What do you get when you take inspiration from a cuckoo clock, Japanese architecture, and the charming qualities of historic Edwardian-era homes? The latest residential project from the geniuses at Rara Architecture. Nicknamed Cuckoo House after its clocklike form, this two-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Footscray, Australia, a neighborhood right outside of the Melbourne city center, is a prime example of taking a dated home and transforming it into something new and exciting, while still celebrating the fabric of the existing structure.
BEFORE: The original structure had a classic Edwardian cottage with a small layout, including one dark bedroom at the front, a gabled roof, a weatherboard exterior, and a surrounding veranda. In the update, Wesley moved the veranda farther out, managing to bring more natural light into the front bedroom.
“Footscray has been slowly undergoing a lot of gentrification over the last two decades,” says architect Wesley Spencer. “And