Check out Warm Hearted House: a welcoming Wembley renovation for a young family

If you were to design your own home, how would you want it described?

Sure, stylish, bougie, opulent… How about warm hearted?

For Kimberley and Jeff Swinyard, the husband and wife duo behind building design and interiors firm Studio Atelier (and the masterminds behind the stunning Stillwood Retreat!), the transformation of their once “dark” and “pokey” Wembley home had this ethos at its heart… Pardon our pun.

You’ll be able to get an up close and personal look through the home at this year’s Open House Perth, returning on November 9-10, 2024 and offering a backstage pass to Perth’s most interesting design destinations. Part of a global network of Open House events, the first Open House Perth was held in 2012 – and since then has welcomed over 400,000 design lovers to hundreds of architectural spaces normally hidden from the public!

From the front, Warm Hearted House fits in seamlessly with the leafy Wembley streetscape – a suburb filled with countless character Californian bungalows.

Head inside, though, and you’ll discover a modern, light-filled extension that can evolve alongside a family while preserving its character charm at the front.

This new rear wing creates a stunning, open-plan space that embodies modern family living – seamlessly connecting to the garden (with native and edible landscaping by landscape architect Annghi Tran) – while also creating opportunities to glance back towards the original home and appreciate character details like the original leadlight doors.

Crisp white spaces are softened by gently curving bulkheads and plenty of indoor greenery – including plants tumbling from a skylight that drenches the kitchen and a reading nook with sunlight, and highlights the glossy sheen of the low-maintenance polished concrete flooring.

Want to see more? You can tour this home and many others as part of Open House Perth – check out the full program at the Open House Perth website.

Image credits: Dion Robeson