1950’s post-war, red brick home in Seaforth, NSW prior to renovation. Photo via realestate.com.au
“We purchased a 1950s post war house with lots of charm however, we wanted to update the house to be more open plan and provide greater connectivity between the house and gardens without losing all of the 50’s charm. Whilst we engaged an architect already, in the back of my mind I was concerned that some of our proposed renovations may detract from the 50’s charm of the property.
Whilst researching online about sympathetic renovations I came across a few blogs written by Alistair from Secret Design Studio that resonated with me. I then learned of his Dr. Retro house calls / consulting service.
Given we were already heavily progressed with plans, we engaged Alistair to review our plans and provide some recommendations. We also had several questions about which period elements/features to retain, how to sympathetically update the kitchen/bathroom and also some assistance with finishes, products, colours etc.
The 2 hour meeting was invaluable. Alistair is very knowledgable (both in terms of architecture and also an expert in this period), he had some excellent ideas/ tweaks to our plans and recommended several suppliers for us to consider.
My only regret is not knowing of this service before I started the process… indeed this would have saved me a lot of time. I would highly recommend Alistair to anyone with a post-war/mid-century home and seeking to restore or sympathetically update it.”
1950’s post-war, red brick home in Seaforth, NSW prior to renovation. Photo via realestate.com.au
1950’s post-war, red brick home in Seaforth, NSW prior to renovation. Photo via realestate.com.au
1950’s post-war, red brick home in Seaforth, NSW prior to renovation. Sandstone fireplace and shelving detail. Photo by Secret Design Studio
1950’s post-war, red brick home in Seaforth, NSW prior to renovation. Original hexagonal mosaic tile detail in bathroom. Photo by Secret Design Studio
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Secret Design Studio
Secret Design Studio is a small, boutique building and interior design studio that specialises in retro homes of the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s.
Secret Design Studio received three vinyl tile samples from “Stick on Tiles Australia” and I have mixed feelings about this product. Each 30cm square tile has a paper backing that conceals the sticky back. The product made me think about honesty and dishonesty in materials for interior design. My test always involves putting a sample of the imitation product adjacent to the real thing to see how fake (or real) it looks.![]()
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In this case, the “terrazzo” pattern look is a failure, the pattern is too bold, the finish is too matt, and the colours look wrong. The other two are more “honest”, as they look like what they are – vinyl tiles. ![]()
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It is a product designed for the DIY and Flipper market, and I would not consider it in wet areas, or a kitchen splashback close to a heat source. Due to the lightness of the product its ideal application could be for refreshing a caravan floor which has lighter use than most domestic situations. As with any flexible flooring material so much depends on what is underneath, as the thinness of the tile will transfer any imperfections from beneath the tile.
