Japanese-Inspired Family Cottage Offers Compact Living

By Rachel Turner 24/07/2026 2 min read 4 views

This compact family cottage takes its cues from Japanese architecture to maximize space on a narrow block. Smith and Carmody director Cameron Krone and his partner purchased their semi-detached home in Newtown back in 2005, noting that the prior owners had already finished a fresh bathroom and kitchen renovation, leaving ‘no immediate need’ to change much.

‘There was a great connection to the jungle of a yard, which we loved,’ Cameron says. ‘There was only one bedroom with a door, on the ground floor, along with a technically non-habitable bedroom in the attic. The front room was a thoroughfare to the spiral staircase, so it had limited function.’

When their two children outgrew the single bedroom, the family faced a difficult choice. The site presented many challenges with a north-facing party wall, nine neighbouring properties, structural root zones, and limited site access. ‘All of these set very restrictive parameters, which meant that every square cm had to be considered,’ Cameron says.

To get the most out of the tight block, Cameron called on memories of the family’s trip to Japan in 2017 for inspiration; having visited buildings by Tadao Ando, and seen how the country generally approaches the configuration of smaller spaces.

These influences drove the home’s robust material palette — comprising concrete combined with grey cedar cladding outside — and a clever new configuration. While the front two bedrooms were maintained, everything beyond the original gable end was demolished. Working with the slight slope of the property, the new addition was lowered to the ground floor, making way for a second storey with a split-level.

On the mezzanine, there’s a living space that doubles as a spare or a study, with the main bedroom and ensuite located upstairs. A central open staircase stitches the various level changes together, while the material palette shifts from the rendered brick walls to birch ply in the interiors upstairs.

‘The materials are all in a similar neutral hue but differ in texture. This gives more weight to textural difference between surfaces and allows objects in the space to be a focal point,’ Cameron says.

It’s easy to imagine that a house this squeezed into a dense neighborhood might feel dark, but the design cleverly addresses that issue. To maintain the canopy of trees in the backyard, they opted not to extend. Instead, they created a freestanding studio containing a living room nestled at the edge of the garden.

‘The two living spaces are detached — the connection is via stepping stones through the courtyard garden.’

It’s a clever solution that fills each room with natural winter sun, which comes flooding in from large highlight windows. Best of all, the renovation unlocks all the amenity the family needed, without having to sacrifice their beloved jungle garden.