Architecture Wednesday: The Bakery in Sydney

I love when a new house is created out of an entirely different space, and this house in Sydney, Australia, is exactly what I’m talking about.

The Newtown property is made up of two adjoined early 20th-century buildings; it was originally a commercial bakery and a corner store—and even later, a garment factory—before it was reimagined as a five-bedroom home. But while the interior has become new and modern, yet still retains some of the original floors and spaces of the bakery and shop, its façade—which still reads W Dribble 1922 and 1909, respectively—is an assortment of original brick, steel and chimneys.

Inside, however, the building has been reconfigured over 8,000 square feet light-drenched living spaces spread across two floors that retain their soaring volumes and industrial feel—albeit softened by polished concrete floors with underfloor heating and a soothing monochrome color scheme. Wooden rafters and painted metal trusses are reminders of the building’s storied past though a more modern free-flowing floorplan is now reconfigured for domestic use.

The large kitchen is outfitted with customized, hand-painted cabinetry and a giant island that merges with the living room; black metal-framed windows and doors have been custom-made, while demolished brick walls were hand-scraped and reused for new walls; there is also original timbers and exposed brick and layers of patinated paint throughout the home.

One space that I would die for is that library, with floor-to-ceiling shelving stacked with 30,000 books. There’s also a moody office, several bedrooms, his and hers dressing rooms and bathrooms—which could easily be reimagined as his and his. The home also includes a music room, an artist's studio, an entrance atrium  and, outside, an internal garden with a heated saltwater pool, lush greenery, including plantings for bees and birds as well as a vegetable garden and gravel pathways.

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