HARBOUR LIGHTS

Positioned directly on the waterfront of Sydney Harbour, Harbour Lights involved the complete restoration and renovation of a home originally constructed in 1908. The design reasserts the building’s historic character while transforming its connection to light, space, and the remarkable harbour setting.

The project began with a sensitive reinstatement of the home’s original qualities — ornate plasterwork, leadlight windows, marble fireplaces, and timber detailing have all been carefully restored to reveal the craft and proportion of the period. These traditional elements set the tone for a broader design language that balances heritage and refinement with contemporary liveability.

At the centre of the work is a new spatial clarity. Walls that once fragmented the interior have been quietly opened to create continuous, light‑filled living spaces oriented toward the harbour. The kitchen, dining, and sitting rooms now flow as one sequence, unfolding to a generous terrace through finely detailed bifold doors. This gesture transforms the everyday experience of the house — framing expansive views of the water and city skyline while allowing sunlight and sea air to define the rhythm of daily life.

Upstairs, the renovated bedrooms and bathrooms are composed with a restrained, tactile palette of painted timber, stone, and brass. Each space draws on the crisp natural light that moves across the façade throughout the day. In the bathrooms, delicate detailing and warm natural stone finishes lend a quiet sense of luxury, complementing the simplicity of the restored structure.

Externally, the harbour façade has been carefully renewed, preserving the home’s recognisable gabled form while integrating modern glazing and terrace balustrades that sit comfortably within the historic context. The view becomes both backdrop and focal point — a living extension of the interior.

Harbour Lights stands as a measured conversation between past and present — an elegant renewal that honours the home’s original fabric while opening it fully to the life, light, and movement of Sydney Harbour.

Construction by Ferrocon
Photography by Tom Ferguson