The Kingy House

“The Kingy House” is a renovation and extension of a 1930’s home in Kingscliff NSW. Originally built as a one bedroom cottage in 1929, the original weatherboard home was moved from Cudgera Creek to Kingscliff in the 1930s. From 1950 to the 1990’s the home was continually extended with bedrooms and bathrooms - creating a maze of a floorplan.

When the current owners purchased the home in 2021, they wanted to create a free flowing floorplan that continued throughout the home and into the backyard. Some of the challenges they faced - the garage height was too short and unusable for parking cars, the backyard was sloped with retaining walls and a rough concrete patio that was unsafe for young kids, the front door was located towards the back of the home making it hard for guests and the posties to find, there was asbestos found in some rooms, and the floorplan needed a complete overhaul to make it open and family friendly. The twist was, despite all the changes and improvements that needed to be made, the owners wanted to keep the integrity of the original home. And so, the concept of The Kingy House was born.

Working with Jardine Design Space and One Palm Building, the plan was to keep the original 1929 cottage, and demolish all of the extensions that occurred afterwards. After demo, the cottage would be lifted 1 meter so that the garage underneath could be rebuilt to fit the height of a modern day car. Once the home was lifted, they could use soil from the backyard to backfill the new downstairs area and level out the slope in the backyard - creating a flat useable area for a pool and small backyard. To open up the cottage, a modern extension of an open plan kitchen/dining area, 2 bedrooms, a family bathroom and laundry was added on to the back of the home. The front verandah was also replaced and wrapped around the home. The original part of the home would consist of the the living area, master bedroom and study.

Some of the original features kept were - hardwood weather board cladding, all salvaged from the original Coolangatta Surf Club - Floor joists, that were salvaged from the old Fingal Pumping Jetty - and all original floorboards, there were 4 different types of hardwood flooring that were all sanded and refinished for a unique, rustic look

Before and After Images with new material details below. This is still an ongoing project and more photos will continually be added in