Listening to the history of a home.

Kerrie was first drawn to its generous proportions, city-fringe convenience and the enduring charm of Forest Lodge. “It felt like a rare opportunity even then,” Kerrie says. More than twenty years later, that instinct has proven right.

Rather than rushing into change, she chose to live with the home first. That patience shaped everything that followed. “My vision was to honour the heritage of the 1885 Victorian terrace while thoughtfully introducing a contemporary layer suited to modern living,” Kerrie says. “Living in the home first allowed us to understand its nuances and rhythms, which informed a much more considered design approach.”

The once-constrained floorplan has been reworked into a far more open, light-filled sequence of spaces, where separate living, dining and family zones each feel distinct yet connected. A skylit stone kitchen anchors the centre with a full suite of Miele appliances, Barazza gas cooking and a Qasair exhaust. It’s luxurious yet designed with the warmth and tactility of a room made to be lived in.

Light moves beautifully through the north-facing rear, catching on stone surfaces, custom joinery and carefully integrated cabinetry. Bi-fold doors dissolve the threshold to a private courtyard framed by hedged landscaping, creating a seamless indoor/outdoor rhythm that feels especially rare this close to the city.

Along the renovation journey, there were moments of discovery. “We were delighted to uncover remnants of the original slate roof and beautiful Minton tiles within the living room fireplace,” Kerrie says. Those fragments of the past now sit naturally beside newer interventions: ducted air-conditioning, motorised blinds, plantation shutters, considered storage and a powder room she describes as “a small, beautifully considered moment within the house.”

Perhaps the smartest addition is the separate studio above the garage, accessed independently from the rear lane. More than a secondary structure, it extends the way the home can be lived in - a creative retreat, guest quarters, teen haven or future income opportunity. For Kerrie, it became part of the home’s daily ritual. “Returning to the studio for creative work, then later welcoming friends and family, has been one of the great joys of living here,” she says.

That’s the quiet triumph of a house shaped around the cadence of real life. Morning coffee in the kitchen, strolls to Tramsheds and Broadway, evenings in the courtyard, and those creative hours in the studio.

What Kerrie will miss most, she says, is not only the home itself, but the neighbourhood around it. The parklands, the harbour walks, the layers of history in the streetscape, and most of all, the sense of community that has defined life here.

Now, as “a new creative project” calls, the house stands as the kind of renovation only an interior designer-owner might achieve: deeply personal, highly resolved, and elegant in ways that will outlast trends. A Victorian terrace that has not been reinvented, so much as perfected.

View the listing: 7 Foss Street, Forest Lodge