Booth House thoughtfully translates an Iwanoff icon into the present day

Ask even the most casual design enthusiast about Perth’s architectural influences, and chances are they’ll wax lyrical about Iwan Iwanoff.

While we’re glad the design giant is now recognised for his contributions to the local design landscape – it wasn’t always the case. Thoughtless renovations, extensions or an overall lack of preservation led to plenty of gems being lost along the way – including, almost, Booth House.

Originally built in 1970, the City Beach home had undergone a series of renovations over the past five decades that eroded the clarity of the original design – not to mention the loss of structural integrity to the iconically mid-century façade.

Under the stewardship of its current owners, Perth interdisciplinary design practice State of Kin was enlisted to peel back the 50 years of layers the home was shrouded in – not quite restoring the home to its former glory per se, but rather harnessing Iwanoff’s approach to thoughtfully bring it into the present day.

Perhaps most remarkably, the façade’s disrepair was addressed by carefully demolishing and then meticulously rebuilding the façade utilising Iwanoff’s original plans, slightly altering the mid-century low-slung form to suit the landscape of the neighbourhood and improving its functionality for modern use.

Inside, the home’s original spatial planning had been undermined by the addition of internal rooms. The home’s layout was pared back and refined, largely utilising Iwanoff’s original spatial planning while opening up spaces like the kitchen and living areas for a more contemporary liveability and maintaining a flow between the indoors and outdoors.

During this process, original details were also unearthed like Iwanoff’s signature teak panelling and concrete blocks, which became a significant feature of the home’s newest iteration.

Similarly, features like mosaic tiles, natural stone, playful crazy paving and custom timber joinery echoed Iwanoff’s work while incorporating the homeowner’s preferences for colour and material palettes and maintaining a refined outlook on mid-century style.

Image credits: Jack Lovel via State of Kin