PRESTO

Martina Gemmola

• Architects

Hey, Presto!
Channeling the original deco embellishments, this cute little reno had big formal ambitions. Playful geometry tucks under the existing 1930’s clinker brick, adjoined by a gloriously tall living room.The clients’ brief was to pick out something from the original and make it feel seamless. The original glazed clinker brick evoked raspberry and it sat nicely with the burnt blue features that were already there. So we partnered raspberry with duck egg because it looked yummy and they were
the clients’ favourite colours.

photo_credit Martina Gemmola — Martina Gemmola

While the front of the house remained intact to contain bedrooms and a formal lounge, the rear was ‘almost surgically removed’ and remodelled to fit a parents’ retreat, study and communal living quarters.
Lofty ceilings tower at 4.5m high, bringing ample natural light and garden views flooding into the main living, kitchen and dining area. The main bedroom suite is tucked under the eaves of this new ceiling height, and is only visible from the backyard.

The house is a ceiling rose crescendo! One moves from the beautiful deco door looking up to see a gorgeous ceiling rose, leading to a skylight with the same geometry, then for the finale – a deco prism with dancing geometry linking the old and new and framing the view to the garden.

WOWOWA also relied upon the recurring raspberry colour to provide clear connections between each space, while ensuring the overall personality of Presto remains fortified as you move throughout the home.
A delightful mix of shapes that contrast and complement. It was the
perfect genius!