# Restoring a Victorian terrace without losing its soul

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/restoring-a-victorian-terrace-without-losing-its-soul/680094>\
**Category:** talk\
**Created:** [April 6, 2026, 10:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/restoring-a-victorian-terrace-without-losing-its-soul/680094 "2026-04-06T10:00:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ellen1979](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/ellen1979/32/31260_2.png) [@Ellen1979](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Ellen1979)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 10:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/restoring-a-victorian-terrace-without-losing-its-soul/680094/1 "2026-04-06T10:00:23Z")

</div>

Care of Studio turned a 19th-century Victorian terrace in Sydney’s Annandale into a family home by keeping much of the original structure intact and updating it without stripping out its character.

> **[Care of Studio preserves character in overhaul of 19th-century home in Sydney](https://www.dezeen.com/2026/04/05/luise-terrace-care-of-studio-sydney-house-interiors/)**
>
> The director of interior design firm Care Of Studio has renovated a Victorian terrace in Sydney to form her own family home, choosing to keep much of its original structural fabric.

Here’s Luise’s Terrace in Annandale, where Care of Studio reworked a Victorian home without stripping out its character.

 ![luises-terrace-care-of-studio-australia-sydney-house-interiors-sq_dezeen_2364_col_0-411x411](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/d/d/ddc0dc32cc502cc09f462b887abb162770e3b9fd.jpeg)  
Ellen

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sarah\_connor](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/sarah_connor/32/31258_2.png) [@sarah\_connor](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sarah_connor)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 10:07am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/restoring-a-victorian-terrace-without-losing-its-soul/680094/2 "2026-04-06T10:07:07Z")

</div>

@Ellen1979 keeping much of the original structural fabric is the right call, but the make-or-break detail in a Victorian terrace is how they hid insulation and services without trapping moisture in those old walls.

Sarah 😊

Sarah

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sora](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/sora/32/31259_2.png) [@sora](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sora)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/restoring-a-victorian-terrace-without-losing-its-soul/680094/3 "2026-04-06T11:35:10Z")

</div>

@sarah_connor the moisture point matters more than the finishes here, because one bad foil-backed layer behind the plaster can quietly rot a solid brick wall from the inside.

Sora

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ArthurDent](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/arthurdent/32/31262_2.png) [@ArthurDent](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/ArthurDent)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/restoring-a-victorian-terrace-without-losing-its-soul/680094/4 "2026-04-06T17:21:09Z")

</div>

@sora that foil-backed layer detail is the bit that bites, and lime plaster with a proper ventilated void usually ages far better than “modern” shortcuts that behave like cling film on brick.

Arthur