In Brisbane’s leafy inner-east suburb of Hawthorne, a pre-war home had been quietly ageing for nearly a century. Converted at some point into a duplex and largely left alone, it was the kind of property many buyers would have walked straight past. The neighbours next door saw something different.
Their vision was bold: take this forgotten piece of Brisbane history and transform it into a striking, generous family home that honoured what it once was while embracing something entirely new. The result, designed by Invilla Architecture directors Michael Johnston and Joe Verrills, is simply stunning.
Honouring the original character while modernising the home
Invilla Architecture directors Michael Johnston and Joe Verrills faced an intriguing brief: preserve the character of a pre-war Brisbane home within heritage constraints, while introducing the modern materials and curvaceous forms the clients were after. It’s a balance that demands both sensitivity and confidence, and the result shows both in equal measure.
The original house was raised and carefully renovated, its historical bones retained as the foundation for everything that followed. At the heart of the redesign sits a curved bridging element that serves as both a dramatic entryway and a double-height void, connecting the home’s various wings while signalling clearly that this is not a timid renovation.
One extension echoes the past with a pitched gable roof that nods to traditional Queensland forms. The entry roof, by contrast, goes flat and sleek with a sharp black finish punctuated by a rooftop planter box. Old meets new, literally and deliberately, at every turn.
Heritage and Contemporary Materials: Reading Old and New on the Facade
The exterior material palette is where the transformation narrative is most legible. Knotwood aluminium cladding plays against the original weatherboard, alongside vertical fibre cement, brick, and carefully placed black accents. The effect is textural richness combined with visual clarity: you can read exactly what’s original and what’s new, and both feel entirely intentional.
A custom front door by Allkind Joinery makes an immediate statement on arrival. G.James doors and windows deliver clean sightlines and generous natural light throughout, while the rooftop planter, encircling a feature olive tree visible from the entry void, brings a living, growing element to the architectural composition, softening the drama beautifully.
Curved Walls and Double-Height Voids: Inside the Hawthorne Home Layout
Step inside, and the home reveals itself gradually. Open-tread stairs offer an early glimpse of the double-height void beyond, where that same feature olive tree draws the eye toward the pool at the rear. To the left, an office and media room. To the right, a triple garage flows seamlessly into a mudroom, laundry, and butler’s pantry. Everything connects, everything has its place.
Curved walls guide you through the expansive voids toward the open-plan kitchen and living area, where the sense of arrival is genuinely impressive. A formal dining space looks out over generous lawns that spill into a modern alfresco zone, the whole composition framed by the home’s distinctive roofline above.
Family-Focused Floor Plan: How this Hawthorne Home Balances Privacy and Connection
The layout by Invilla Architecture is as considered as the architecture. Children’s bedrooms are separated from main living areas via a long hallway, creating natural buffer zones that allow different family activities to coexist without friction. The master suite claims its own wing at the rear, with views across the lawns to the pool. Quiet zones and active zones, all under one roof, none of them compromising the other.
Cabinetry by Garsden and Clark features Polytec Plantation Ash Woodmatt, its warm textured finish bringing softness to an interior palette that could easily have leaned harder and colder. SNB Stone Infinity Tundra Select benchtops add understated elegance throughout the kitchen. Interiors by Tegan Geary of Geary Property Group layer warmth and personality across every room, while landscaping by Brisbane Landscaping Co grounds the home firmly in its leafy Hawthorne setting.
Related article: A Queenslander home reimagined as a contemporary family abode
Why This Brisbane Renovation Proves Old and New Belong Together
What Invilla Architecture has achieved here is a reminder that transformation and preservation are not opposing forces. They are, when handled with intelligence and conviction, deeply complementary ones. This five-bedroom, four-bathroom residence looks backward and forward simultaneously, and is entirely at ease doing both.
For anyone navigating a heritage renovation in Brisbane’s inner suburbs, this project is essential viewing. The constraints are real, but so is the potential.
Architecture: Invilla Architecture | invilla.com.au | @invilladesigns
Builder: Corella Construction
Interiors: Tegan Geary, Geary Property Group
Photography: Mitchell Kemp
