Art deco renovation in Crafers
This 1940s art deco home has been renovated for functional family living, with a connection to the outdoors and expansive treetop views.
When Bec Gosling first laid eyes on her Crafers home, she couldn’t see herself living there – in fact, she didn’t much like it at all.
But when the 1940s art deco home remained on the market and Bec and husband Chris returned for an inspection, she knew it was the one.
“I wasn’t sure about it to begin with – it was a forest of a front yard, I didn’t like the front of the house at all,” Bec says.
“But when we walked through it and I stood at the back door, I could see out to this paddock of a garden [and] I could just see myself yelling out the backyard, ‘kids, dinner’s ready’.
“I just had this feeling and I knew this was the house.”
Bec says it was an “emotional buy”, made even more emotional when she found out she was pregnant with their first baby a week after purchasing.
Previously living in Bowden in an old character home they renovated themselves, Bec and Chris were looking for the next project with more space for the family they were planning to grow.
“We love character homes, both Chris and I are drawn to old homes; cottages, art deco – anything old we love,” she says.
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“I love the idea of saving a house from someone else who would’ve just demolished it and built something new. I love the idea of giving an old house a facelift and it standing for another 100 years and saving something that is worth saving.”
Before moving to her current role as a community engagement manager for a renewable energy company, Bec worked in a planning role alongside some of Adelaide’s top architects, including Rolf Proske who designed their Crafers home.
Bec made all of the interior selections herself with the exception of the kitchen designed by Space Craft.
“One of the biggest considerations was definitely the connection to nature and the views of the outdoors,” she says.
“We wanted to feel amongst the trees and nature and have views from every angle out to green.”
The natural textures of the stone fireplace and the Venetian plaster walls alongside earthy, calm tones bring an element of the outside, in, which Bec says “ground the home to its location”.
With experience renovating a character home, Bec says it wasn’t difficult to marry the old and the new when planning the expansive extension.
The home’s original art deco façade, which is still intact, features curves which she has carried through to the extension in the kitchen island, the steel framed wine cabinet and the feature wall that transitions from the kitchen, living and dining, around the corner into the hallway.
“The curved wall was definitely one of my must-haves,” she says.
“Proske are kind of known for their curves, so I don’t think that was even a consideration for them to not put it in.”
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The fluted cornicing of the original home and the render on its façade are also reflected in the cabinetry and the Venetian plaster.
Bec says the master ensuite is one of her favourite things about the home and was a priority when they were planning the addition.
“We wanted a real sanctuary of a master – a master wing,” she says.
“We’ve got a really beautiful bathtub, and it’s got this huge picture window – you can lie in and look out the window and either see the stars at night or the fog rolling by or the birds in summer.”
Bec planned the landscaping herself, and although she says it was difficult living in the home without a garden for two years, it helped her understand the space and the best way to utilise it.
“There are a lot of Hills properties that are full of shrubs and bushes, but we’ve made a really conscious effort to level it off to have a really big lawn area and expansive views and areas we can entertain in throughout the day and throughout the year,” she says.
“In the depths of winter we can still be outside and there are spaces that we can retreat to, and likewise in summer.”
Bec says they have planted more than 60 trees on the property, including silver birch, which creates an avenue lining the driveway.
The addition of more than 200 plants like lavender, westringia and salvia among other Australian natives attract a suite of wildlife including hummingbirds, kookaburras, rosellas, kangaroos and koalas.
“It’s as much of a wildlife sanctuary as much as it is a manicured garden,” Bec says. “My favourite thing is sitting on the couch when the kookaburras and rosellas are on the tree right outside the window and you are at eye level with the tree branches.
“I love being able to sit there and be elevated into a tree canopy.”
Now that their oldest daughter has started school Bec and Chris are looking to move closer to family and the school community in the city.
“We’ve finished this one and we’re looking for the next big adventure and the next home to save,” Bec says.
The sale of 3 White Avenue, Crafers, is being handled by Callan Eames and Toni Lamb of Noakes Nickolas.
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