BALFOUR RESIDENCE

A 1970s Sydney townhouse embraces its original spatial qualities in this contemporary renovation by Tom Mark Henry interior design.

scroll to main content

LET THERE BE LIGHT

After adding a fourth level by excavating the cellar to create a laundry and entertainment room, the designers focused on the central staircase as a key element that allowed visual connection between the levels. Its lack of risers and glass balustrade allow light to penetrate the upper and lower spaces — maintaining an openness characteristic of 1970s architecture, and one of the most visible references to the home’s original design.

View of a wall with painting and furnished with cabinets

Project Type:Townhouse

Location:Sydney, Australia

Architect:Tom Mark Henry

Photographer:Pablo Veiga

CONTEMPORARY IDENTITY

Contemporary materiality and detailing also speak to the new identity that Tom Mark Henry crafted for the home, and its residents — a growing family of five. Classic materials and textures (timber, stone, rendered walls and v-groove ceilings) were paired with textured marbles and ribbed glass in a mostly pared-back, neutral scheme against which a few bold elements serve as punctuation points.

Side view of the dine area

VISUAL SIMPLICITY

The kitchen-dining area offers direct access to the garden, highlighting its role as the core of the home. This relationship is accentuated by new, full-height steel-framed doors, and a limestone floor that flows past the threshold and into the paved courtyard, essentially doubling the ground-floor entertaining space.

Explore The Look

Induction Cooktop Icon.

Minimal Induction Cooktop

Explore our Minimal Cooktops
Single DishDrawer™ dishwasher Icon.

Integrated Double DishDrawer™

Explore our Integrated Dishwashers
Integrated refrigerator freezer Icon.

Integrated Refrigerator Freezer

Explore our Integrated Refrigeration