Ranu House

The brief

Light on a hilltop.

Ranu House sits on a difficult hilltop site in Manly — challenging topography, strong winds, and neighbours on all sides. The brief was to transform an old two-storey house into a spacious and light-filled home without a complete rebuild.

The existing structure was retained and reworked: walls moved, windows enlarged, and the layout opened up to create the flow the family needed. A careful extension to the rear added a new kitchen and family room that spills onto a sun-drenched deck.

The transformation is total. The Ranu House that emerges from this renovation bears little visual relationship to the one that went in — and yet the budget was managed by using the existing bones intelligently.

Architect designed to completely transform the old two storey house located on a difficult hill-top site into a spacious and light filled home.

Design story

Hilltop, transformed.

A hilltop site in Manly sounds desirable — and it is, once you solve it. The challenges are real: wind, difficult access, steep ground, and the need to manage water runoff from above. At Ranu House, each challenge became a design opportunity.

The high position was turned into an asset: generous windows to capture views on three sides, a deck that extends into the treetops, and a plan that works with the slope rather than against it. The transformation from tired two-storey to confident family home was complete in a single project.