Removing What Was in the Way
The original plan chopped the ground floor into four small rooms. Taking out two non-structural walls gave back a single living space that finally matches how the family uses the house.
We surveyed the structure first, since a townhouse this age often hides a surprise. Everything we removed turned out to be genuinely non-load-bearing, which kept the schedule intact.
Two Fixes That Changed the Feel of the House
Neither move was expensive on its own. Together they reset how the ground floor reads.
Borrowing Light from the Back
A widened rear opening pulls daylight through to the front of the plan, which previously relied on artificial light even at midday.
A Ceiling That Finally Shows Itself
Dropping the old suspended ceiling in the living zone exposed almost half a metre of extra height that had been hidden for two decades.
Scope of Work
The renovation stayed within the existing envelope; nothing about the footprint or facade changed.
- Demolition of two non-structural partition walls on the ground floor
- Widened rear window and new sliding door onto the courtyard
- Removal of the suspended ceiling and reworked lighting layout
- New engineered timber flooring throughout the living level
What the Owner Notices Most
Six months in, the change the owner mentions first is not the light or the height, but how much less furniture the room needed once the walls came down.
I kept trying to plan where the sofa would hide the mess. Turns out there wasn't going to be any mess to hide.