Avonleigh Queenslander — Raising, Renovating and Extending a Grand Brisbane Heritage Home
There is a particular kind of ambition required to raise a grand old Brisbane Queenslander, excavate beneath it, and build an entirely new lower level — all while preserving the heritage character that made the home worth saving in the first place. The clients who brought the Avonleigh project to us had exactly that kind of ambition. They also had the rarer quality of knowing when to trust their architects completely.
The Avonleigh Queenslander is one of the most complex and rewarding projects our studio has completed. It is a home that required us to think across three distinct architectural registers simultaneously: the careful restoration of a pre-1946 heritage structure; the design of a new lower level that extends the home's footprint without diminishing its elevated, commanding presence; and a rear extension that is deliberately and confidently of its own time.
The Original Home
The Avonleigh Queenslander sits on one of Brisbane's east side heritage streets — a setting that immediately establishes the scale of responsibility involved in any intervention. The street is lined with some of Brisbane's finest pre-war homes, and Avonleigh was among the grandest: deep verandahs, ornate timber detailing, original lining boards, and the elevated, generous proportions that define the best examples of the Queensland vernacular.
It was also, like so many Queenslanders of its era, no longer functional for a contemporary family. The rooms were too small, the kitchen was inadequate, the connection to garden and outdoor living was almost non-existent, and the home's elevated position — so architecturally commanding from the street — left a dark, unusable void beneath.
The brief was straightforward in ambition and complex in execution: raise the home, restore it fully, build a habitable lower level beneath it, and add a rear extension generous enough to meet the family's needs for the next thirty years — all without compromising the heritage character that made Avonleigh worth the investment.
Raising the Home and Building Below
The decision to raise the Queenslander and build in a full lower level beneath its original footprint was the central strategic move of the project. It solved multiple problems simultaneously.
By excavating and building below, we were able to create car accommodation, an entry, and a study at ground level — freeing the entire upper level for living and sleeping, and removing the visual and practical clutter that typically accumulates in an unplanned under-croft. The lower level is accessed from the street via a new entry sequence flanked by a timber colonnade that echoes the verandah detailing of the original home above — extending the Queenslander's character downward rather than simply inserting something foreign beneath it.
The new verandahs at lower level continue the rhythm established by the original — the result is a home that reads as three levels of considered architecture rather than an original structure propped awkwardly above an afterthought.
The Rear Extension
The rear extension is where the Avonleigh Queenslander makes its boldest architectural statement — and where it most clearly demonstrates our approach to heritage renovation.
We made a deliberate decision not to mimic the original Queenslander in the extension's materiality or detailing. The rear addition is purposely and proudly contemporary — a clear expression of its own time that allows the original to be read and appreciated on its own terms. The result is a home that tells its own architectural story: a heritage structure, lovingly restored, now supported and extended by an addition that brings its own material richness and spatial generosity.
The extension is anchored by sandstone — used extensively as both exterior and interior cladding. Sandstone is an extraordinary material in the Brisbane subtropical context. It is cool, heavy, and deeply tactile. It weathers magnificently over time. And it carries a weight and permanence that grounds the extension in its landscape in a way that lighter materials simply cannot achieve.
Above the sandstone base, the extension's upper level is clad in shou sugi ban — charred black timber that maintains the linear weatherboard pattern of the original Queenslander while signalling unmistakably that this is new construction. The contrast between the warm heritage timber above and the black charred extension is sharp, deliberate, and deeply considered.
The extension is capped by a long, horizontally proportioned terracotta baguette batten screen — one of the project's most distinctive elements. The terracotta screen mediates between inside and outside, filtering light, providing solar protection, and giving the extension a singular profile that is immediately recognisable.
The Heart of the Home — The Grand Room
At the centre of the extended home is the grand room: a double-height living space that connects the original Queenslander's scale and ambition to the new extension's spatial generosity. The grand room is the moment where the two architectures meet — where the heritage character of the original home opens up into the light-filled, contemporary volume of the addition.
Large glass sliding doors stack back completely on two sides of the grand room, opening to the elevated covered terraces that wrap the extension. The terraces — with their polished concrete floors continuing seamlessly from inside to outside — create generous outdoor living zones connected to the northern pool terrace and the north-east facing grassed courtyard below. In Brisbane's subtropical climate, these covered terraces extend the living area of the home by months each year.
Materials and Collaboration
The Avonleigh Queenslander was built by K2 Projects and designed with interior architecture by EM Design — a collaboration that ensured the richness of the interior matched the ambition of the exterior. The project was published in est living in January 2025 and has been featured across multiple international architecture platforms including Archello, The Local Project, and Yinjispace.
The client's own words capture the outcome better than we could:
"This was an ambitious project for our family to completely raise, renovate and extend a grand old Brisbane Queenslander. Kelder Architects were an excellent team to work with from the outset. We were able to work closely and collaboratively throughout the project from first design to final completion. Very happy with our new home and our collaboration with Kelder Architects. We would not hesitate in recommending them to anyone who wants a seamless design process from concept through to completion." — Elicia M, Home Owner
Project: Avonleigh Queenslander, East Brisbane QLD
Type: Queenslander raise, restoration, and contemporary extension
Builder: K2 Projects
Interior Design: EM Design
Photography: Cathy Schusler
Published: est living (January 2025), The Local Project, Archello, Yinjispace
→ View the full Avonleigh Queenslander portfolio
Planning to raise, renovate or extend a Queenslander in Brisbane?
We specialise in heritage renovations across Paddington, Bardon, Ascot, New Farm, and the inner suburbs.
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