Before & After: To Revive Their Dated Bungalow, First They Chopped It in Half

Anna Dorothea Ker
·2 min read

Architecture firm LiteraTrotta added a sculptural staircase, lowered the living areas to the garden, and topped it all with a serene primary suite.

"You can see that language is still there with the sort of two pitched roofs. There is another pitched roof behind that as well, which is the main extension at the back of the house, but you can't really see it from the street,
"You can see that language is still there with the sort of two pitched roofs. There is another pitched roof behind that as well, which is the main extension at the back of the house, but you can't really see it from the street,

To stay or to go? This was the question Rhiannon Barlow and Andrew Moore asked as they sought to accommodate their growing family, now comprising their two young children, Archie and Piper, and their golden retriever, Murphy.

It had been several years since they first moved into their Californian bungalow in the Sydney suburb of Waverley, tucked between Bondi Beach and the CBD. They ultimately decided the house had the potential to become the "perfect family home"—largely thanks to the charms of its typology and the perks of its location—so they asked their friend, architect Bronwyn Litera, how she’d approach its transformation.

Before: Facade

"It was a California bungalow to begin with. We did want to maintain that character,
"It was a California bungalow to begin with. We did want to maintain that character,

After: Facade

"You can see that language is still there with the sort of two pitched roofs. There is another pitched roof behind that as well, which is the main extension at the back of the house, but you can't really see it from the street,
"You can see that language is still there with the sort of two pitched roofs. There is another pitched roof behind that as well, which is the main extension at the back of the house, but you can't really see it from the street,

"I only recently found out that they were casually interviewing me," says Litera with a laugh. "Andrew just asked, ‘What would you do, and how would you do it?’ We had a very general chat." Later, they reached out to Litera’s studio, LiteraTrotta, which she directs with Chris Trotta, and said, "We want to formalize it."

For Rhiannon, it was a no-brainer. "When we first decided on renovating, Bronwyn and Chris were the first people we wanted to talk to about it," she says. "Once we had an initial meeting and they came up with some design ideas we were thrilled with them, so it just went from there."

Before: Entryway

Long narrow with dark floors and low ceilings, the original bungalow's core was devoid of light.
Long narrow with dark floors and low ceilings, the original bungalow's core was devoid of light.

See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: To Revive Their Dated Bungalow, First They Chopped It in Half
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