Inner West Home Renovations: Federation Specialists & Builders

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Sydney has a proud and unique architectural heritage with some of the most beautiful Federation homes, period houses and bungalows anywhere in Australia. So when it comes time to renovate your home to meet your modern needs it's important to acknowledge this history and be sympathetic with your design choices in order to respect that heritage character that appealed to you in the first place.

At B.E. Bespoke, we believe that your renovation should work with your existing home, not against it.

In recent years it has become more common to see a beautifully built federation home or a nice bungalow paired with an ultra modern extension off the rear of the property or as a first floor addition on top of the existing structure. 

Whilst this architectural contrast can work well when executed correctly, we at B.E. Bespoke believe there is often a better approach. An approach that properly honours the existing heritage aspects of your home whilst developing a more cohesive relationship between old and new.

After all, the features that appealed to you in the first place - the pointed brickwork, intricate timber fretwork, stained glass windows and decorative ceilings - are part of the proud Sydney heritage we are talking about and deserve our respect.

By renovating sympathetically, we ensure these features continue to define the home as it evolves to meet our modern way of living.

Texture • Colour • Scale

The goal to successfully renovate a heritage home is to select modern materials that compliment the original structure rather than compete with them.

Using a timber cladding with a historically accurate profile is one of the best ways to extend a federation or period home. 

Timber is a naturally occurring and renewable resource that has been a prominent feature in Australian architecture since the very beginning. It can be painted to match other timber elements you have on the facade of your home such as the fret work, timber trims and fascia so the new feels more like a natural extension of the home than a statement in its own right.

If it’s in the budget, then using brick is a great choice for an Inner West home extension. 

The majority of homes in the Inner West in suburbs such as Leichhardt, Haberfield, Summer Hill and Marrickville were originally constructed using brick making it a wonderful, historically appropriate choice. 

Brick also has a lot of practical benefits for how we live in the Inner West, with all the hustle and bustle of inner city living and the noise that comes along with it, such as;

• Superior acoustic insulation from road, aircraft and urban noise pollution
• Thermal mass for managing temperature regulation
• Superior durability for managing the challenges presented by density and proximity to those around us
• We can match it with the existing bricks and tie it in, again this is a material that perfectly compliments the existing structure and has a historical precedent that we can draw on to make the old and the new work cohesively.

When using brick, we are able to match the brick size, colour and mortar profile to have a near seamless transition from old to new. We can further unify the facade by repointing the old brickwork to match that of the new.

Roof design is another important consideration when creating a sympathetic renovation.

By matching the pitch and profile of the existing roof, the new extension can visually integrate with the original home. Materials such as terracotta tiles, slate or Colorbond roofing can all be incorporated depending on what currently exists.

A conventionally framed pitched roof can also provide the added benefit of usable attic or loft space, which is an excellent way to increase storage or living space without dramatically altering the visual identity of the house from the outside.

Complement don't compete.

The benefits of building sympathetically are not limited to the exterior of your home. It can be argued that the best opportunity to preserve or introduce heritage charm to your home is found on the inside. 

Federation and other period homes have some wonderful architectural details that are rarely used in modern homes. Incorporating these details in the new parts of our home can have a dramatic impact on the overall design and feel of the newly created space.

Federation homes have unique design quirks that may not be apparent at first glance but once you are aware of them you can harness these concepts and implement them in your own design.

For example; it is common in historic homes for a different skirting and architrave profile to be used depending on the function and location of the room. 

More intricate and decorative mouldings would be used in common areas such as a hallway, formal dining room or other rooms often seen by visitors to our home where a smaller less detailed variety will be used in areas that guests are less likely to see.

What we quite often see today is a standard 90mm skirting profile used throughout the entire home with little to no regard for the proportions and scale of the room. 

It is common in period and heritage homes to have ceilings that are up to or in excess of 3 metres. In this instance we have the opportunity to use larger scale mouldings, such as a skirting board that is in the range of 250-300mm or more which will help emphasis the scale and proportions of a room which brings a sense of grandeur to the space which better suits the architecture of the period.

Ceilings in federation homes are another great example of this concept. They are often a defining feature for a period home and it is not uncommon to find in the main living rooms;

• Decorative ceiling roses in the centre of the room
• Ornate multi-faceted cornice with a profile that uses the light in the space to give depth and character
• Complimentary period lighting or chandeliers

Combining the ornate ceiling details with something such as modern pendant lights or wall sconces we are able to bring modern elements into our new build whilst simultaneously honouring the home's heritage.

Compare this to the rather unfortunate approach we take so often these days which is to square-set ceilings or at best throwing a simple cove cornice around the perimeter we are robbing ourselves of the chance to incorporate so much historical charm. 

If we were to replicate or extend existing ceiling details into the new rooms in our home we can maintain architectural continuity and introduce a level of craftsmanship rarely seen in contemporary homes.

As is the case with the ceilings so too should we try to line up the floor levels between new and existing rooms.

It's all too common to have a step between the original house and the new addition.

We should be aiming to keep the floor levels consistent wherever possible so that the flow of old into new is as seamless as possible. 

This way we can;

• Carry the original flooring through from old into the new
• Install a reclaimed or more historically appropriate floor covering
• Avoid an awkward and impractical transition between spaces

The result is a renovation that feels intentional, cohesive, historically and architecturally respectful.

Sydney’s Inner West contains some of the most historically significant residential streetscapes in Australia.

Sympathetic renovations allow homeowners to:

• preserve the character and heritage charm of their property
• improve liveability and functionality for modern day living
• increase long-term property value
• maintain the architectural integrity of the neighbourhood

A well-designed period renovation ensures the home continues to tell its story while adapting to our modern way of life.

If you are serious about maintaining the heritage details in your Inner West home during your renovation then the best time to involve a builder is during the design stage.

Experienced builders like us at B.E Bespoke who regularly works on Federation and period homes in Sydney can help ensure that:

• new materials are sympathetic to the originals
• proportions and profiles are historically appropriate
• construction details maintain the home’s architectural identity

Whether you're restoring original features that have been removed or designing a sympathetic extension, early collaboration between us, you and your designer will give you results that you will be happy with long into the future.

We have years of experience working with period homes across Sydney’s Inner West and as craftsmen we take pride in maintaining and extending Sydney’s proud architectural heritage. 

If you’re planning a renovation and want to ensure your home’s character is preserved, we would love to be involved in the conversation.