BIRKENHEAD COTTAGE | Heritage Renovation & Rear Extension
Birkenhead village doesn't give up its best addresses easily. When this heritage cottage came to market as a deceased estate — tired, neglected, and in need of everything — our clients saw past the disrepair to what it actually was: a character home on a generous section in one of the North Shore's most sought-after pockets.
They took the leap. Then they committed fully to it.
Every aspect of the interior was reimagined from the ground up. What had been a modest lounge became the master suite, and a complete reconfiguration introduced four bedrooms and four bathrooms throughout — a transformation in scale as much as in finish. A nine-metre rear extension added an open-plan kitchen, living and dining space, a separate lounge, and a butler's pantry, while a lean-to kitchen and laundry that had long closed the cottage off from its garden was happily demolished in favour of large French doors opening from every living space onto the grounds beyond.
The exterior was a different matter entirely — its original features carefully protected and restored, the cottage's character preserved exactly as it deserved to be.
The result is one of the more dramatic before-and-afters in Macfie Architecture's portfolio. High ceilings, natural light, polished kitchen and bathroom finishes, and living spaces that finally match the scale of the section they sit on.
Phase two is already in the works — a pool house, swimming pool, and extensive landscaping that will complete the picture.
Build by Rusa
Interiors by Chroma
Photography by John Williams
