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Restoring the past, building for the future: Elise and Sam’s Edwardian renovation

by: rebeka

The restored Edwardian facade at 12 Newsom Street, Ascot Vale — The original single-front Edwardian, restored and reclad in Hardie Linea Weatherboards.

For DevelopHer Elise Weavers and her partner Sam, renovating homes is more than a passion. It is how they live.

They are now finishing their third renovation together, and they have a process. Sam is a carpenter with more than 16 years on the tools and leads the construction. Elise is a designer and project manager, and builds the vision behind each project so every detail earns its place.

Their latest turns a traditional single-front Edwardian in Ascot Vale into a warm, modern family home that still reads as its own era from the street.

Elise Weavers on the front verandah of the restored Edwardian — Elise on the verandah. This is her and Sam’s third renovation together.

Honouring the original home

The direction was warm modern minimalism. Respect the history, then put a clearly modern extension behind it.

The original Edwardian was restored to keep its period features and street presence. Rather than blending the extension into the old house, Sam and Elise celebrated the join.

“The original home tells one story, while the extension tells another,” Elise says. “The contrast was intentional, allowing each space to have its own identity while still feeling connected.”

The original arched hallway with restored period detail — The period detail in the original hallway was kept and restored, arch and all.

The floorplan mattered just as much. Every room was worked for function, natural light and the connection between inside and out. Materials stay consistent through the house, so the interior feels calm and cohesive.

Materials that balance character and performance

The biggest problem was the exterior.

The original timber weatherboards had reached the end of their life and were beyond repair. Replacing them was a chance to improve durability and rebuild the street appeal at the same time.

For the Edwardian facade, Sam and Elise chose Hardie Linea Weatherboards. It holds the traditional proportions and takes the maintenance problem away.

The new extension was clad in Hardie Stria Fine Texture Cladding, installed vertically.

“The vertical installation visually elongates the extension and gives it clean, contemporary lines,” Elise says. “When paired with the horizontal Linea weatherboards, the transition between old and new feels deliberate rather than disconnected.”

Detail of the vertical Stria Fine Texture cladding on the rear extension — Stria Fine Texture run vertically, with a timber-lined reveal framing the window.

The rear extension from the garden — The extension makes no attempt to imitate the front of the house.

Other James Hardie products went through the build too:

Hardie EasyLap Cladding for the boundary fire-rated wall.
Hardie Fire Insulation inside the fire-rated wall system.
Villaboard Lining through the internal wet areas.

Together they gave one complete building solution that met the look and the performance requirements.

More than street appeal

The facade got the dramatic change, but the benefit ran further than that.

Swapping ageing timber for Hardie Linea Weatherboards cut the future maintenance and bought long-term durability. The cladding resists rot and termites, so a long list of ongoing worries goes away. Add a 25-year warranty and not much to do beyond repainting, and it becomes an investment rather than a cost.

“It is one of those decisions where you notice the visual improvement immediately, but the real value comes from knowing it will continue to perform for decades,” Elise says.

The kitchen with stone island and timber joinery — Materials stay consistent across the house, so the interior reads as one piece.

Building smarter on a narrow block

Like a lot of inner-Melbourne renovations, space was tight.

The project took roughly 12 months of design development and permit approvals, then nine months of construction from demolition to completion.

On a narrow site every millimetre counts. James Hardie’s fire-rated wall systems are slimmer than traditional masonry, which handed Sam and Elise internal floor space back.

The lightweight boards suited the way Sam works, too. Doing most of the build himself, he installed the cladding without big crews, heavy machinery or extensive scaffolding.

The rear extension and courtyard on the narrow block — Every millimetre counted. The slimmer fire-rated wall system gave internal floor space back.

A renovation built to last

At around $600,000 in renovation costs, every decision had to pay twice: once on the day, and again in ten years.

“We love the versatility of James Hardie products and the architectural styles they allow us to create,” Elise says. “Most importantly, we know we are building with products we can trust to perform for many years to come.”

The living room with fireplace under the raked ceiling — The new living space, where the ceiling lifts away from the original house.

So what do the numbers say on a facade like this one? Elise and Sam took a period home that was falling behind and made it a contemporary family house without erasing what it was. That is the brief most of us are actually working to.

Elise Weavers in the finished kitchen — Elise in the finished kitchen at Newsom Street.

Where the trends come from

If you are specifying a facade this year, read the research before you pick a colour. James Hardie’s Modern Homes Forecast is their annual report on where modern home design is heading. Download the Modern Homes Forecast handbooks here.

Elise Weavers and Sam, 12 Newsom Street, Ascot Vale. Follow along at @working.on.walter. Photography by Dylan James.