Three Birds Renovations
There’s a moment in every memorable home when the design makes its first impression. If you’re lucky, it happens before the front door even opens – perhaps at the gate, on the path or from the car as the facade comes into view. For one family home on Sydney’s North Shore, that sense of arrival is now central to the experience.
We’ve long been fans of Three Birds Renovations and their ability to tap into today’s housing landscape. Their latest project, Maison Soleil, starts from the outside in, taking an old brick home and reimagining it with one eye on the French countryside and the other on a contemporary material palette. The result elevates the once-standard brick construction to hero exterior cladding and creates a warm and welcoming entrance that’s full of character.
This is what we love about the homes Three Birds Renovations choose for their Midas-like makeovers. They can spot a diamond in the rough from a mile off, and they often elevate properties others have overlooked to inspire similar – highly achievable – makeovers for the rest of us. We asked them how they did it (again!) with this little brick box.
“The original house felt tired and dated,” shared Three Birds Renovations, “but the biggest issue for us was that it didn’t have any real sense of arrival. The front door was tucked around the side, so there was nothing drawing you towards the house or saying, “Oh yay, you’re here! Come on in!” If anything, it was giving off slightly more “go away” vibes!”
INSIDE STORY
Maison Soliel
Who lives here? A family of five: Mum, Dad and three energetic young boys.
What was the dream for this home? After living here for nine years, at the top of the wishlist was open-plan living, better indoor-outdoor flow for entertaining and hosting family and friends, a swimming pool and a bedroom for each of the boys.
The transformation makes a persuasive case for giving the outside of a home the same design attention as a kitchen or bathroom. Establishing a clear entry gives the exterior more depth, detail and architectural interest. After all, a considered facade does more than look beautiful: it establishes the home’s identity and sets up the style story that continues inside.
“Cladding played a huge role in that transformation,” says Three Birds Renovations. “The vertical lines of Hardie™ Axon™ Smooth Cladding add texture and definition around the curved garage and breezeway, while Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding and Hardie™ Axent™ Trim create a board and batten effect upstairs, bringing another layer of character and helping break up the scale of the new second storey.”
WIN YOUR OWN EXTERIOR MAKEOVER!
The James Hardie Exterior Transformation Competition gives homeowners to be in the running to win one of two $40,000 façade transformations, including a design and consultation package by Kyal & Kara to transform their home’s street appeal.
Entry Period commences at 9 am (AEST) on Monday, 14 September 2026 to 11.59 pm (AEDT) Sunday, 18 October 2026.
Voting period commences at 9 am (AEDT) on Monday, 19 October 2026 and closes at 11.59 pm (AEDT) on Sunday, 8 November 2026.
Terms and conditions apply.
Three Birds Renovations
“Rather than relying on one flat finish, we layered different James Hardie profiles across the façade, using each one with intention.”
A dream home from the kerb
The refreshed frontage displays a restrained palette allowing shape, texture and shadow to do the decorative work. There’s plenty to love here and loads of design ideas to steal. With this their staggering 18th renovation, we asked how they decide what to leave and what to replace. “We always start with the vision rather than choosing individual products we love and trying to make them work together afterwards,” says Three Birds Renovations. “For Maison Soleil, we wanted variation and character, but the overall façade still needed to feel calm and cohesive.”
The design doesn’t lose sight of the Australian way of life when choosing products and material finishes. “Each James Hardie product was chosen to do a particular job,” says Three Birds Renovations. “On the curved garage, we used Hardie™ Axon™ Smooth Cladding 133mm because its vertical profile adds beautiful texture and definition while allowing the curve itself to remain the hero. We then repeated it on the opposite side of the façade and through the breezeway, which helps visually connect the different parts of the home.”
“The key was making sure every material had a purpose.”
Three Birds Renovations
“Upstairs, we wanted something with more classic character, so we paired Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding with Hardie™ Axent™ Trim to create a board and batten look. The subtle texture and strong vertical lines add depth, rhythm and shadow, while helping break up the scale of the two-storey home.”
Top tips for renovating on a budget
Street appeal is not an optional flourish added at the end of a home renovation, but can ultimately guide the entire material palette. Planned early, the incorporation of landscaping and indoor-outdoor connection can flow through the entire project to ensure a cohesive look and feel. Durable material choices not only help that first impression endure, it will also stretch your budget where it counts. “Invest in getting the proportions and material placement right,” says Three Birds Renovations. “One beautifully chosen cladding profile, used strategically on an area that needs definition or architectural interest, can completely change the way a home presents from the street.”
WE LOVE… the blend of timber and brick
Tapping into the warm tones of the brick chimney at the front of the house, the timber arbour and window frames beautifully mesh old and new architectural details. Reflecting the chimney’s scale, the adjacent arbour sits alongside harmoniously and celebrates its hand-built form with another custom structural feature. “We didn’t want three competing features,” say Three Birds Renovation. “We wanted three profiles working together to create one façade.”
“Don’t underestimate repetition. Rather than spending your budget introducing lots of different materials, repeat one key material in a couple of considered locations.”
Three Birds Renovations
This renovation shows what can happen when a facade is treated as an opportunity rather than an afterthought. “At Maison Soleil, repeating the Axon™ cladding across different parts of the façade helped connect the architecture and made the whole exterior feel intentional. If the budget only stretches to one feature, board and batten can also do a lot of visual heavy lifting. It adds depth and character, can make a large wall feel more considered and can help break up the scale of a two-storey façade.”
The aim is not necessarily to erase every clue to a home’s past, but to decide what is worth keeping and what is preventing the house from reaching its potential. “You don’t need to do everything,” says Three Birds Renovations. “Choose the areas that will make the biggest visual difference, give every material a job and invest there.”
As a trusted innovator and industry leader, James Hardie empowers homeowners and building professionals alike to achieve their dream home with premium quality solutions that enable endless possibilities for design and aesthetics, while also delivering trusted protection and long-lasting beauty.
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