Natural Light and Treetop Views Suffuse This Taoist-Inspired Sydney Home

An emergency renovation was the first order of business for Sydney-based architect Madeleine Blanchfield when she and her husband, Guy, bought a run-down 1920s bungalow topped with a 1980s addition over five years ago.

"I remember sitting on the brown vinyl floor and crying the day we got the keys," says Madeleine, who primarily purchased the suburban Sydney home for its location near Bronte Beach. "The emergency reno plan was essentially to rip all the walls out of the top floor and board up the dark and dank lower-level rooms. We lived in the house that way for much longer than expected, with a kitchen counter made of scaffolding planks from Bunnings and a floor I limed myself at 2 a.m. the night before we moved in."

The low-cost renovation was meant to be a temporary stopgap. "By gutting the 1980s extension and moving the living areas upstairs, the first renovation gave us an open space with great light," says Blanchfield. "However, the planning, sense of entry, bathrooms, and more were truly horrendous. There was too much house—it was like a rabbit warren downstairs, and we wanted to make it smaller."