Welcome to our gallery focusing on the Mill Street House by Moloney Architects.

This project is an extension to an red brick Victorian house in Ballarat, a regional city approx. 1 hour from Melbourne.

The original structure consists of four large rooms with heigh ceilings, ornate cornices, and fireplaces, and is protected by heritage controls that dictated the street elevation could not be altered.

This presented a fun challenge to the designers when approaching the home with contemporary styled plans.

The clients were seeking an open plan kitchen, living, and dining area near the rear of the house. The extension work transformed this half of the home into a light filled space, framed in steel, glass, and concrete. This openness created a new relationship with the rear landscape.

The new construction shares the tall ceiling heights with the original rooms, preserving the house’s sense of scale. The style is where things diverge, with the new areas flush with sharp and minimal detailing.

Industrial steel windows and features intentionally contrast with the soft, ornamental look of the original rooms.

The walls of the newer part of the interior are designed as neutral backdrops for the clients’ extensive modern art collection, ceding the spotlight. To this end, an art hanging system was installed, recessed into the ceiling during the plastering stage to allow for more freedom of placement.

An off-form concrete wall provides thermal mass, a hidden benefit in addition to the obvious visual counterpoint to the walls of glass. The rough surface provides texture and warmth against the surrounding white walls and polished flooring.

Those thin steel window and door frames help the new extension feel more open and light. The relatively unadorned interior in this space is offset by the striking glass walls. This allows for the nearby “Golden Rain” tree to change the prevailing color scheme with the seasons.

Builder: Hayden Bromley
Photography: Hilary Bradford / Craig Mitchell

Here’s a view of the rear side of the home, where we can take in the full breadth of the extension. This side is wrapped in full height glass, framed in steel, and anchored by a textural concrete wall at left.

Moving inside, we see how the full height glass makes for an effortless transition between indoors and out. The surfaces throughout the addition are sleek and minimalist, with white walls over smooth concrete flooring throughout.

The kitchen centers on a large island wrapped in white, with natural wood accents and cabinetry seen throughout in counterpoint to the expanses of bright white. Even here, artwork adorns many surfaces, granting the home its sense of style.

The large, open plan space contains the living room, dining, and kitchen functions within the same set of walls, all sunlit through the full height glass exterior walls. Spare placement of furniture and minimalist decoration leaves room for the artwork to stand out.

The living room, anchored by the singular concrete wall at right, centers on a contemporary sectional and natural wood coffee table. This space sits almost entirely wrapped in glass, creating an expansive sense of surroundings.

Along the white wall, we see the embedded entertainment shelf that also contains a fireplace and space for firewood. This singular interruption on the white walls is complemented by another large painting above.

This lengthy hallway connects the original and additional parts of the home, with a timeless elegance. This space blends the white minimalism of the modern addition into the more ornate look of the older structure.

In this updated room, we see the original fireplace surround reading toward the high ceiling, yet it’s bracketed by sleek natural wood shelving and cabinetry. The eclectic mixture of traditional and modern makes for a fascinating space.

The bathroom is thoroughly modern, with a glass wrapped walk-in shower and large format tile flooring beneath sleek white walls. A flower pattern in the micro tile wall adds a dose of whimsy and art.

The primary bath also features an intricate tile wall, this time providing a wash of color in the white space. Frameless mirrors and a claw foot bathtub make for intriguing juxtapositions in this modern space.

The bedrooms share the sleek minimalism of the living room area, with innovative wall-mounted bedside tables. The light natural wood acts as a fine counterpoint to the modern construction.

The home boasts a suite of features like this large wine storage room, stacked to the ceiling with cubic natural wood shelving.

Here’s that “Golden Rain” tree, visible from anywhere in the home addition, thanks to the full height glass walls. This close interaction with the outdoors was part of the design from the ground up.