The Balfour Residence is a 1970s Sydney townhouse that embraces its original spatial qualities in the contemporary renovation by Tom Mark Henry interior design.
Light-infused interiors
After adding a fourth level by excavating the cellar to create a laundry and entertainment room, the designers focused on the central staircase as a key element that allowed visual connection between the levels. Its lack of risers and glass balustrade allow light to penetrate the upper and lower spaces — maintaining an openness characteristic of 1970s architecture, and one of the most visible references to the home’s original design.
Contemporary identity
![Balfour Residence refrigerator](/getmedia/5b5580a1-2b56-4753-89c5-cd8054e7dd1a/Balfour_insert_2.aspx)
Contemporary materiality and detailing also speak to the new identity that Tom Mark Henry crafted for the home, and its residents — a growing family of five. Classic materials and textures (timber, stone, rendered walls and V-groove ceilings) were paired with textured marbles and ribbed glass in a mostly pared-back, neutral scheme against which a few bold elements serve as punctuation points.
Visual simplicity
![Balfour Residence cooktop and oven](/getmedia/4990a619-61e1-46fc-b99b-2a2f7762065d/Balfour_insert_3.aspx)
The kitchen-dining area offers direct access to the garden, highlighting its role as the core of the home. This relationship is accentuated by new, full-height steel-framed doors, and a limestone floor that flows past the threshold and into the paved courtyard, essentially doubling the ground-floor entertaining space.
Kitchen appliances from Fisher & Paykel feature in this modern renovation of the Sydney townhouse.
Project details
Project: Balfour Residence
Project Type: Townhouse
Location: Sydney, Australia
Architect: Tom Mark Henry
Photographer: Pablo Veiga