Elgin Street

Builder: Wave Built  |  Styling: Max Copolov  |  Photography: Ben Moynihan  |  Year completed: 2022

Elgin Street is a complete interior renovation of a heritage listed 1890s Victorian townhouse in inner Melbourne. The property’s original features have been obscured over time with various updates, so one of the primary considerations was to restore details of the original dwelling where possible while ensuring the updated configuration and amenities are suitable for a family home today. 

The brief was to revert the former student accommodation back to its original purpose, merging 5 small bedroom dorms and a disconnected kitchen to create a comfortable three bedroom, two bathroom dwelling with a large, open plan kitchen, dining and living space on the top floor. With a strict heritage overlay, great care was taken to minimize impact to the building’s architecture. The new design was developed in conjunction with local planning authorities to ensure the property’s Victorian charm was sympathetically integrated with modern living requirements.

Devising a strategy to combine the property’s heritage past with modern improvements created numerous challenges. The initial design scheme was developed with a flexible anticipation of what might be revealed during the demolition process. Once building works began, regular site visits and reviews ensured the design could adapt to unforeseen surprises, to create a seamless integration of old and new.