A Grand Victorian Glows
Like a Lanterns After a
Luminous Retrofit

Timmins + Whyte carves out a sun-soaked haven in a heritage-listed Melbourne home.

Timmins + Whyte
carves out a sunsoaked
haven in a
heritage-listed
Melbourne home.

By Lucy Wang - July 31 , 2020

When a couple bought a late-19th-century Victorian for their family of five, they knew right away that a renovation was in order. Despite the home's high heritage value, the property had long suffered from lack of maintenance, and it was disconnected from the outdoors and natural light.Having fallen in love with the work of Timmins + Whyte, the couple reached out to the Melbourne-based architecture firm to help them open up their dark house with a sunny extension where they could live, cook, and gather with friends and extended family.The clients both work in the mental health and psychology space, and they wanted their home to give them a sense of calm, quiet, and well-being,'l says Timmins + Whyte Director Sally Timmins. The firm tore down a 1980s addition to make way for a new extension that celebrates indoor/outdoor living. "The main living and kitchen space is quiet and soft, and feels like a day spa or meditative space.

Photography by: Peter Bennetts

Taking a leaf from Japanese garden design, the architects named the new addition the Lantern House. The name not only alludes to the toro, the traditional stone lantern commonly found in Japanese gardens, but also references the way the extension glows like a lantern at night.

Taking a leaf from Japanese garden design, the architects named the new addition the Lantern House. The name not only alludes to the toro, the traditional stone lantern commonly found in Japanese gardens, but also references the way the extension glows like a lantern at night.

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