Gatenby – Full Internal Renovation & Open-Plan Transformation

At Gatenby in Barden Ridge, we carried out a complete internal renovation that turned an outdated home into a bright, contemporary residence without pushing out its existing footprint. We pulled out the home’s enclosed, old-style nook areas to open up an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area that connects every living zone and lets natural light move right through the house. The new kitchen is finished in Smartstone Calacatta Bianco, a marble-inspired stone that carries on through the rest of the renovation. A striking new staircase inside and a custom timber front door out at the street finish off the transformation.

Project Snapshot

The Brief

Removing Gatenby’s enclosed, old-style nook areas was the brief’s defining move, opening the floor plan into one connected kitchen, dining and living zone without expanding the footprint. The brief was to improve how the home worked day to day and to open it into the sort of connected living environment a modern family actually uses. That one change let natural light reach further through the home and improved the connection between each living area, giving the family a far more functional and inviting space for both everyday living and entertaining. None of it needed extra floor area, because this full internal renovation stayed inside the walls that were already standing.

Kitchen & Bathroom Finishes

The kitchen at Gatenby is finished in premium Smartstone Calacatta Bianco benchtops, a marble-inspired stone that also carries through the rest of the renovation. It reads like natural marble but stands up to the wear a busy family kitchen gives it, and it became the centrepiece of the newly opened kitchen, dining and living zone. The bathrooms were completely renovated with contemporary fixtures and finishes that pick up the home’s refreshed interior, delivering modern comfort with a timeless appeal. We worked every space around the same balance of functionality, quality and quiet elegance, and running the same premium stone right through the home ties one room to the next instead of leaving each of them finished in isolation.

Staircase & Front Door

Two standout features round out the Gatenby renovation: a staircase inside the home and a timber front door facing the street. A striking new staircase anchors the renovated interior, installed as an architectural feature that lifts both the functionality and the look of the home. Its contemporary design connects the levels while feeding into the same modern aesthetic running through the rest of the house. Out at the street, a custom-made timber front door was crafted by Sydney Woodworkers, and it gives the home a warm, welcoming first impression before you have stepped inside. That bespoke entry carries the same craftsmanship we used throughout the renovation, tying the home’s street presence back to the open, contemporary interior behind it.

The Result

Stand in the Gatenby house now and the change speaks for itself: a full internal renovation that pairs open-plan design with premium finishes and bespoke craftsmanship. By opening up the home’s enclosed living spaces, running Smartstone Calacatta Bianco through the interior and adding custom work like the new staircase and handcrafted front door, we turned an outdated house into a timeless family home designed for modern living. The finished Barden Ridge residence still sits on its original footprint, but it reads as a far bigger home: brighter, better connected and much better suited to everyday family life. Dura Group did all of it inside the walls that were already there.

Materials & Finishes

Gatenby shows what a full internal renovation and open-plan transformation can achieve within an existing footprint, part of Dura Group’s completed project portfolio across the Sutherland Shire. If you’re weighing up your own home renovation, kitchen renovation or bathroom renovation in Barden Ridge or the Sutherland Shire, you’ll see the same attention to material selection and open-plan design in Dura Group’s approach.