Let there be light...and there was

The West Australian, New Homes - 31st October 2009, pg70
By Len Findlay

When they bought this Mullaloo home, the owners had to use imagination.  They could see beauty hidden under “the ugliness” of the single-storey house.

The dark décor was fashionable when the home was built in the 1970’s but was dated.  It had a useable loft but that was accessed only by a pull-down ladder.

The homeowner had worked for Dale Alcock for 14 years, so he and the design team got together to create a modern, exciting home for the family.

Out wend the old wood and dark brick finish and in came white paint to some of the bricks and wood was replaced by glass.  What had been a sunken study became the entrance and the stairs to the addition now run from there, creating more light.

The old loft has become a walk-in-robe and storeroom, a few steps down from the new main suite and parents’ retreat and a games room.

The judges said: “The location of the stairs created a light and airy entry/foyer.  Within the first-floor extension a resort-style master suite/retreat encompasses a functional walk-in-robe from a previously unuseable loft”.