A sympathetic restoration shaped by modern tastes.
Contrast and balance, tradition and modernity. Just what a family home needs. We responded to Symmons Plains’ significance in Tasmania’s history while curating a contemporary home for the new custodians - a family of seven.
We aimed to reveal the richness of the stories that came before. Colonist John Arndell Youl - who famously introduced the brown trout to Australia - built Symmons Plains in 1839, with a structure crafted using early Australian settlement techniques. Youl's family lived at the homestead for seven generations until it was bought in 2011. When we demolished the building’s original concrete, it revealed an eclectic mix of bed springs and old fencing added for reinforcement - a history of its own. It felt exciting to arrive at an answer for open, contemporary living within a building essentially the antithesis of that.
Restore, reveal, revive.
To create an authentic ambience, we worked closely with Heritage Tasmania, and engaged specialist British restoration stonemasons. The latter used traditional techniques to reinstate the slaked lime mortar, remedy dilapidated cement repairs, and assist with the extensive exterior works. To reveal a clean, honest canvas, we also removed inconsistent extensions like the rear 1960s laundry and loggia.
Heritage that feels like home.
Our design is a response to the property’s distinctive heritage structures. Typical for early Georgian homes, Symmons Plains is stripped back, austere and utilitarian. Bespoke steel detailing and glass insertions balance the bold masonry and reflect this simplicity of form. We used steel as a symbol to represent the transition from old to new in the mind’s eye. Visible from the outside, steel buildings contrast to the masonry. Moving inside, we echoed this with steel used for the floating staircase, balustrades, and subtle shelving and benchtop details.
To create living, social space in the home, we connected outbuildings and the rear wing into a single consolidated structure, thus transforming forgotten storage sites into open plan space that felt flowing and functional.
