Mangalore St House, Travancore, is a measured and thoughtful response to a cherished past—an elegant Heritage California Bungalow renovation that balances reverence with reinvention. Built circa 1923, the home’s restoration honours its lineage of generous proportions, verandas and crafted detail, hallmarks of early bungalow typologies designed for light, air and social ritual. 

The original street presence is carefully preserved, its red brick and gabled form rearticulated with a character filled material palette—warm timber, textured masonry and soft mineral finishes. Beyond, a modern single storey rear extension unfolds as a calm, luminous pavilion. Here, sloping ceilings with exposed beams define a voluminous open plan living domain, anchored by kitchen, dining and living spaces that extend seamlessly outward.

A central light court garden with native vegetation becomes the project’s quiet heart—introducing biophilia, drawing daylight deep into the plan, and ensuring views to vegetation from every room. This courtyard enables natural cross flow ventilation, while deep eaves and considered openings deliver passive shading and passive heating through seasonal solar control.

Sustainability is embedded rather than applied. The home operates as an all electric home with net zero ambition, supported by high insulation, high performance windows, and carefully deployed thermal mass to stabilise internal temperatures. The result is a 7-star NatHERS home, where comfort is achieved through design intelligence rather than mechanical reliance.

Spaces are layered for contemporary life—a family home with working from home flexibility, intimate retreats balanced with expansive shared zones. The threshold between inside and out dissolves into indoor/outdoor living, culminating in a landscaped rear garden with outdoor entertaining, kitchen and BBQ beneath a sheltered terrace.

Throughout, high end fixtures, fittings and lighting are quietly integrated, allowing materiality, light and proportion to lead. Mangalore St House is not simply restored—it is recalibrated for a new generation, where heritage and performance coexist with clarity and grace.

This project is due to start on site mid 2026. Follow along with the Mangalore St House journey over on our Instagram.

Please get in touch with us if you would like to know more about this project.