My first employer was a renowned Danish architect, a truly inspiring mentor, from whom I learnt the importance of excellence in design and interpersonal skills. Since the late 1990s, my focus has been purely on family homes as my ambition is to have a positive impact on how families live in their own homes.
Prior to home design, my career was in commercial architecture. I have been passionate about combining function and beauty my whole life. I personally create every design and coordinate all consultants involved in your home renovation. Over the years, I have assembled a highly skilled team of professionals to ensure the entire process runs smoothly, from concept to completion.
Prior to home design, my career was in commercial architecture. I have been passionate about combining function and beauty my whole life. I personally create every design and coordinate all consultants involved in your home renovation. Over the years, I have assembled a highly skilled team of professionals to ensure the entire process runs smoothly, from concept to completion.
Services
If you love your existing home we'll help you make the most of it while avoiding the cost of moving. We live here, work here and have done so for years. We design, renovate and extend homes to deliver beautiful, functional results that complement our clients' lifestyles and budgets. Whether you're renovating, extending or building a new family home we'll make the process feel effortless and the results warm, welcoming and elegantly simple.
Whether it be contemporary or traditional, each design reflects an individuality and elegant simplicity that ensures your home is as functional for your family as it is appealing to the eye. Council approvals and certifications can be challenging for even the most experienced and patient of us.
We know this for a fact, having worked closely with North Shore Councils including Ku-Ring-Gai, Willoughby, Lane Cove, North Sydney and Hornsby for the last 17 years.Being set amongst nature, much of Sydney's North Shore is Bush Fire Prone Land and that means regulations - quite a few of them. We're well aware of this having worked on projects ranging from the lowest to the highest fire ratings.
We know this for a fact, having worked closely with North Shore Councils including Ku-Ring-Gai, Willoughby, Lane Cove, North Sydney and Hornsby for the last 17 years.Being set amongst nature, much of Sydney's North Shore is Bush Fire Prone Land and that means regulations - quite a few of them. We're well aware of this having worked on projects ranging from the lowest to the highest fire ratings.
If you love your home and it's in a great location for schools, transport, work and friends, then renovating it is probably a smart, cost-effective solution. Conversely, if your home's not great but the location is, you might want to start again. If so, see our "New Homes" section. By sitting down together we'll be able to ensure that all your needs - even the ones you may not have thought of - are taken into account.
On Sydney's North Shore, many older homes are exceptionally well built but relatively small compared to their land. This characteristic makes them ideal for enhancing and enlarging rather than replacing. Therefore, extending your existing home can be a smart and economical way to create more space for the whole family.
Sam's foot was in severe agony after stepping on yet another piece of Lego while carrying a bowl of soup to the dining table. Meanwhile Jessie was trying to complete her homework in the living room to the sounds of her brother practising his trumpet. They had been arguing over whose tasks took priority for the past hour.
Reviews (6)
Ranil Perera
May 19, 2021
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We met Martin soon after purchasing a new property and we were quite uncertain whether to go ahead with some home modifications or not . He patiently listened to our ideas regarding what we want to do versus what is needed while carefully exploring the property. He managed to put our minds at ease by helping us to set priorities and being realistic about what we need to do with our house .My wife and I were both impressed by his honest and professional opinion on the matter. I think he saved us from getting into something we would have regretted, had we started off without a consultation with him
Harriet Pearson
Dec 15, 2020
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We highly recommend Martin - he literally made our dreams come true! He took our very woolly ideas, our outdated floor plan and our bushfire rated house and came up with some interesting design options which met all our criteria. He guided us through the entire process with grace and good humour and his technical expertise ensured that our plans were approved by council without a hitch.
David Nevell
Dec 04, 2019
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I have no hesitation in recommending Martin Kolarik. Martin came to my house and after a discussion about what I was looking for he came up with a number of different options or concept plans. Martin understands the processes involved in getting plans approved by council and he is reliable with respect to estimating the time frame of the steps over which he has some control. We are very happy with our new home which is a vast improvement on the dysfunctional floor plan I had lived with for years.
Peter N.
Nov 01, 2019
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I cannot recommend Martin high enough, based on his professionalism, his technical knowledge and skill and the ability to manage a project from start to finish, without us having to worry about anything other than colours etc. We have had several engagements over the past 18 or so years and would not embark on a project without consulting him as a first step.
Oh, and he also possesses that enviable quality of carefully managing a guy who kept saying: I can do a lot myself. . . . He is the ultimate gentleman and we regard the cost of engaging him as an investment, not a burden.
Dolien and Peter
Oh, and he also possesses that enviable quality of carefully managing a guy who kept saying: I can do a lot myself. . . . He is the ultimate gentleman and we regard the cost of engaging him as an investment, not a burden.
Dolien and Peter
Sonya Choi La Rosa
Jun 09, 2018
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Miriam Lees
Dec 04, 2014
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We we introduced to Martin through a friend who had used him to 'fix' the issues caused by another designers poor work on their renovation. Based on this recommendation, we used Martin's services to design an extension to a 1940's fibro house. We wanted the design to look like it 'had always been there' and to maintain the original feel and features of the house. We are very happy that Martin's design managed to do both of these things while creating a modern, usable space for our family. The end result is exactly what I imagined from Martin's drawings. Martin was always available for consultations
