How A Wood Screen Turned This Home Extension Into A Design Showpiece

May 13, 2025
A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.

Austin Maynard Architects has unveiled a thoughtful renovation and extension of an Australian home, transforming it into a warm, modern space that blends lightness, function, and character.

A single-storey weatherboard cottage they completed in Australia.

Influenced by a year living in Japan and guided by a love of thoughtful design, the homeowners envisioned a space that was modern but never cold, open and airy yet still cosy and inviting, a home that offered room to gather and entertain, as well as quiet, personal spaces tailored to each individual.

A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.

A timber batten screen ties the new extension to the original home, uniting old and new with a simple, harmonious form. Beyond aesthetics, it offers practical benefits, providing shade, privacy from neighbouring views, and shelter in the form of a covered verandah.

A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.

The angle of the battens echoes the pitch of the original roof, creating a subtle but deliberate alignment. While the materials and construction differ, the consistent pitch and direction of the battens visually link the old and new structures, reinforcing a sense of continuity.

A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.

Essential services, along with bike and bin storage, are neatly integrated into the extension and cleverly concealed behind sliding batten screens on either side.

A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.
A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.

At the corner of the lounge pavilion, both the batten screen and full-height glass windows slide away, dissolving the boundary between inside and out and fully opening the space to the garden.

The screen and the full height glass windows in the lounge pavilion also slide away at the corner, to fully open up into the garden.

At ground level, the new addition includes a dedicated laundry and pantry, a generous kitchen and dining area, and a pavilion-style lounge that is slightly elevated and extends outward into the garden.

A modern interior that opens up to the garden.

The kitchen features cabinetry in American Oak Crown Cut Veneer, paired with sleek Neolith Abu Dhabi White Silk porcelain slabs on the countertops, a combination that brings warmth and refinement to the space.

In the kitchen, custom American Oak Crown Cut Veneer has been used for the cabinets, while Neolith Abu Dhabi White Silk porcelain slabs have been used for the countertops.
In the kitchen, custom American Oak Crown Cut Veneer has been used for the cabinets, while Neolith Abu Dhabi White Silk porcelain slabs have been used for the countertops.
In the kitchen, custom American Oak Crown Cut Veneer has been used for the cabinets, while Neolith Abu Dhabi White Silk porcelain slabs have been used for the countertops.

To distinguish the original home from the new addition, the painted weatherboard cladding, typically used externally, has been carried through to the interior, creating a subtle yet effective visual boundary between old and new.

To define the original part of the house in respect to the addition, the external materiality of painted weatherboards is continued through internally.

Rarely used as an interior wall finish, the weatherboard cladding blurs the line between exterior and interior, reinforcing the transition between old and new while challenging traditional notions of inside and out. This effect is further enhanced by bluestone paving at the entry, typically found outdoors, now grounding the space with a sense of continuity.

To define the original part of the house in respect to the addition, the external materiality of painted weatherboards is continued through internally.

The laundry is discreetly tucked into the hallway linking the original home with the new addition, where a well-placed window brings in natural light and offers a glimpse of a small, tranquil garden.

The laundry is tucked away in the hallway and features a window that provides natural light and views of a small garden.

A perforated steel staircase leads to the upper level of the home.

A perforated steel staircase leads to the upper level of the home.

Strategically placed lightwell pocket gardens introduce greenery, natural light, and cross-ventilation into the heart of the home, defining spaces while reducing the reliance on air conditioning.

A perforated steel staircase leads to the upper level of the home.

Upstairs, a self-contained ‘apartment’ includes two bedrooms, a central bathroom ‘box’, a hidden pink craft room, and a versatile study, TV area, or retreat, all anchored by a generous hammock loft that takes full advantage of the soaring ceiling.

A hidden pink craft room.
A contemporary loft area with a desk, bookshelves, and a hammock net.
A contemporary loft area with a desk, bookshelves, and a hammock net.
A contemporary loft area with a desk, bookshelves, and a hammock net.

Here’s a close-up look at the details of the rear facade.

A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.
A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.
A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.
A batten screen was used to unify the rear extension with the original home, bringing together the addition in a simple meeting of forms, while providing shade and protection, restricting overlooking, and creating a covered verandah.

Here’s a look at architectural drawings for the home.

Architectural drawings of a home that received a modern rear addition.
Architectural drawings of a home that received a modern rear addition.
Architectural drawings of a home that received a modern rear addition.
Architectural drawings of a home that received a modern rear addition.
Architectural drawings of a home that received a modern rear addition.
Architectural drawings of a home that received a modern rear addition.
Architectural drawings of a home that received a modern rear addition.
Architectural drawings of a home that received a modern rear addition.
Photographer: Derek Swalwell | Architecture firm: Austin Maynard Architects – Project Team: Andrew Maynard, Mark Austin, Kathryne Houchin | Builder: CBD Contracting | Landscape Architect: McNuttNDorff Landscapes| Engineer: WebbConsult Engineers | Net Engineer: Tensys Engineering | Building Surveyor: Code Compliance | Traditional land owners: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People of The Kulin Nation