Shelly House
Location: Orford, Tasmania, Australia
Date: 2023
Type: Residential Additions & Alterations
We wanted to give this mid-century home more of what it already had - charm, relaxed confidence, easy warmth.
The aim was to preserve the physical traces of memories attached to the building while updating the plan to stay relevant to an evolving family over three generations.
The new plan adds an extra kids bedroom, a new ensuite bathroom, new undercover living area, new entry, a more functional kitchen and a new post-beach washdown outdoor shower, while only increasing the built footprint by 6m2.
The removal of the front and rear fences is a small but radical act, softening the edge with the street and inviting wildlife to wander into the garden to graze, lounge and roam freely without barrier.
While many 50-year old houses are demolished for the convenience of a fresh build, the retention of 80% of the existing building fabric was a sensitive use of resources to add another 50+ years to the life of this building.