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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Some of the best architecture can often be discovered behind modest facades where it\u2019s not screaming for attention. A renovated, bluestone, traditional Victorian cottage that conceals an edgy city pad in Fitzroy has that appeal.<\/p>\n For its owners, Richard and Laura, the brief they gave to their architect \u2013 Emlyn Olaver, director of Olaver Architecture \u2013 was fairly open. There was trust from previously working with his practice on their other home on Victoria\u2019s Mornington Peninsula.<\/p>\n \u201cThat place has a more coastal feel. Here, it was about a city pad where they could spend time with friends the other half of the week,\u201d says Olaver.<\/p>\n Just over 4.5 metres in width and about 20 metres deep, the inner-city plot came with a fall of 1.5 metres to the rear. \u201cI love working with sloping sites. They set up interesting floor plans as much as allowing for greater ceiling heights,\u201d says Olaver, who retained the heritage-listed facade, along with two of the cottage\u2019s original rooms.<\/p>\n One of these was reduced to create a pocket-sized study at the front, benefiting from western light, and the other was reconfigured and expanded to provide a second bedroom and a bathroom. Although the cottage suffered from additions and alterations in the 1970s, the arched entrance remains along with what was originally a fireplace in the bedroom \u2013 now framed in travertine that complements the travertine-lined bathroom.<\/p>\n Past these rooms, the Fitzroy cottage gives way to a three-level addition with a courtyard separating the past and present. Lined with granite cobbled paving, the courtyard includes the original bricks of the neighbouring terrace, with its bluestone footings.<\/p>\n Planted with a singular birch tree, this courtyard creates transparency to the rear fence, also planted with birches. \u201cWe were keen to have texture in the design, something that created a cocoon-like environment, given we\u2019re only moments from Gertrude Street (shopping strip),\u201d says Richard (he requested his surname not be mentioned). \u201cLaura and I also wanted a sense of the unexpected. You don\u2019t really expect this design behind such a humble facade.\u201d<\/p>\n The open-plan dining, kitchen and living area, orientated to the east, is certainly not standard. Stainless-steel joinery occupies one side of the kitchen, including steel shelves, while the generous travertine island bench, with its built-in walnut joinery, conceals a slide-out record player at one end.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cThe initial discussions with Richard and Laura started out around this 1970s dining table, which they\u2019d owned for some time,\u201d says Olaver, who took the \u201970s vibe when introducing the chandelier now suspended above it and the generous use of travertine.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s the dramatic seven-metre-high void above the table that helps to generate the \u201cwow\u201d factor, with the main bedroom\u2019s large picture window framing one side of this void. \u201cWhen you\u2019re working with small sites, it\u2019s important to work with height wherever possible,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n The scale, although relatively modest, still allowed for a high level of detail, one that\u2019s sophisticated and measured. Mirrors, for example, have been used in areas such as a wall, separating the old from the new. Mirror was also used in the dressing area of the main bedroom, extended beyond to allow the timber bedhead to float. The use of Roman-style glass bricks in the ensuite also adds a golden hue to the bedroom.<\/p>\n And for those who recall the television series Mister Ed from the early 1960s, there are even barn-style doors leading to the bedroom, that can be left open, imitating Mister Ed, the talking horse.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw similar doors in Italy and just thought this could be another way of adjusting the amount of light and privacy.\u201d And although it\u2019s only around 100 square metres, Olaver and his team still managed to create a roof terrace concealed behind the cottage\u2019s pitched steel roof.<\/p>\n What was once a modest home has become a hip city pad, one that not only offers an entirely different experience from the couple\u2019s coastal home but also an escape from the busy city.<\/p>\n The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b06526b517b76d41a9f72e93c56209fd74965044.jpeg\")
A renovated, bluestone, traditional Victorian cottage conceals an edgy city pad in Fitzroy designed by Olaver Architects. Tom Ross\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/343b7080d505acb045068e8cea71d42a71813c91.jpeg\")
The travertine-lined bathroomTom Ross\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1bfe87ce7b23c7f68f54fd6d8f91bb2118462c4e.jpeg\")
The dramatic seven-metre-high void above the table that helps to generate the \u2018wow\u2019 factor,Tom Ross\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Lurid](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8d54587ab4d1825d7b3f164141e7a488f1cdd072.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Barn-style](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f2bc153dd368700c65ecb9e6329e93216f95b1f1.jpeg\")
Barn-style doors lead to the bedroom and can be left open.Tom Ross\u00a0<\/p>\n
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