MeridianSecond storey addition · Leichhardt

The brief was to make a home people in Leichhardt would want, keep the costs disciplined, and let the feasibility study decide the approach before any design began.

The feasibility compared a knockdown-rebuild with an extension, and the extension won. We kept the majority of the core structure and lifted it with a second-storey addition: red brick below, white render above, with brickwork meeting dark window frames where the old and new parts join.

Every choice was made to suit the neighbourhood and to respect the Italian character Leichhardt is known for. We chose and sourced the materials carefully, which kept the costs down without lowering the quality of the design.

Inside, high ceilings and well-placed skylights bring natural light deep into the house, and full-height windows light the upper landing from both sides. The living room has a stone fireplace set into a wall of built-in joinery, and the rear opens to a covered BBQ and dining terrace looking down the garden.

A four-bedroom home where federation character and contemporary living sit together, completed in 2024. It shows how we design with build cost, approvals and value in view from the start.

Two checks come before any design: what the house is standing on, and what planning area it's in. A second storey adds load to walls and footings that were built for one, so a structural engineer usually inspects early, and the answer can change the budget.

On approvals: outside heritage areas, a first-floor addition to a one- or two-storey house can often be approved as complying development (a CDC) under the state's Housing Code, on a lot of at least 200 m² and 6 m wide, if the design meets the code's standards for height, setbacks and privacy. If the house is a heritage item or sits in a heritage conservation area, that route is generally closed, and the addition goes to council as a development application, often with a heritage impact statement. Your Section 10.7 planning certificate tells you which applies.

What councils usually look at for a second storey:

• how it reads from the street, which is why many additions sit back from the front so the original roof still leads
• overshadowing of the neighbours' windows and yards
• overlooking from new upstairs windows and balconies
• height and bulk compared with the houses around it

Our view: compare going up with a ground-floor extension and a knockdown-rebuild before you commit. Keeping the structure isn't automatically cheaper; it depends on what the engineer finds.