Elegant Simplicity

Martin Kolarik  Home Design
Creating Simply Elegant Home Designs For Your Family
0407 900 068
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    • About Martin Kolarik
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  • Services
    • Home Renovation
    • House Extensions
    • First Floor Additions in Sydney
    • New Home Design
    • Council Approvals
    • Renovating in Bushfire Prone Areas
    • Renovation of Heritage Homes
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  • Testimonials
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House Extensions

house extension in Sydney

On Sydney’s North Shore, many older homes are exceptionally well built but relatively small compared to their land. This characteristic makes them ideal for enhancing and enlarging rather than replacing.

Therefore, extending your existing home can be a smart and economical way to create more space for the whole family.

New Designs Solve Old Home Problems

A home extension provides the ideal opportunity to rectify parts of an existing home that may not work as well as they should.

So in some ways the design process is similar to a renovation and raises the same considerations:

  • Your family’s needs and your expectations
  • The property’s location
  • Long-term plans
  • Your dreams
  • And your finances

In most cases, it’s also important that the transition between new and existing flows smoothly to create a holistic feel for the home. You do not want to have them feeling like two separate elements.

Considerations for House Extensions

House extension Sydney

When your home in Sydney requires an extension to the ground floor, you’ll need to consider these issues:

  • Budget – at the beginning of the project, discuss this matter in detail with your designer.
  • Natural factors – eg. slope of the land, orientation and trees:
    • Land that is gently sloping is suitable for a ground floor extension. However, steeply sloping land may suit a 2-storey extension.
    • Orientation is important as well, eg. a south-facing rear extension may need to be single storey to allow plenty of light from skylights to penetrate deep into the house.
    • The position of existing trees on your property, or an adjoining one, may well determine if a ground floor extension is indeed permissible.
  • Council Regulations and Building Code Requirements – setbacks from side boundaries, having enough area for landscaping and not exceeding the maximum floor area of the home are major Council considerations when considering options for extending. If your property has large areas of paving, driveways, pool etc., a first-floor extension is often a wise option to pursue.
  • Shadows – first-floor extensions must be designed to consider the shadows that the new structure will cast. Enough daylight to adjoining properties must be provided. There are strict guidelines on this matter.
  • Privacy – if you are thinking of a first-floor deck as part of an extension, remember that Council will want to ensure that your neighbours feel their privacy is maintained. Similarly, your extension needs to be designed to maintain your privacy from homes around you.
  • Insurance – check to see if you need to modify your own home insurances during an extension.
  • Legislation — requires a licensed builder to provide the necessary insurances before he can start construction.

These are some of the items we will be going through with you.

Define Your Home Extension Budget Early

The above items are manageable with fantastic solutions. However, if they exceed your budget then the entire project may not get “off the ground”.

Budget is a major item to decide on before the project goes too far. We want to ensure that the design of your extension is within your budget. Otherwise, you may end up with your dream project only on paper!

Design and Council Approval

Having discussed and thoroughly considered these issues we’ll then present you with alternative designs for you to determine which is your preferred direction.

In addition, by considering all these issues before we begin designs, we’ll achieve successful approvals from both your Council and Private Certifiers in the most cost-effective manner.

For more information, please feel free to call us or send us a message.

It’s not about building rooms; it’s about creating warm and welcoming spaces that add value

This is what drives us.

Contemporary, creative designs for your family home

This is our purpose.

About Us

Accredited Building Designer

Martin Kolarik Home Design your Sydney North Shore specialist home designer. We live here, work here and have done so for decades.

We design extensions and renovations of houses to deliver beautiful, functional homes that complement your lifestyle and budget.

Martin Kolarik’s central design philosophy is modernism for its elegant simplicity.

He appreciates and employs the use of architecture to introduce natural light and ventilation as significant components of the design. This in turn has a positive effect on the sustainability of your home.

Martin creates spaces which are designed to be aesthetically elegant, comfortable and functional which will stand the test of time. He challenges the design solutions to ensure your design maximises every opportunity and the investment you are making to achieve a home that you will be excited to live in.

Welcome

home designer in Sydney

Welcome to my website. My purpose is to help you create a wonderful place you and your family can call home.

It is about listening and understanding your needs and what you would like to achieve. I have spent the better part of my life learning how to create warm and welcoming spaces rather than simply designing houses.

Please have a look around. View the galleries of some recent projects and read the testimonials from past clients.

I have also written many articles on my blog to help you on your journey to creating your dream home. I look forward to assisting you,

Martin Kolarik

0407 900 068

Testimonials

A few words from our clients. Read them all in full here

Extremely Happy

The conversion of our 2 bedroom 1950’s bungalow to a modern 4 bedroom house has been an enjoyable journey that completed on time, on budget and with results that far exceeded our expectations.

Jon and Lindley Randle

Lane Cove

Invaluable Expertise

You can see quality in every design detail. During the construction process, Martin's expertise proved invaluable when dealing with council and a somewhat recalcitrant builder.

Dolien and Peter Nicolsen

Berowra NSW 2081

Innovative, highly professional and sympathetic

We wanted to suit the needs of our young family but Martin advised us on how to future proof our house design and meet our needs as our family grows up. We now have a stunning home and we couldn’t be happier with the architectural design.

David & Pauline

St Ives Chase

Fantastic

Martin Kolarik was instrumental in the design and documentation of our family home renovations a few years ago and I have pleasure in recommending his professional services.

Warwick J. Higgs

Chartered Accountant, Wahroonga

Far Exceeded Our Vision

At the completion of the building works, the end result is fantastic and far exceeds the vision we had all those years ago. Martin was able to take our scattered ideas for what we needed in a major extension/ renovation, at all times patiently working with our changing requirements, and deliver an end result that we are extremely pleased with.

Graeme Bradford

Turramurra

Very Happy

Martin's capable oversight of the builders and other contractors ensured we had a trouble free building experience. We continue to be very happy with the result of his efforts.

Patrick and Laura Mooney

A Joy To Work With Martin

Martin is very knowledgeable, organised and professional and it is a joy working with him. He gives every request due consideration, no matter how challenging the request.

Anja & Perry Poehlmann,

St Ives Chase.

Seven years on and still really happy

Seven years on and still really happy I am sitting here typing this testimonial for Martin, 7 years later, and really appreciating this amazing home we live in that is part of the bush environment, as well as providing my family with a very comfortable and modern home.

Mateki and Liam Payne

Hornsby Heights

Exceeded Our Expectations

Martin's ability to understand our core requirements and present answers and new ideas for our project exceeded our expectations. Several design features that Martin presented to us regularly get positive comments from visitors to our home, these comments have come from builders, designers and engineers.

James Douglass J.P.

Lane Cove

Invaluable

Martin has exceeded our expectations during a lengthy design and approval process. His attention to detail and flexibility in being able to interpret our ideas into a new functional space has been outstanding. His assistance during the quotation phase of the project was invaluable and resulted in us engaging a first class builder to complete the works.

Teresa and Peter Gray

Very Attentive

Martin listened very attentively to our requirements and very cooperatively finalised the plan, with careful discussion back and forth. We felt he always took on board our thinking, while respectfully putting his own suggestions.

James and Irene Franklin

Lane Cove

Very Happy

Now that we have lived in the finished product we can categorically state that we wouldn't change any part of the design. Indeed, the only parts of the renovation that we would change are those you weren't involved with!

Michael and Quyen

I Cannot Begin To Thank Martin Enough

One of our main concerns was getting the design through council as we were in a conservation area. Again Martin handled it with ease, going through first time with no amendments! Practically unheard of in our area.

Joe and Sonya La Rosa

The Ultimate Professional

On each occasion I have dealt with Martin and his business I have always found him to be the ultimate professional. One of Martin's strong points, which I particularly admire, is his ability to design to a budget and his understanding of building costs. I feel this is an area of design which many designers are particularly weak.

Mark Newman, Director, Newmark Constructions

www.newmark.com.au

Excellent All the Way

Martin Kolarik was the first person to provide a solution that specifically addressed our requirements. His additional suggestions very much enhanced our living and the value of our home. His unwavering commitment continued until the last paperwork was done, long after the final fee was paid.

Ross & Daphne Bishop

West Pymble

Gallery

plan home renovation in Sydney
renovation planning with Martin Kolarik

Contact Us

If you are considering undertaking a major renovation project, use the form below to get in touch with us:

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Service Area

We service the following area in Sydney’s north:


Home Designers Sydney | Home Extensions & Renovation | House Additions & First Floor Additions Sydney

3 Valley Park Crescent, North Turramurra NSW 2074

Phone: (02) 9449 1109

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