" We migrated to Australia fifteen years ago. The idea of home is complex for first generation migrants who try very hard to find comfort and familiarity in their adopted country. For us building our new house with John and Steph was a journey of discovering and consolidating our identity as migrants and individuals who have come to love this country as much as our country of birth, India.
We have enjoyed this journey every step of the way. John and Steph’s process of detailed consultations, understanding their client’s needs and personalities, has paid off very well in our build. The house integrates our past and present harmoniously. Their honesty and authenticity reflects in their work ethic. Despite the pandemic throwing significant challenges across our professional life and the build, we felt our vision was secure in their hands. Their clever and simple design has helped us truly express and celebrate our blended cultural identity.
Being in health care has never been more complex and challenging than it has been in the last two years. Our new house has proven to be a place for respite and joy that we look forward to coming back to every day. There is a constructive relationship with elements of nature, there is serenity and enough room to hide and display things.
I remember a quote from Fountainhead, one of the first few books that had impressed me as a young adult. "A house can have integrity, just like a person." We wanted a house that was true to its purpose, was simple, yet had character and we are grateful to Inbetween architecture for building a house that truly reflects that. "
/ KRATI & SACHIN - HILL HOUSE /
“We wanted a house that was true to its purpose, was simple yet had character, and we are grateful to Inbetween Architecture for building a house that truly reflects that.”
"Inbetween took the time to carefully listen to the result we sought from our renovation. They then surprised us with the innovative way they improved the flow and organisation of our house, opened it up to our garden, and all without increasing its overall size. The sympathetic use of wood and earth tones has created a warm, harmonious space we love - a place of comfort, practicality and refinement. It is a result that far exceeded our expectations."
/ Phil & katrina – engawa house /
“It is a result that far exceeded our expectations.”
"Double storied seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and pool. Our dream home purchased in 2011 with bigger dreams to come. The structure of this house was strong – slab floor ground and first, double brick walls, grade A soil. And built in the 1970s, this place was a mansion. The only issue, the seven bedrooms were the size of modern day closets. Living areas enclosed and dark. Bathrooms cramped and WIRs – well minimal to say the least. So our bigger dreams were of modernisation, space and light.
"Fast forward twelve months and there you have it. Transformation into a four bedroom plus study, four bathroom house with soaring ceilings and light-filled open living areas.
"The favourite part of our renovations is without question the soaring cathedral-like sky-lights that not only brought light in, but created space above without impacting on the roofline. Visually our house flowed from room to room with the feature stair-case leading directly to the open tallow-wood living areas lit up by the northern sun. This flow continued to the outdoors with the clever relocation of an outdoor balcony to link to the previously isolated pool-area allowing for an expansive out-door entertaining area second to none.
"We asked for a minimalistic design and the clever use of joinery gave hidden space and storage to avoid clutter. The house itself was created with a six-star energy rating with regulated air-flow and clever maximisation of the insulating properties of the brick and slab structure."
/ Vicky & Ian – Upside Down House /
“Our dream home materialised from the drawings and sketches. We were led through this process by Inbetween Architecture who showed boldness and courage to turn our house literally upside down.”
"John Liu and Steph Richardson of Inbetween Architecture have delivered us a truly remarkable and beautiful home. From the outset they took time and listened to what makes our family of three tick, our backgrounds, our interests and what we wanted from a home.
We already knew we liked Inbetween’s work. It is understated, yet so clever in form, proportion and use of space. That topped with a creativity we could never dream of is what has made our house a wonderful place to be.
With any building project there are challenges and ours came with a few. John and Steph navigated through the tricky planning, heritage overlay requirements of the existing dwelling and meticulously resolved any technical challenges that came with the new design. All dealt with before building commenced. Their choice of a quality builder with architect pedigree, attention to detail and a high level of organizational skills, resulted in a build with exceptional quality across all trade sets. All driven by a schedule that started on time and finished on time.
We’ve been back in our home for 3 months and we all still marvel at the beauty of it and feel overwhelmed by the functionality of the design. It’s like we’re on a dreamy holiday. I hope I don’t wake up and find it’s not real."
/ owen & judy – escher House /
“It has been a privilege to have John and Steph of Inbetween Architecture take us on this journey.”
"John took considerable time and effort to understand what our requirements were and what was important for our family. This was a pleasant change from other architects who basically had an idea and wanted to impose that on us.
John's design ethos, concentrating on simple light filled spaces creating the home as a sanctuary really struck a chord with us. The design provided us exactly that and is functionally exactly what we wanted.
Our home is now just a "lovely place to live in", as simple as that. It is a feeling, more so than just a list of design elements.
John and Steph project managed the build process to ensure the quality of build and integrity of the design was maintained at all times. This was an important service for us being novices in the renovation process.
John and Steph are a pleasure to work with"
/ ROB & LULA – BELLE /
“…Our home is now just a "lovely place to live in", as simple as that. It is a feeling, more so than just a list of design elements…”
"It is such a pleasure to review John Liu and Steph Richardson at Inbetween. There are several impressive things about the way they work, but in terms of the process itself, what we were most struck by (in comparison to other firms we had approached) was their attention from the start to understanding who we are, how we live now and how we are likely to live into the future as our family grows up. This has allowed them to design a house that is truly for US and as the build has taken place we can see this vision emerging, piece by piece.
"While from a pragmatic point of view the best thing about Inbetween is their creative intelligence and design nous (because you get a great result), the confidence we have been able to have in their advice and integrity has been priceless. This has made the process not just incredibly smooth, but actually FUN (which was most unexpected!). It’s without hesitation that I highly recommend John and Steph at Inbetween."
/ Kelly & Damien – Urban Barnyard House /
“Working with John and Steph has made what was a stressful, high-anxiety experience of renovating our house into an exciting, easy and pleasurable journey.”
"Finding an Architect who suits you can be a daunting process! We looked through the portfolios of a number of firms until we saw Inbetween, who were also highly recommended on our community Facebook page. One house jumped right out at us because it was so similar to our's, and because the finished aesthetic was so attractive. Seeing the owners of Engawa House in their new house also resonated with us, as they seemed so similar.
We were surprised at how easy the renovation was, and Steph's recommendation for the colour palette brought so much light and space into the house.
We feel we are now living in a beautiful and functional house which is ideal for our needs. From our first to last meeting, the team at Inbetween listened carefully to us and their design and execution of the renovation was so professional, but also so warm - and even fun!
Thank you Inbetween Architects!"
/ Katie & David - yellow house /
“From our first to last meeting, the team at Inbetween listened carefully to us and their design and execution of the renovation was so professional, but also so warm - and even fun!”
"Inbetween Architecture were a pleasure to work with from start to finish. I'd heard so many stressful reports of renovating that I had readied myself for an arduous process, but wasn't the case at all! Thanks to Steph and Ken's attention to detail, communication and well-organised work flow, the process was smooth sailing and enjoyable. They helped me find a wonderful builder who has done an amazing job of implementing their design and I couldn't be happier with my updated home, and its beautiful design, in Coburg."
/ jess - lovely little house /
“Inbetween Architecture were a pleasure to work with from start to finish. I'd heard so many stressful reports of renovating that I had readied myself for an arduous process, but wasn't the case at all!”
"Steph and John designed and project managed a major renovation of a 1960s built apartment which last had a face lift in the 1980s. They were thorough at every stage, planning, contracting to trades people, dealing with the planning authority and body corporate. When the inevitable problems surfaced they were excellent in their communication with us and all relevant parties.
We were very hands off once the design plans were finalised, we just left them to it and were very pleased with the result. The whole project was painless and it came in on budget, thank you Steph and John."
/ Peter – woori /
“…we just left them to it and were very pleased with the result. The whole project was painless…”
"The way John transformed our house was remarkable. The renovation for our 3 bedroom unit was long overdue. One of the remarkable things John did was to make the property appear double its actual size.
"By re-sectioning the space in a much more practical and modern way, not only have we gained a spacious walk in pantry, we have a huge kitchen with plentiful of bench space as well. Knowing our love of entertaining, John made the kitchen and dining area the focus of the house.
"Working with John was such a pleasure. Not only did John understand our vision for the house, by providing his professional advice, he gave us our dream house."
/ Jane and Huy – Blackburn Villa /
“We have had numerous guests complimenting us that the house looks a lot more spacious and welcoming.”
"We absolutely loved working with Inbetween Architecture and Aldona Pajdak Interior Design. John, Steph & Aldona were fantastic in maximising every inch of the space as we desperately needed it! They worked with our brand and vision to create an environment that our team are now thrilled to be working in. Our team had super tight deadlines to keep to, and the guys were there for us every step of the way; morning, noon & night, answering each and every question that we had throughout the whole process.
We would absolutely recommend Inbetween Architecture to anyone looking to create or revive a space!"
/ AMY – zomato apac hQ /
“…the guys were there for us every step of the way; morning, noon & night, answering each and every question that we had throughout the whole process .”
"An amazing job John, the stand had so much positive feedback and many compliments. It created a dynamic interactive space that complimented our furniture design elements without the stand detracting or overwhelming the pieces, which was our agreed upon brief. It has your signature. Perfect design zen."
/ anna – owner, Curious grace /
"... I just wanted to share that your design has been such a success. Many people have commented on its refinement and concept. Everyone has been walking in from all sides and the plinth's use, particularly for the coffee table, have definitely elevated interest in pieces. Well done on a fantastic design and collaboration!"