Brief and client requirements
A sound but dated bungalow with small rooms, heavy grilles and a dark staircase at its centre. The owners wanted a warm, contemporary home that glows in the evening — without demolishing a structure that still had decades of life.
- Keep the structure; transform the experience
- Bring light into the central staircase
- A large kitchen-dining space for entertaining
- Timber and stone warmth, low on maintenance
- Dramatic, controllable evening lighting
The original property
- Small, cellular rooms on the ground floor
- Dark central staircase with no daylight
- Ageing services and leaking terraces
- Façade with heavy grilles and no identity
Site photography for concept case studies is representative. Real projects show the client’s property with permission.
Design challenges
Load-bearing walls
Several internal walls carried load and could only be opened with new beams.
A dark core
The staircase sat in the middle of the plan with no external wall.
Monsoon exposure
Old terraces and window sills had leaked for years.
Living during works
The family needed a phased programme to plan their move-out.
Planning approach
Two load-bearing walls were replaced with steel beams to merge kitchen and dining. A skylight above the staircase brings daylight into the core, and a timber screen wraps the stair like a lantern. The façade is re-clad in timber and stone with deep reveals that shade the glass.
2D architectural drawings
Measured drawings record what is there; proposed drawings show what will change. Red dashed lines mark walls to be removed.
Floor plan, zoning and circulation
Turn on the overlays to see how public, private and service zones are separated, and the everyday route from entrance to kitchen to bedrooms.
- Living — 360 sq. ft. approx.
- Kitchen + dining — 532 sq. ft. approx.
- Pantry — 168 sq. ft. approx.
- Lantern stair — 196 sq. ft. approx.
- Gallery — 392 sq. ft. approx.
- Guest suite — 396 sq. ft. approx.
3D visualisation
Before · representative imageAfter · representative image
Materials and finishes
Room by room
Living
A double-height living room with a crystal chandelier and dimmable cove scenes.
Kitchen + dining
Two walls opened with steel beams for a 14-foot island and eight-seat dining.
Guest suite
A quiet ground-floor suite with its own garden view.
Façade
Timber and basalt with deep reveals and warm façade lighting.
Execution and precision finishing
Joinery is manufactured with advanced machinery for accurate cutting, edge-banding and consistent detailing, then installed and finished by experienced site teams.
- Survey & structureMeasured drawings, structural audit and beam design.
- Strip-outOld finishes, services and grilles removed; structure repaired.
- Structural changesSteel beams installed, skylight opened over the stair.
- Waterproofing & servicesTerraces, sills and all services renewed.
- Joinery & finishesMachine-made joinery, stone, terrazzo and clay plaster.
- Lighting & handoverScene programming, snagging, warranty documentation.
*Warranty of up to 15 years applies to eligible products and work, subject to written terms.
Completed photographs
Completed photographs appear here for real projects.
Because this is a concept case study, there are no completed-site photographs. When a client project is published with this template, verified photography of the finished home is shown in this chapter — never renders presented as reality.
Outcome and design rationale
The bungalow keeps its sound structure but feels completely new: a daylit lantern stair at its heart, an entertaining kitchen where three small rooms used to be, and a timber-and-stone façade that glows warmly each evening.
