience. The existing cathedral ceilings were extended to create new spaces.
We left the exposed rafters and carefully built to the roof extension and ceilings.
The walls mouldings installed around the entire house gave the modern look with colonial features. The home features handmade arches and ceiling roses on each feature light.
Workmanship
We consider design and construction our passion and not just a trade. This can be seen in the attention to detail and workmanship that we lavish on this and all our projects.
The completed renovation of this property is reflective of our commitment to workmanship, to deliver accurately the exacting standards of the design brief presented to us by the client. With a passionate eye for perfection that translates into a meticulous attention to detail, all areas of this home were finished to the exacting craftsmanship standards the client specified.
This completed project demonstrates our integration of trades to produce a high level of finished workmanship in all areas of this home; because of this we are very proud to enter it into this competition as highly representative of our workmanship.
Degree of difficulty
Renovating and extending an older property to build a magnificent/open plan home on a tight site will always present an element of difficulty. Working closely alongside an engineer enabled the vision of the impressive cathedral ceilings to become a reality. The team worked to modify large spans of timber and steel to achieve the open plan kitchen and living areas.
The ceiling height and pitch presented installation issues for the mounting of all the ceiling lighting.
Another challenge was to add the deck, pool, and pool house at a later stage of the project. Ideally, we would of build these areas first and then the second story extension.
The entire project took 11 months. Overcoming unforeseeable delays, shipping delays and trades availability was a major achievement on this project.
