A breathtaking transformation has taken place behind the elegant façade of this family home in Menora.

Thanks to meticulous planning and attention to detail, the house may be double its original size but it still retains all the 1920s charm and character the owners fell in love with when they bought it three years ago.

“The most important thing was not to have a box sitting on the roof,” one of the owners says. “We wanted the second storey to look as if it had always been there.”

Features such as plaster mouldings and leadlight windows have been carefully protected and details such as cornice, wide skirting boards and architraves have been replicated.

Even the level of the new slab was carefully calculated so that once the recycled jarrah floorboards were laid in the new sections of the house it was impossible to tell where the old ended and the new began.

“We were really keen to have both the sound and the look the same throughout; with no change from the old to the new,” the owner says. “It is absolutely seamless.”

Outside, the fabulous old veranda was freshened up and the new walls were painted the same colour as the old ones to help maintain the property’s classic street appeal.

Summit design consultant Angelo Tomassone drew up plans that involved demolishing everything behind the front façade except for the dining room and one of the bedrooms.

Then it was a case of building out and up to create a spacious, light-filled kitchen and living area downstairs and three bedrooms, a bathroom and a sitting room upstairs.

“We wanted to create an area upstairs for the children and to have a family/kitchen area that was open-plan and very user-friendly,” the owner says.

“There were some features in the house that are typical of the period, but we wanted the new section of the house to be contemporary yet still flow.”

The result is a seamless blend of new and old that gives the family the contemporary lifestyle they were after without having to sacrifice the warmth and classic appeal of their old house.

Designing the big contemporary kitchen was very much a team effort between Angelo and the owners so that – just like the rest of the house – it matches their needs perfectly.

It’s the biggest renovation project the family has ever tackled and it’s safe to say they don’t anticipate moving any time soon.