A century-old home reimagined with Japandi elegance

When prior winners of The Block, Steph and Gian from Japandi Estate, secured a 110-year-old home, they instantly saw its potential. Now, they reveal how they transformed a period property into a sanctuary that honours heritage while embracing the art of intentional living. 

Most contemporary Australian renovations follow a familiar script: knock down walls, create vast open-plan living, flood everything with light. But Steph and Gian deliberately chose a different path when they secured this Queen Anne Federation home in Sydney’s Summer Hill in early 2024. 

“Standard practice is to create open living,” Gian explains, “but we moved away from that because our Japandi design style is about creating zones and separate living spaces. It’s harder to do, it takes more thinking, especially around cohesiveness with the colour palette. But that intentionality is what makes a home feel purposeful.” 

With Steph’s architectural eye for transformation, they saw past the constraints. The long block had something rare for the local area: a side lane that opened possibilities for lateral expansion. Within three days of viewing the property, they’d already mocked up plans. 

Light was perhaps their most carefully considered element. They incorporated twelve skylights throughout the home, ensuring natural light moves through spaces differently as the day progresses.  

Before finalising window and skylight positions, they sat in rooms at different times of day, tracking the sun’s path, understanding how light would paint each space across the seasons. When it came to internal lighting, they chose wall lights and standalone lamps over downlights for a warmer answer to both ambient and accent lighting. 

Japandi is the artful marriage of Japanese and Scandinavian design. Both embrace the wisdom of living thoughtfully within constraints, respecting natural materials and embracing principles of functionality. The combination of the two brings out their more nuanced differences in palette, texture and style to create a unique aesthetic. 

The transformation that came about was ambitious. Three bedrooms and one bathroom became three bedrooms w​hich were all serviced with ​ensuites, two separate living rooms, and a powder room​ to service guests along with an entertainment backyard area​. 

At the rear, they extended the home to accommodate a second living room, a crucial element of their zoning philosophy. The deck now stretches under cover, meeting flush with an out-of-ground plunge pool. Landscaping received equal attention to the home, with a vegetable garden, lawn space for children, and thoughtfully layered plantings all contributing to the sense of place. 

Throughout, Steph and Gian have kept the soul of the home intact: hallway scrolls, archways, ornate cornices, picture rails, and skirting boards were all respectfully restored or kept.  

In a home where every element serves both aesthetic and functional purposes, door selection became another opportunity to honour the Japandi design philosophy. The couple chose the Blonde Oak AWO 7G for their entrance door. This gifts the home a profile with substantial character that serves as the segue from the mudroom into the home’s living spaces.  

“That door lets the light flow through from the arched entrance that faces the street,” Steph explains. “We wanted to ensure the afternoon light flows right through the front door.” 

Steph and Gian found the natural timber tone of the Blonde Oak complemented both the wall colours and the floorboards perfectly. For hardware, they selected Iver centre doorknobs in Signature Brass with Euro deadbolts to complement the home’s heritage. 

For internal doors, the couple chose the Moda White Oak AMOD 8 profile. All entry doors to bedrooms and the powder room feature the wider 820mm x 2340mm configuration, while cavity sliders use the same profile in a narrower width. These were essential to their spatial strategy by optimising liveable space when doors swing open. 

The hardware consistency continues with Iver Signature Brass sliding door pulls and privacy locks for the cavity sliders, while the standard internal entry doors feature ornamental door levers in the same finish. This brass tone ties seamlessly with the bathroom hardware and wall lights, creating a golden thread throughout the home. 

“For us, we went with the Moda inside because it ties well with the Federation nature of the house,” Gian reflects. “We didn’t want to go over the top. The profiles needed to be consistent across all door sizes, and when they arrived, they worked perfectly with the ornamentation of the home.” 

And any tips from the pair for others considering doors for a period home?

“Try to incorporate consistency,” says Steph. “You really focus on doors in a home, as they separate spaces, and the ornamentation can be seen as a styling item. They tie into the picture railing and skirting boards.”

The result is a 110-year-old home that feels simultaneously anchored in its past and perfectly suited to modern family life. Through the lens of Japandi design with its emphasis on intentional spaces, natural materials and functional beauty, Steph and Gian have breathed life into a philosophy of living and made it something you can touch and experience each day. 

If you’re inspired by the Japandi aesthetic and thoughtful door selections in Steph and Gian’s home, check out the AWO 7G from the Blonde Oak Collection and AMOD 8 from the Moda White Oak Collection. Remember to add your favourites to My Doors so you can come back any time and share your collections with others.