A Dated Cottage In a Brisbane Suburb Gets a New Look and a Spacious Addition

Most people would have torn it down. But David and Hannah Hodson had become attached to their 1950s home in the Hendra suburb of Brisbane after living in it for a year—even though the weather-board house was dark, architecturally uninspired, and awkwardly close to a side property line. When they decided to create a larger home for themselves and their two children, they chose to renovate instead and charged Australian design firm Wrightson Stewart with overhauling and expanding the structure to bring in more light and air and generally give some new life to a tired old house.

David grew up in nearby Ascot, where he still has family, and he and Hannah love Hendra’s mishmash of architectural styles. Their own corner lot, however, came with considerable challenges that any addition would have to navigate. 

Two large storm water pipes diagonally cross the site, limiting opportunities for ground works and footings. In addition, the property is on what is called an "overland flow path"—designed to limit the impact of flooding—meaning that any new structures need to be a minimum height above ground level. 

Luckily, in subtropical Brisbane, where much of the traditional Queenslander housing stock is built on tall piers for ventilation, the lifting, shifting, and re-stumping of houses is a common intervention.