Care Of Studio Renovates 1890s Annandale Terrace with Heritage Respect and Material Focus.

When Jaime Bligh and her partner Yogesh started house hunting in early 2020, the appeal of a Sydney terrace was immediate. As a New Zealander, Bligh found something romantic about the Victorian terraces that line Sydney’s leafy inner suburbs. After one visit to this 1890s home in Annandale, they were sold.

The house came with a story. Purchased as a deceased estate, the previous owner, Luise, had raised her family here for over 50 years. Rather than erase this history, Bligh, director of Care Of Studio, chose to honour it by painting Luise’s name on the front facade.

The 135-square-metre terrace was largely original, aside from a 1970s extension tacked onto the rear. The three-year renovation unfolded in two stages. First came the upstairs bathroom and a complete rewire. The second stage tackled the kitchen, downstairs bathroom and laundry, plus restoration work on the front rooms. Landscape architect Eve Valensise from Even Spaces transformed the concrete slab that served as a courtyard.

Bligh’s approach was clear from the start: work within the existing footprint and respect the traditional layout. “We loved the history and traditional layout of the home,” she explains. No open-plan conversions here. Instead, the floorplan was refined by adding an upstairs bathroom, reconfiguring the kitchen, and relocating the laundry to create a casual living room.

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The front rooms retain their heritage character with moulded ceilings, cornices, original hardwood floors, and restored fireplaces featuring Norwegian Rose marble mantels. At the rear, the galley kitchen and living area connect to the courtyard through custom timber doors with brass hardware. The courtyard was raised to sit flush with the interior floor, creating a visual and physical extension of the space.

Natural materials anchor the design. The kitchen pairs a creamy base with handmade terracotta flooring, calacatta viola stone, and handpainted veneer cabinetry. Vintage pieces like Brutalist dining chairs sit alongside modern art and fixtures. A perforated brass window seat conceals heating in the living room. Lighting includes Anna Charlesworth plaster pendants, vintage sconces, and sculptural floor lamps. A Kirsty Budge painting brings colour and energy to the space.

“I don’t feel a house is ever ‘finished’, it’s always evolving,” says Bligh. “For me, the overall mood and energy of the house feels relaxed and warm yet interesting and personal.”

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[Images courtesy of Care Of Studio. Styling by Felicity Ng. Photography by Prue Ruscoe.]