- 21 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:05While building a dream house is for some...
00:08This is brilliant.
00:09This is where we're up to.
00:10...many others are transforming existing homes.
00:14Got it. Got it.
00:17Smashing down walls, ripping out kitchens and digging up gardens...
00:23Oh, there you go.
00:24...as they reimagine their homes as places to live, work and thrive.
00:30It's gonna be a bathhouse. Why not, eh?
00:32Bathrooms are the hardest thing to renovate.
00:35I'll go turn that off.
00:37Come on.
00:39I'm gonna die before we move into this house.
00:43I'm Anthony Burke, a professor of architecture.
00:46And I'm interior designer Yasmeen Janine.
00:49And in each episode of this new series of Grand Designs Transformations...
00:54...every single person has kind of said, you're crazy.
00:56Whoo!
00:57...we follow the makeover masterminds behind two very different projects.
01:02I do question the stupidity of doing something like this.
01:06OK, this is good.
01:12You wanted some space and you've got tons of space.
01:16This week, I'm in Melbourne's balaclava.
01:19With a couple seeking elbow room.
01:22More light, more space.
01:24But how do you turn an old hat factory into a home?
01:28You're actually punching a hole right through, so it's an open courtyard.
01:32One, two, three.
01:33Don't push.
01:34How much is too much?
01:36Oh, my God, it looks so much bigger than I thought.
01:41And I'm in Sydney's Paddington, where a lifetime of passions...
01:45I've been to Japan 70 times.
01:48Whoa!
01:49I love these.
01:50..is being crammed into one tiny terrace.
01:55This is the cellar.
01:56This is the masterpiece.
01:57Isn't it fantastic?
01:59Maybe I'm being a bit mischievous, maybe playful because I can be.
02:04But creating the perfect home can exact a heavy toll.
02:09Tomorrow, I'm going in for some open heart surgery.
02:12They're going to open me up.
02:31It's market day in the eclectic Melbourne suburb of balaclava.
02:37It's got working-class roots and a swag of bohemian cool.
02:44These are cute.
02:46Doors and sticks.
02:47Isabelle Santos and Paul Reid love the energy of the place.
02:54I am going to try the pistachio one.
02:56She's all detail.
02:59He's all vibe.
03:01Together, they just click.
03:03I want to try the pink one.
03:05We met early 2000s.
03:08Five.
03:102005.
03:10And then I think we were married 2012.
03:152011.
03:17Nearly.
03:18Oh, much better.
03:20Isabelle and Paul met through work.
03:22She's an account management executive.
03:25He's a company director.
03:26They were living five minutes away in St Kilda when opportunity knocked loudly.
03:33We weren't really looking to buy, but I was having a bit of a snoop around and fell in love.
03:38You were peering through the windows.
03:39I was.
03:40I was peering through the windows of the property.
03:43And when we walked in and had a look at it, we just sort of fell in love with the
03:46place.
03:48What's not to love, this is something special.
03:52A century old, former hat factory.
03:54330 square metres of rustic but quiet haven.
03:59Smack bang in the middle of all this crowded city life.
04:06So this is our property right here.
04:09Down the laneway, we've got another entrance through these gorgeous brass doors.
04:17So you can see just how much space there is.
04:21It's very open.
04:22There's no doors other than going into the bathrooms and the toilets.
04:27After eight years of enjoying the hat factory as they found it,
04:31they now want to change things up a bit,
04:33creating more defined areas in the warehouse without losing any of its spaciousness.
04:38We did really want to keep that openness.
04:41So I think people always questioned, you know,
04:43it's just the two of you rattling around in a big property.
04:46But I think when they see the finished product, people will get it.
04:50Yeah.
04:56Hey Paul, Isabel.
04:58Hey Anthony, how are you?
04:59I'm great, how are you?
05:00Nice to see you.
05:01You wanted some space, you wanted a warehouse,
05:04and you've got tons of space.
05:07So tell me, what are you thinking?
05:08Because you've got so many things you could do here.
05:10Anthony, when we thought about it,
05:13our slightly counter-intuitive view was to keep the space
05:16and try and make the space bigger.
05:18Yeah.
05:18Rather than cut it up into smaller pieces,
05:21actually try and enlarge the area and more light, more space.
05:26Yeah.
05:27We came up with the courtyard idea,
05:29because it has the principle of bringing light in.
05:32Which is right here.
05:33Which is right here.
05:34And it's the principle of being an oasis,
05:36which is why it's got a pond in it.
05:38A small oasis.
05:40A pond in the oasis.
05:42Correct.
05:42So just to be sure, in my mind,
05:44you're actually punching a hole right through.
05:47Yes.
05:47So it's an open courtyard.
05:49Yes.
05:49You should be able to sit in here and watch the rain come into your house.
05:53Yeah.
05:53Go into the pond and disappear.
05:55Okay.
05:58It's quite the vision.
06:00The plan is to create different zones for living,
06:02not with walls, but with materials and light.
06:07On the ground floor, which is a part-time office and part-time guest wing,
06:11they'll add a courtyard with a blingy grass water feature
06:15and bring in light via a huge hole that will be punched into the roof two storeys up.
06:22On the floor above, with sunshine also flooding into the living areas,
06:26a fireplace in the middle of the floor and a huge shiny brass,
06:30yes, brass, kitchen will act as gathering spots.
06:35Finally, on the upper mezzanine level,
06:39there's the main bedroom, bathroom and an outdoor bath on the terrace.
06:45It's a bold plan, allowing the Hat Factory to maintain the sense of space,
06:50but with more light and a lot more defining features.
06:56So we'll have the lovely living area around here,
07:00kitchen to the left,
07:01and our bedroom will go upstairs in the new mezzanine.
07:03This is brilliant, yeah?
07:05This is what really sold it to us.
07:07And I think my idea was that you come up through the stairs
07:10and the brass kitchen island is really there,
07:13and it's a statement piece.
07:14It's about the only key statement piece in this really open space.
07:18I'm starting to think it might be a bit of a shouting piece.
07:21It's pretty loud!
07:22Most people are expecting two or three bedrooms,
07:25places to lock themselves away,
07:26the traditional kind of pattern of living,
07:29which this whole project sort of turns on its head.
07:32Yes.
07:32So what's your total spend?
07:35Just under 1.5.
07:37Okay.
07:38I think that seems to me to be relatively reasonable.
07:41How long is all of this going to take you?
07:43Well, we're about three months in.
07:46We had planned for it being a 12-month project,
07:49so we've got nine months to go.
07:51What happens, though, if you go over that next nine months?
07:56Well, we're currently in a one-bedroom flat,
07:58and we're living with two cats.
08:00So if we stretch it too long, I think they'll be...
08:04They'll destroy everything we own, I think.
08:06Or they'll abscond and leave us.
08:11I think they call that a catastrophe.
08:14And it's not the only concern.
08:18There certainly are some bold and very expensive ideas going on here.
08:23A brass kitchen, a waterfall, an indoor courtyard.
08:27All is a way of bringing meaning, a kind of visual signposting
08:32of how and where to be in all of this space.
08:36There are some great ideas,
08:37but I'm just not sure how practical they all are
08:40and how it's all going to look.
08:50It's a blustery winter's morning at the Hat Factory.
08:54Three months in, it's the biggest day of the build so far.
08:58Andrew and the team have cut a slither in the roof,
09:03and then the crane is going to lower a three-tonne...
09:06I don't know how heavy it is.
09:07A three-tonne beam that's going to sit right across here.
09:12That beam will support the newly created mezzanine level
09:15for Paul and Isabelle's bedroom suite.
09:18The beam's massive, 11 metres long.
09:21It's going to be a tight squeeze.
09:24I'm really quite keen to see how you swing this beam into position.
09:28How am I, actually? Yeah.
09:30Builder Andrew has to thread one very large needle.
09:33Going well.
09:34They are a long bone, but they know what they're doing
09:38and we've given them enough space to do it.
09:42Actually, it's not really a lot of space.
09:45My word would be...
09:45Architect Adrian Light has his fingers crossed.
09:49You just don't want it to knock any of these walls
09:51or knock this truss, because if you knock that truss,
09:54then you take the whole roof down.
09:57They're very heavy.
10:09The beam is exactly the width of the building.
10:13Got to get underneath that last pearl and wait up.
10:16It needs to be positioned perfectly on concrete pillars.
10:20We're at 200 in.
10:22Hold it there.
10:23You know it's getting tight when everyone's measuring the gap.
10:28Excuse me to take it up for a touch.
10:31Do you want to get it there or not?
10:33No, we can get it.
10:34Just get it down, thanks.
10:36All right, I'm going to jump down.
10:38We're there.
10:38Yeah, I'm sitting on my path.
10:41That's it, Dave.
10:43It's in.
10:45Paul and Isabelle's mission to give new life to this old building
10:49is off to a good start.
10:51To get this bit right, in place, correct,
10:54really does set the rest of the build off.
10:57So this is a big moment.
10:58Yeah.
11:04Meanwhile in Sydney, Ian Scott has had a few big moments of his own.
11:12A British student in Australia for the first time,
11:17meeting the locals and lapping up the laid-back lifestyle.
11:22I came out here when I was 26.
11:24I came here to do my MBA.
11:26I was here for five years.
11:29Fell in love for the place.
11:30It was very clear to me this is really where I wanted to be.
11:34But fate had other plans.
11:36He scored a job in Singapore for a global consulting company
11:40and went on to become a high-flying manager-director
11:44travelling to more than 85 countries the world over.
11:49But one in particular held what's become a lifelong fascination.
11:55Japan has got a special place.
11:57I think it's the mountains, the food, the art, the architecture.
12:01It was the journey of discovery.
12:04I think I've been to Japan 70 times.
12:08Seventy times.
12:09Now there's an obsession.
12:11And he's not done with it yet.
12:15Now retired and finally settled back in Australia,
12:19he's got some interesting plans
12:21to bring his love of all things Japanese down under.
12:24Nice to be back.
12:25Exciting as all that was, I always had a plan to come back.
12:29It took me 28 years to get there.
12:33But this is home.
12:34It's a good feeling to be back home in Australia.
12:38But do you find it hard sometimes
12:39when everyone else is still working?
12:41Does it ever...
12:42No.
12:43Although I've been in several long relationships,
12:47part of me has always been quite singular.
12:50So whether it's the house, it's freedom.
12:52It's like open season.
12:54This design for me is maybe I'm being a bit mischievous,
12:57maybe playful because I can be.
13:00And here's Ian's playground,
13:03an iconic Paddington Terrace in Sydney's eastern suburbs
13:07that he bought in 2005 for $1.125 million.
13:14His plans?
13:16To fill the house with his lifetime's collection of treasures,
13:19including a $20,000 model train network.
13:24But what's most intriguing is his architectural inspiration.
13:29Behind me, the distinctive concrete,
13:32use of glass and the steel.
13:36My interest in Japanese architecture
13:37has kind of been a wandering journey.
13:39I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I just enjoy the aesthetic.
13:42That look with the clean lines
13:44that you see in the work of people like Tadao Ando.
13:48Tadao Ando is the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect,
13:52whose minimalist raw concrete style
13:54and focus on geometric forms and light play
13:57is the antithesis of a frilly, dark and pokey Victorian terrace.
14:03Now, to try and translate some of that aesthetic
14:06into a Paddington house is a bit tricky,
14:08especially for me that collects things.
14:11Japanese clean lines injected into the wonky walls
14:15of a 130-year-old terrace.
14:17Now, this promises to be one hell of a journey.
14:22Well, it's a very typical Victorian terrace, isn't it?
14:25They're so tight.
14:26What, three and a half metres wide?
14:27Correct.
14:28But let's go inside.
14:29You're going to get a big surprise when you go in the front door.
14:30Let's go.
14:31Shall I go in first?
14:32OK, come in.
14:34Mind the step here.
14:36Whoa!
14:37What do we have here?
14:38This is the cellar.
14:39This is the masterpiece.
14:41Isn't it fantastic?
14:42It's very unexpected.
14:43Yeah.
14:43So this wasn't here before?
14:45None of this was here.
14:46We built it from scratch.
14:47So how much have you sunk in this?
14:50Sunk's the right word.
14:51Yeah.
14:52About $60,000 or $70,000.
14:54Whoa!
14:55So they took 40 tonnes of soil out of here.
14:57It's a whole room, basically.
14:59It's a whole room.
15:00So it's now a four-storey house.
15:01And so what's happening in this room?
15:04So this will be the front room, above it, the level above.
15:06It's going to be ochre red with a sort of burnt wood floor.
15:10Ochre red?
15:11Yeah.
15:11Wow, that's in the 10th century.
15:13And the Japanese.
15:14I mean, how does that fit in with the Japanese?
15:15The Japanese...
15:15No, this isn't happening in Japanese.
15:17This is the Australian bit.
15:18You'll go through the door and then you'll straight into something
15:20which is Japanese-influenced.
15:23It's a complete change in colour, so it's going to look completely different.
15:26From the street, the terrace will give nothing away.
15:31Classic and white.
15:32But inside, it's a whole different story.
15:35The ochre front room with black timber floors.
15:38A celebration of the Australian outback with a striking large circular window
15:43peering into the cellar below.
15:46A small, all-black bathroom will be a welcome addition to the original floor plan.
15:53Leaving Ian's ode to Australia, you enter the minimalist world of Japan
15:58with open-plan kitchen and dining room in grey, black and stainless steel.
16:03With a $24,000 burnished concrete floor paying homage to Ian's architectural pin-up boy, Tadau Ando.
16:12The staircase, painted in the ochre palette, bleeds upstairs, where the Japanese theme of clean lines continues, with two bedrooms,
16:22a bathroom and black-butt timber terrace.
16:24And to top it all off, on the third-floor loft, a room purpose-built for Ian's prized model train
16:32network.
16:34One thing's clear, this project is a celebration of a life well lived, but what's a bit muddy is how
16:42harmonious the convergence of the two worlds will be.
16:46What you're trying to pull off is pretty hard.
16:49Marrying so many different aesthetics in a Victorian terrace.
16:54Agreed. Let's see how it comes out.
16:57Budget-wise?
16:58The whole thing's $1.3 million.
17:00That's a pretty decent budget.
17:02Yes.
17:02How long?
17:03Only eight months.
17:05I mean, this is a really big undertaking.
17:07The thing is, I'm doing what I want to do.
17:10So it's my risk.
17:12Let's see how it looks when it's finished.
17:17Woo! I don't know where to begin.
17:19I mean, there's a lot going on in that very tiny terrace.
17:22But will a combination of all these different aesthetics really turn into a complete mishmash of ideas?
17:29I'm hoping that Ian can connect to the zen-like principles of good Japanese design and come to the realisation
17:36that, well, sometimes, less is more.
17:47It's a wet old winter's day in Sydney, and builder Glen Paris and his team are doing the hard yards
17:55constructing Ian's underground cellar.
17:57Not that Ian's bothered.
18:00So Ian, while he's holidaying in Japan, is sourcing out, obviously, more material and finishes for this place, and has
18:06left us with the wet, rainy day, seepage through here.
18:10Getting to this point has been a nightmare.
18:13We had water problems leaking in through here.
18:15We had the foundations underneath there caving in.
18:18But the boys have managed to punch through it.
18:21And today, we're going to spray concrete, which will help waterproof.
18:26Fingers crossed we're not going to have a problem with any dampness in Ian's cellar.
18:32Okay, good this side.
18:34Now the sun's come out, so we have a good day in front of us now.
18:41Everyone!
18:47Staying on the wall so far.
18:52It'll keep the water outside of this.
18:55Basically a reverse swimming pool.
18:59Just nice to see the backside of this.
19:02Ian's going to be stoked when he gets back.
19:04There'll be quite a few bottles of nice red wine going in here.
19:09The cellar is just one indulgence.
19:12Not to mention what's going on in the loft.
19:15A job Glen and architect Alex Ng are getting on board with.
19:19The train set that's going up here, your train room,
19:22is basically going to run off this wall.
19:26This project is an interesting little job.
19:29Ian's idea of that Japanese influence.
19:32But giving him those detailed finishes is going to be challenging.
19:36I mean, we can do something with the ceiling.
19:39That becomes part of that table and the train set.
19:43Yeah, it could do.
19:44What he's going to finish with here is going to be quite different.
19:46It's like walking through a story, this place.
19:49As stories go, it's a page turner.
19:52So many big ideas in one little terrace.
19:56I'm just hoping it all comes together for a happy ending.
20:03The ending is nowhere in sight in Melbourne's bohemian balaclava.
20:08But four months into the hat factory build,
20:11the mezzanine and rooftop deck is taking shape.
20:13It's the first of the carefully defined zones,
20:17which this enormous space needs to give it structure
20:20and escape the empty warehouse vibe.
20:23Now, architect Adrian is turning his attention
20:26to the internal courtyard on the ground floor.
20:29Excellent. All right.
20:30In particular, a water feature which, if successful,
20:33will bring this corner of the building to life.
20:36So would we have that brass thing all the way up?
20:39Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely.
20:39We'll go right to the top.
20:41Isabel's someone that really kind of likes the big thing,
20:44so we're going to kind of jazz it up for her.
20:47It'll be shiny brass.
20:48It'll have light features coming through.
20:51It'll have the water cascading down.
20:52It's going to be a big item for her.
20:55You get to see the dark bit behind her.
20:56You might even get, you know, some light bouncing up
20:59into that second floor.
21:00I was anti the pond.
21:03I thought it was just using up space in the courtyard.
21:06So I think now it's growing on me as we've sort of built on it.
21:09Wow. Yeah.
21:10And now it's going to be an actual waterfall
21:12that comes from the top.
21:13We added some brass.
21:15And then that sold it.
21:16That was my addition.
21:17So now I'm...now I'm bought in.
21:19I'm really excited about that.
21:21I think it'll look good.
21:22All right, so this is it.
21:23This is not architect Adrian's first rodeo.
21:27He's got some hands-on experience wrestling with big spaces.
21:32Ten years ago, his own home build featured on Grand Designs,
21:36an old vinegar factory in Melbourne's Northcote.
21:40It put up quite a fight.
21:43The bit got caught in the brick wall and just spun my hand around
21:47and pulled out these three fingers and broke the bones across here.
21:54The build did take a bit of a toll on me.
21:57And I think we've really learned some lessons here.
22:05The end result was worth the pain.
22:09The once-empty factory now feels like a home,
22:12with defined spaces like the mezzanine bedroom
22:15and courtyard for natural light.
22:19After 10 years, the building still holds up well.
22:21We're really looking forward to implementing some of the ideas
22:25that we introduced here into Paul and Isabelle's house.
22:29Far from being put off by Adrian's trials,
22:32Paul and Isabelle were so inspired by his build
22:35that they took on the hat factory.
22:38And they're past the point of no return anyway.
22:41That is, unless you like holes in your floor.
22:45Works well underway on Paul's indoor-outdoor courtyard.
22:49So you can really see the shape now.
22:52Almost cathedral-like.
22:54You can actually see how the thing goes right up to the top,
22:56get a feel for what the space is going to look like.
22:59As soon as we cut a hole in the roof,
23:02this whole thing will be lit completely differently.
23:05Paul plans to use that new light
23:08to illuminate some ancient history.
23:11There's no dignified way of doing this.
23:15Today, we are taking the white paint off the bricks.
23:19We decided that we wanted to do the bricks in the courtyard
23:22because we think that will give a great contrast
23:25for being inside.
23:26You actually feel the courtyard's outside.
23:28There we go.
23:38That should give us the red we're looking for.
23:41A bit of orange.
23:47Miss Appel's in Sydney, and she's forever, you know,
23:49she rings me from Sydney saying,
23:51oh, you know, I wish I was doing something methodical
23:53like cleaning bricks.
23:57I'm not quite sure that's true,
23:58but she's telling me she really would prefer to be cleaning bricks.
24:03No, she wouldn't.
24:06And with Paul scraping solo, it's going to take an age.
24:11It's good to have him on site.
24:13He can take as long as he likes.
24:16Probably a month, I'd say.
24:17But, no, he's going very well.
24:19Going very well.
24:23Kind of reminds me of my dentist.
24:30Back in Sydney's Paddington, Ian's returned from his 71st trip to Japan.
24:37Keen to get his first look at the freshly concreted cellar.
24:42Welcome to the cellar.
24:44That's pretty good, doesn't it?
24:45Finally.
24:46That's great.
24:47Shot created.
24:49Yep.
24:49All the walls have been completely waterproofed.
24:52Yep.
24:53I've got this nice grey concrete finish on top of this.
24:55I think putting the glass panel in the middle, like you described.
24:59Yeah, well, the glass panel will go roughly in the centre.
25:01It'll just sit on the glass.
25:02Yeah, it'll go straight above here,
25:03then the light comes straight through from there into the cellar.
25:06Sweet.
25:06That'll look lovely.
25:08Builder Glen might be on the home stretch in the cellar,
25:11but in the loft, there is another big challenge.
25:15Come and have a look.
25:15I've got some trains to show you.
25:21This is not your average train set.
25:24No, it's not.
25:25So these are all models from Japan.
25:26They're all Japanese.
25:27We're not just putting a flat base here for you to run a little steam train around.
25:30No, no, no.
25:31My idea of the train set was a little flat platform going around here with a couple of trains on
25:35it.
25:36Ian's come through with a video of five, six train lines, different levels.
25:42It's caught me by surprise a little bit.
25:44It's just mind-blowing.
25:46Now we have to work out how we get all these different levels in here.
25:51This is going to be an interesting little build.
25:53Should we get back to building the house?
25:54Let's go back to the easy job.
25:55The easy job, build the house.
25:58Now, four months into their eight-month deadline, there's been more than a few twists and turns
26:06on this very particular $1.3 million build.
26:11And today's no exception, with concreter Josh Coleman starting the Japanese-inspired burnished
26:18concrete floor in the kitchen and dining area.
26:21And the burnished is...the finish depends on how much you work it.
26:25Yeah, yeah.
26:26So that's...
26:27That's right, yeah.
26:28You can go...
26:28That's the artistic part on your side.
26:32Ian is looking for a very soft, fine, grey finish through here.
26:37Not so much the polished concrete with the heavy aggregate finishes in it, so that it
26:41keeps with that Japanese theme.
26:44Today's the main part.
26:45You've got to get all the processes right.
26:46We are currently just prepping the floor for the first coat of primer.
26:52Every step is crucial to get done right.
26:55For the finish, we need to make sure that there's no cracking, everything.
26:58That it's all done properly.
27:01It's a multi-step process.
27:03First grinding so the primer sticks.
27:06Next, the underfloor heating goes in, followed by two finishing layers.
27:10And finally, the floor will be burnished with the polisher.
27:15For a simple, minimalist look, this is a complex, and at $24,000, very X-y process.
27:24It's going to be a cracker looking floor at the end of it.
27:28Good to hear.
27:29But with Ian busting to move in, they're going to need to hurry things along.
27:39Back in Melbourne, Isabelle and Paul are hoping for a hurry up too.
27:43Come on, where's the other one?
27:44Where is Lulu?
27:45Oh, she's hiding somewhere.
27:47Yeah?
27:48Where is there to hide in this place?
27:49Renting a one-bedroom flat around the corner from their balaclava hat factory,
27:53with two cats, Lulu and Joopy, everyone's getting a little scratchy.
27:59It's cramped.
28:00It definitely is cramped.
28:02The cats are struggling.
28:06They're definitely a lot more used to having a lot more space.
28:11They've sort of had a go at the sofa.
28:13Anything that kind of entertains them, they've pretty much had a go at it.
28:17They're whipping the carpets up.
28:20Everything's getting damaged.
28:26Clearly, they need to get out.
28:29But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
28:34Lots of it.
28:36The heart of the transformation has always been to open up the roof
28:39and flood the building with sunshine.
28:42Today, at long last, it's happening.
28:51Look at that.
28:54What do you make of that?
28:56Oh, my God.
28:57It looks so much bigger than I thought.
29:00Yeah.
29:01So, is it all off?
29:03Yeah.
29:03All the roof is off.
29:04There you go.
29:05The courtyard is born.
29:07We have a courtyard.
29:08We have a courtyard.
29:10It makes you look up, doesn't it?
29:12Yeah.
29:12Yeah.
29:13It actually looks really good.
29:15I'm happy with it.
29:18That's one big hole in the roof, alright.
29:21But what a difference it makes.
29:27Both the Hat Factory and the Paddington Terrace reject convention
29:30and celebrate personal tastes and passions.
29:34When successful, that focus can create a strikingly individual home.
29:40Like this one I'm bringing Yaz to in Sydney's Darlinghurst,
29:44where their passion is light.
29:49This is a masterclass in atmosphere and how to capture the rays
29:53so there's sunshine in the house every single day.
29:56Alright, little ray of sunshine, lead the way.
30:04At first, this looks like a classic Victorian terrace.
30:08And it is.
30:12But venture deeper and there's a transformation designed
30:16by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects that just glows.
30:21This little corridor here kind of builds the anticipation
30:25and holds you back from this moment of, wow.
30:31Holy moly!
30:35This is incredible, isn't it?
30:36It's all about the light, as you can see.
30:37You know, just these two sculptural light wells
30:41bringing all this glorious daylight into the room.
30:43And that's it.
30:44That's the room built around this sort of spectacular celebration
30:48of all this, you know, light falling, warming everything.
30:50And that's it.
30:52Everything else kind of steps back from that singular design move.
30:56And it's spectacular.
30:59These two massive light wells don't just pump light in.
31:03They drag your eye up.
31:05You can't look away.
31:07The fact that it's textured and brick is...
31:11Yeah.
31:11It allows this beautiful light play over the texture.
31:15Look at that, the shadows playing through that surface up there.
31:17I know.
31:18I'm blown that this is a terrace.
31:19What a wonderful way to reimagine a very otherwise dark interior.
31:24Yeah.
31:25I haven't seen anything like it.
31:26It's quite special.
31:27It's incredible.
31:30Nothing here is an accident.
31:33Every play of light has been imagined.
31:36Then planned, then executed to perfection.
31:43And there's another example of that upstairs.
31:46This is the master and it's beautiful,
31:49but this is what I really wanted you to see, the ensuite here.
31:52This is pretty phenomenal, isn't it? Yeah.
31:54So, what I'm so excited by here is it's just a single beautiful idea,
32:00so beautifully rendered.
32:02Yeah?
32:02It really is.
32:03And this simplicity has not come easy.
32:06Yeah.
32:06You cannot achieve simplicity without some very heavy lifting planning.
32:12Yeah.
32:13And every consideration, these set downs for the soaps, the mixes,
32:17all of these very small details, seemingly small,
32:21make your everyday that much more enjoyable.
32:23Yeah.
32:25Both Paddington and Balaclava are very different projects to this.
32:29But there's a valuable lesson here.
32:31The single-minded pursuit of this vision of light
32:34is its greatest strength.
32:36But it's all so ordered and perfect.
32:39I mean, where's all the clutter?
32:42My question is, could you live like this?
32:46I could.
32:47Oh.
32:47Could you?
32:48No.
32:49I could definitely live like this.
32:51I want to.
32:52Yeah.
32:52Sadly.
32:53It's just not in my genes.
32:54Fair enough.
32:55Mm.
32:58Back in Balaclava at the hat factory,
33:01Isabel is making a few rather individual design choices of her own.
33:06If the courtyard is Paul's baby, the brass kitchen is very much Isabel's.
33:13If it works, it will be the focus of the first floor,
33:17another defined zone giving structure to empty space.
33:20Sorry, Isabel.
33:21The timber framework has arrived and will be wrapped in brass sheets.
33:26Isabel is grilling brass consultant Ray and architect Adrian on the details.
33:31You'll end up with a strip of brass here,
33:34a piece of this timber-looking thing,
33:36another piece of brass, another timber-looking bit.
33:39Yeah.
33:39You would hardly ever have two drawers open at a time,
33:43or left open.
33:44Adrian.
33:44Adrian.
33:45This is the one place I spend most of my time.
33:48Yeah.
33:48It's the inner annoyingness when I open it three days after we move in
33:53and I go, I wish I did it in the brass.
33:56That's fine.
33:57This is quite a new adventure for both ourselves as architects
34:00and indeed also the metal workers.
34:03I think this is only the second brass kitchen that they've done
34:06and it's the first brass kitchen that we've done.
34:08There's a reason no one does brass kitchens.
34:12It's four times more expensive than other commonly used metals
34:16and it marks really easily.
34:18Touch it with your fingers and you'll get,
34:20you can actually see your fingerprints on there like that.
34:23Yeah.
34:23So I'm sure you're aware of it all.
34:25That's exactly what I want.
34:26Happy to give you a bit of brass and tape it home,
34:28put your cups on it.
34:28The intention is, is that it was never going to be
34:31the super bright, super shiny brass.
34:35Like actually I think what's going to be fun about it is,
34:38is as it ages,
34:40that's kind of more the look that I'm looking for
34:43because it kind of warms up a little bit.
34:47Isabel clearly knows what she wants.
34:50I just hope she understands what she's going to get.
34:53I just don't know.
34:54Hope we'll be unhappy with the end result.
34:56I think what we've got down here.
35:03Back in Sydney's Paddington,
35:06with a couple of months to go before move-in day,
35:08the underfloor heating's going down
35:11on Ian's prized Japanese-inspired burnished floor.
35:16But at the front, it's all about Australia.
35:21This is the really powerful ochre colour that I've chosen.
35:24On the walls, ceiling, skirting board,
35:28because it represents to me, Australia,
35:30Kimberley in particular.
35:32And then we've got a beautiful black wooden floor
35:34and the black bathroom as well.
35:36Black like you would have
35:37if a bushfire has gone through my front room.
35:40So really quite a different statement.
35:42I kind of called it, for want of their expression,
35:44outback luxury.
35:46Wow.
35:47Well, he did say he was going to be playful with the house.
35:51And today's fun adventure...
35:53Let's have a look.
35:54..hunting for statement curtains with mate Paul.
35:58This looks brilliant,
35:59because it's got the kookaburras and the platypuses,
36:01but I don't know if that goes with the ochre.
36:03An expert guidance from textile designer Sophie Tatlow.
36:08Let's show you Paradise.
36:11It's a bit of a riff on the Daintree.
36:13OK.
36:13It has lyrebirds in it.
36:15Oh, yes.
36:16This is a tonal, earthy...
36:18Beautiful addition to your Paddington parlour.
36:20Do you think it's going to work, Paul?
36:21With the chandelier and...
36:22Sure it's not too much?
36:23It's never too much.
36:24Never too much.
36:26Never too much.
36:26Look at that colour.
36:29The fabrics are hand-drawn by artist Bruce Slorak in Sydney
36:33and hand-painted in India.
36:35And they don't come cheap.
36:38They're about $300 per metre.
36:41They're not the most expensive thing per square metre.
36:44The most expensive thing per square metre
36:45actually is the concrete floor.
36:47It's $600 per square metre.
36:53And getting more expensive by the minute.
36:58We install the lever on the top of your underfloor heating here.
37:02Yeah.
37:03And whenever you do this, you always get the heating on.
37:09Yep.
37:09And it's created some heel-line cracks throughout the floor.
37:13Yeah, of course.
37:14It seems some of the heater wiring was too close to the surface,
37:18causing the floor to crack.
37:21So we think the best way to go about this, unfortunately,
37:24is just to pull the floor up and redo it again and make it right.
37:31The floor here is a really big issue
37:33because this is the thing that's really going to bring out
37:37that Japanese aesthetic.
37:38And, of course, if you stuff that up,
37:39then the whole thing doesn't really work.
37:41So this has got to be...
37:43This has got to be right.
37:48There goes Ian's plans to move in any time soon.
37:53But his biggest challenge is staying zen in all the chaos.
38:06At the Hat Factory, their 12-month deadline is almost up.
38:12With just three weeks to go, the shiny bronze water feature is being installed.
38:20Only to be out-blinged by the arrival of Isabelle's brass kitchen.
38:25I think it's got sticky things on it.
38:27How heavy is it?
38:29Wow.
38:30Your face is hard to read.
38:35It's 130 kilos, to be precise.
38:38And awkward.
38:39Do you want to come down for a second?
38:42It's heavy.
38:45The slightest bump could mark the brass, or even worse, dent it,
38:49and ruin the bench tall.
38:51Thousands of dollars down the kitchen sink.
38:54Come on, come on.
38:55Don't push.
38:55Don't talk it enough.
38:56Hold it.
38:57Hold it.
38:59Keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going.
39:01Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
39:13Well done.
39:18Mission accomplished.
39:20But Isabelle is not looking so sure.
39:22Ready?
39:23One, two, three.
39:25Will it actually work in the house, or just be a huge blingy brick?
39:31There you go.
39:31There's a first glimpse of what it's going to feel like, Iz.
39:36It's like a new pet.
39:45It's monolithic.
39:48Monolithic is a good word.
39:49It is.
39:50It's monolithic.
39:51Oh dear.
39:53Are those the words of someone in love?
40:01In Paddington, Ian hoped to be in by now, but they're a month over the eight month schedule.
40:08The concrete floor has been relayed, and site foreman Joshua Wiles has put the underfloor heating through its paces.
40:17We've had the floor heat on, we've heated it up and cooled it down.
40:20Yep.
40:20There's no cracking.
40:21It's much better than last time, yeah?
40:23Yeah, it's looking really good.
40:24So we're in a really good place for the floor now.
40:26We're getting to the stage where I'm getting itchy feet to get back in the house.
40:29I want to be cooking, I want to have my friends over for dinner.
40:32I want to enjoy the space.
40:36Sorry, Ian.
40:37There's a lot to do before then.
40:40There's the concrete floor to be laid in the entryway, along with its highly technical circular window into the cellar.
40:48It'd be nice to walk in and it's all underlit, and you look down and you see the whiskies and
40:52gins.
40:52It'd be cool.
40:56The staircase and walls need painting for Ian's bold glow up.
41:01It's not my cup of tea, but it's definitely going to stand out.
41:08And on top of that, there's still the biggest job of all.
41:13Yep.
41:14Installing an $18,000 folded steel staircase down into the cellar.
41:23They're heavy and awkward, and getting them in is going to be a mission.
41:28We're going to have to twist it to get it through here.
41:30Once the stairs got designed, we thought, how are we going to get them in?
41:33They don't fit down through the hole for the staircase.
41:35They had to come through the hole where the glass panels are going in here.
41:40Imagine it, and it seems like it's going to fit, so hopefully we'll get it down here.
41:44It's all easy in theory.
41:51All right, down there, Harley.
41:53Pull that bottom out towards the wall.
41:56Okay, it's going to sling.
41:58We're almost hung on.
41:59Let's go.
42:01Yep.
42:01Straight up.
42:04Looks good.
42:06Yep.
42:08Mission accomplished.
42:09Well done.
42:12Far out.
42:13Now we can get the glass in, get the floor down.
42:16Ian now doesn't have to stress about whether the stairs fit.
42:22But it's not the stairs that Ian's worried about.
42:25Yeah, yeah, mate.
42:28So, tomorrow I'm going in for some open heart surgery.
42:32They're going to open me up and fix a valve.
42:34I've had no symptoms all the way through the renovation, but here we are.
42:39So, I'll be out of action for about three, four weeks.
42:45This house has been my life in Seoul for the past three years.
42:49I don't think the two are at all related in any way.
42:53We're all very concerned about his position at the moment because it's a big affair.
42:58It's a lot of stress on his part that he's not showing at the moment.
43:02Yeah, we wish him all the best.
43:03Hopefully, everything goes right.
43:20It's spring in Sydney and Paddington's looking its pretty best.
43:28I'm hoping to find Ian fighting fit and loving life in his Japanese-inspired playground.
43:36It's not giving away much, is it?
43:43Ian.
43:43Welcome back.
43:44You look incredible.
43:45Thank you, thank you.
43:47I'm very well.
43:47Big renovation on my heart, big renovation on my house.
43:50Picture of health.
43:51You match this crispy white facade to perfection.
43:54Yes, I know.
43:55I've got the outfit on.
43:57It's so unassuming.
43:58For a man who loves colour, I'm surprised that you went all white.
44:02You haven't seen inside yet.
44:04Shall I let you go in first?
44:05Yes.
44:05I can't wait.
44:06I have no idea what I'm about to get myself into.
44:09No, you haven't.
44:10Oh, whoa!
44:16Now we're talking.
44:17I know.
44:18Isn't it fantastic?
44:18Oh!
44:19So good to see the use of bold colour.
44:23And it really, really welcomes you like this amazing hug.
44:27Yep.
44:27This is magic.
44:29The room has come out exactly as I imagined it.
44:34Okay.
44:34This is a very personal space.
44:36It's fantastic.
44:38All right, Ian, let's talk about the hole in the room.
44:40You have a hole in your entry.
44:43Should we go down?
44:44Yes.
44:44Do you want to go down?
44:45Yes.
44:45Let me get out the magic.
44:47And there we go.
44:48Oh!
44:49Here we go.
44:50Oh, my God.
44:52Look at your face.
44:53I know.
44:54It's fantastic.
44:55It's like a kid in a candy shop.
44:57I love a good 007 moment.
44:5940 tonnes of excavated soil later...
45:03Oh!
45:04Wow!
45:05It's a feat of stunning engineering with a Japanese twist.
45:10It's really quite magical.
45:11It's like looking into a fire or a sun.
45:13I know Tadao Ando was a big inspiration for you
45:16and I can see his simplicity in form and his use of concrete
45:20in a lovely textural way.
45:22Yeah, this is very much like Ando's work.
45:24And it's the shapes as well, as you can see.
45:27Yeah.
45:27What I really like about it is it's got this unexpected thing about it,
45:31right?
45:31Who on earth puts a sailor in a Paddington Terrace?
45:34Yes.
45:35It's all so unexpected and dramatic.
45:38What other 007 moments do you have in store?
45:41Oh, there's plenty.
45:41Just wait till you go and see what's through in the next room.
45:44Past the new all-black bathroom...
45:47Very minimal.
45:48Yeah.
45:49..and into a whole other world.
45:55What a completely different experience we've just walked into.
45:59The width actually feels so much bigger...
46:02Mm-hmm.
46:02..than I thought it would have been.
46:05I think the light has a lot to do with it.
46:07Again, a beautiful nod to Tidao Ando.
46:09He was all about the natural light playing such a significant part to his interiors.
46:14Yeah.
46:15This is Japanese minimalism.
46:17This gorgeous black ebony stained timber work here, it does scream Japan.
46:22Yep.
46:22It's the clean lines.
46:23Mm-hmm.
46:23I've always wanted to have a large bookcase.
46:26I've got some of my ceramics from my days back working in the UK 40 years ago.
46:30But again, that sentimental, you know, beautiful moments of your past appears in every corner.
46:37They all live somewhere within the house and that's why it's a successful interior.
46:43Because they're subtle but they mean so very much.
46:45And then, you know, the pièce de résistance is the floor.
46:48Yeah.
46:48And the floor continually changes colour and texture.
46:51I think it solidifies your connection to the Japanese aesthetic.
46:58Can't wait to see what this red corridor does.
47:03Upstairs, the adventure continues.
47:06So good.
47:08Ian's bedroom suite and a study which doubles as a guest room.
47:13All full of treasures from a lifetime of travel.
47:17Keeps the same minimalist feel.
47:19And in the loft, Ian's miniature marvel, Tokyo Central Station.
47:28Whoa!
47:29What's that one?
47:30So that one runs out of Kyoto.
47:32I've been on that one.
47:35Anything miniature I'm obsessed with.
47:37I love these.
47:38And they're the lights.
47:39They're so cute.
47:42Oh!
47:42That's cool.
47:44Yeah, I think it's pretty cool.
47:44That's really cool.
47:45Oh, I love it when they overlap like that.
47:51Ian said he was going to have fun with this house and he wasn't joking.
47:56It's quirky and unique, just the way Ian likes it.
48:01Even if it did take a while.
48:03Now, how long did it take?
48:05Initially, we thought it was going to be eight or nine months.
48:08It's actually taken about 15 months.
48:10I'm guessing this wasn't a cheap exercise.
48:14How much did you actually spend?
48:16So I spent about $1.6 million.
48:19So that's $300,000 over.
48:22Yep.
48:23That's someone's entire renovation budget.
48:25I've been lucky in the position of being able to afford that.
48:29To fund that.
48:30For me, it's money well spent because this is kind of my forever home.
48:34I was 28 years in Asia.
48:36I've been back about three years now.
48:38It's like a dream come true.
48:40So has the nomad actually found his home?
48:44Yeah, this is home.
48:45This is where I want to be.
48:46It's just magic.
48:55Welcome.
48:58House Proud doesn't begin to describe it.
49:01This is the dungeon.
49:02This is the cellar.
49:04Iain really has created a home full of all of his favourite things.
49:09And who would have thought, look how talented he is.
49:12And now he can finally get to enjoy them.
49:15So we're here today celebrating the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning.
49:19I think we've created a masterpiece.
49:21It really was a fantastic experience.
49:23Cheers.
49:24Cheers.
49:26Very lucky I am.
49:27Very lucky.
49:50Back in Balaclava, Isabelle and Paul's challenge to inject more light and spatial identity into their hat factory without losing
49:59any of its character has seen some very bold design decisions.
50:05I'm dying to see how it's all come together.
50:19There they are!
50:21Great to see you!
50:23Hi Paul!
50:23And you.
50:24Great to see you.
50:25Well, it still looks like a warehouse.
50:27Actually, it's very much the same from the outside.
50:30It's like a secret little project, isn't it?
50:31It is.
50:32It is.
50:32I love your gold doors, though.
50:34You've been buffing those, haven't you?
50:36Definitely.
50:37That's his job.
50:38But it's finished.
50:39I'm done.
50:40So we are done?
50:41Yeah.
50:41We are done.
50:41Okay.
50:42Is that a waterfall, I hear?
50:44A tropical cascade, no less?
50:45It is indeed.
50:46It's part of the oasis feel.
50:48I've got to have a look.
50:49Yeah, absolutely.
50:50Come on in.
50:50Come on in.
50:51Cheers.
50:56Oh, yes!
50:58This is the whole surprise you've been hiding, isn't it?
51:00You come through the gold, you meet the gold fountain over here.
51:04The water and the sound masking the city behind you.
51:09It's already calming.
51:10It is.
51:11And that was the whole intention of it, right?
51:13Yeah.
51:13To give us a little bit of a space here that felt like a little cocoon for us.
51:17It's a pretty inspired idea.
51:18Yeah.
51:19And the whole purpose of this courtyard is to get the lights to flood in.
51:23Yeah.
51:23And that is working.
51:25Mission accomplished there.
51:26And it's beautiful to be able to look up, draw us the eye, and then you get to see the
51:30full blue sky.
51:31And when you go upstairs, it's sort of reinforced by the high ceilings upstairs.
51:36Forever open to the elements, it really is an unexpected yet welcoming oasis that sets
51:43the tone downstairs for an office, hangout and guest accommodation.
51:48Come on up.
51:49Great.
51:50And upstairs, this.
51:53And here we are.
51:55Oh, I just want to step into all of this light just flooding in here.
51:59It found the skyline and dropped it right into this space.
52:03Magic.
52:04It actually feels bigger than what it previously was.
52:08Yeah, I think so.
52:09And I like the way it helps to organise the floor plan.
52:11It's not just one big kind of universal space where everything floats, you know, a little
52:15bit uncomfortably.
52:16Got a nice little nook there for your study.
52:18Nice, slightly larger, comfortable zone over there for the telly.
52:22And you find your happy place.
52:23Yes.
52:24Each time you move around.
52:25That's right.
52:26Of course, the elephant in the room, it happens to be a gigantic gold bar lying there
52:32at your kitchen bench.
52:33Look at this thing.
52:34That is the wow factor.
52:36Wow.
52:37It sure is.
52:38Don't touch it.
52:40No?
52:40Unless you're going to clean it.
52:41Yeah.
52:43So what is the rule?
52:44I mean, it is so precious.
52:46It's definitely not a material for someone who wants it pristine.
52:50Right.
52:51Because, like, you sort of touch it, you get the finger marks.
52:53Yeah.
52:54And, but that's okay for us.
52:56Let's let it tell its story.
52:58Although when it first went in, we did go, is it a bit too big?
53:03Yeah.
53:04You sort of go, it's three metres and...
53:06It's committed.
53:06It is committed.
53:07It's committed.
53:07But actually we really love it.
53:09Yeah.
53:10No surprise the warm chocolate box vibes spread beyond the kitchen, adding a feeling of homeliness
53:17and character to the living space.
53:19And then there's the loft upstairs.
53:21Yes, there is.
53:22Yeah.
53:22Shall we go up?
53:23Yeah.
53:23The sense of openness continues upstairs, to the mezzanine.
53:27And into the treehouse.
53:29Oh, great.
53:30Paul and Isabelle's bedroom.
53:32The elaborately wallpapered bathroom.
53:35But come on out here.
53:36Oh, out to the skyline of Melbourne.
53:38Yeah.
53:39Then there's the deck, with that stargazing outdoor bathtub.
53:44Oh, great.
53:45Oh, I love this view from up here.
53:47This is brilliant.
53:51It's a pretty spectacular outcome.
53:53You've got to be feeling pretty happy right now, yeah?
53:55Yeah, very.
53:56Yeah.
53:56The process itself though, how did that go?
53:58We didn't know what we were getting into, that's for sure.
54:01Uh-huh.
54:01Super stressful or just...?
54:02Yeah, super stressful.
54:03Quite a bit towards the end.
54:05I think it was just the amount of decisions that sort of was coming at you.
54:09Relentless.
54:09Yeah.
54:10Almost like every day.
54:12Yeah.
54:12So, do this again?
54:13No.
54:15Oh, until the next one.
54:17So, timing then.
54:19Yeah.
54:19You set yourself, I think, a 12-month frame.
54:2112 months.
54:22I think.
54:2313 months.
54:24So, congratulations.
54:25That's quite an achievement, actually.
54:27In this kind of particular kind of building climate.
54:29You needed to get it done on time because you were living with two potentially destructive
54:34cats.
54:34Yes.
54:35How are they enjoying the place?
54:37They love it.
54:38Yeah?
54:38They love the space and they love the heated floors up here.
54:42Oh, yeah.
54:42And on the budget, you had one and a half million in mind.
54:46Yeah.
54:46How'd you go?
54:47We were pretty smack bang on, maybe a tad over.
54:50Two percent.
54:51Two percent.
54:51Fantastic.
54:52Yeah.
54:53We were happy with that.
54:54What's the secret?
54:54Well, her secret was pretty simple.
54:57If a cost goes up, another cost goes down.
55:00Okay.
55:00If a cost gets introduced, a cost gets taken away.
55:04Okay.
55:04Well, I mean, yeah, that's pretty straightforward, really, isn't it?
55:06Yeah.
55:06Well, I've been standing here.
55:08Great place.
55:09And, of course, you'll get the fireworks.
55:11Yes.
55:11At New Year's.
55:12That was the intention.
55:13New Year's.
55:14Right here, holding a glass of champagne.
55:16Bravo.
55:16Well done.
55:21Thank you, everyone, for just coming in.
55:23Champagne all round, I think.
55:25Looks like they're all right, huh?
55:26On time, on budget.
55:29I'm just looking forward to seeing some fish in the pond.
55:31Yeah.
55:32And even more importantly, Isabelle and Paul have achieved what they set out to do.
55:38A little bit of bling, a lot of light and a huge injection of character.
55:44Well, thank you for partaking.
55:47Thank you for coming.
55:49Cheers.
55:50Cheers.
55:50And whatever budget was left over, I think we just drank it.
56:02What Paul and Isabelle have created here has been a delicate dance indeed.
56:09They've taken the old hat factory and given it a huge injection of warmth and personality
56:15and purpose without losing any of that spacious, cool industrial vibe.
56:20It's the perfect balance.
56:22Just don't worry about your fingerprints on the kitchen island bench.
56:31Cheers.
56:38We got to the end.
56:39We did.
56:40We can sleep in tomorrow.
56:44Good luck, babe.
56:47Good luck, babe.
56:48Good luck, babe.
56:54Good luck, babe.
Comments