Welcome back to Behind the Facade, your backstage pass into the personal stories that shape the homes we love.
Today, we're stepping inside 37 Dunstaffnage Street, where a heritage cottage's charming facade conceals one of Hurlstone Park's most thoughtful architectural transformations. Here, a growing family worked with Carla Middleton Architecture to create something extraordinary: a home that honours the past while embracing how families really live today.
This is the work of Carla Middleton, director and architect of Carla Middleton Architecture, who was engaged from the moment this passionate family first acquired the property. Her brief was both complex and honest: honour the heritage cottage's character while creating spaces that serve how families actually live today. The challenge extended beyond aesthetics – accommodate a growing family (their third child arrived during construction) on a challenging north-facing site flanked by dense neighbouring properties, all while maintaining privacy and maximising natural light.
Carla's response demonstrates a profound understanding of contemporary family life. The monolithic rear extension emerges from the heritage cottage as a natural evolution, its recycled brick cladding narrating stories of Sydney's building heritage while creating spaces where children can be children. "The owners had differing aesthetic preferences," she explains. "One preferred the rough texture of recycled bricks, while the other favoured clean white interiors." Her masterstroke? Delivering both visions while prioritising what matters most – a home that works for busy families.
The Japanese-inspired exterior – robust, grounded, deeply textural – envelops pristine white interiors that amplify every nuance of natural light. This deliberate juxtaposition creates architectural tension that feels both inevitable and surprising, as each material choice elevates the inherent qualities of the other.
Those soaring 6.7m ceilings serve a purpose beyond spatial drama. Punctuated with precisely positioned skylights, they resolve the site's orientation challenges while flooding family living spaces with consistent northern light. The custom bay window frames the rear Jacaranda with gallery-like precision, creating a focal point where children can watch the seasons change.
Carla's approach centres on understanding that great family homes must serve life, never constrain it. Every spatial decision reflects this philosophy. “The rear kitchen, living, and dining space was designed for usability and functionality for a young family,” she explains. “We strategically placed the kitchen relative to the dining area, incorporated ample storage for school bags and toys, and used large drawers to keep spaces tidy.” Because even the most sophisticated architecture must accommodate how families truly navigate their daily lives.
"Every element was considered for design, aesthetics, natural light, and family function," Carla reflects. Built just before COVID, the home's emphasis on natural light, integrated storage, and calming atmosphere proved remarkably prescient, exactly what families required when the world contracted inward.
The true genius lies in how Carla separated the home's functions. The heritage cottage maintains its original four-room layout, cradling formal spaces and bedrooms where family members can retreat when needed. The new extension becomes the bustling heartbeat, perfect for communal cooking, shared meals, and weekend gatherings. “We designed multiple living areas to accommodate both young and older children,” she says. “With a strong connection to the backyard.” This clear delineation between old and new creates what Carla calls "a compact, well-planned, beautiful family home" that grows with its inhabitants.
The heritage cottage's original character remains beautifully intact, with ornate period arches, original fireplaces, and delicate stained glass windows lovingly preserved throughout. "We prioritised the historical integration of the home," Carle notes, reflecting her firm's commitment to respecting the home's architectural DNA. Rather than fighting against these heritage elements, the design celebrates them, allowing the formal rooms to retain their Victorian elegance while the contemporary extension provides the open, flexible spaces modern families crave. This thoughtful approach ensures the home feels authentically layered, where past and present coexist harmoniously rather than competing for attention.
Standing in that light-suffused kitchen, observing the Jacaranda's graceful canopy through the bay window, you experience the profound calm that thoughtful architecture delivers. This transcends clever spatial planning or luxurious finishes, though the Elba stone benchtops and terrazzo bathrooms certainly contribute. This is architecture as sanctuary – designed to evolve as children mature, as needs shift, as life unfolds.
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‘Behind The Facade’ is your backstage pass to the world of architecture and homeownership. We go beyond the status quo to bring you candid conversations with architects and homeowners, discovering the inspirations, challenges and personal stories that breathe life into these structures. It’s architecture unmasked. Raw, authentic, and deeply human.