Unlike apartments, townhouses provide a sense of being in a home without all the baggage – mowing back lawns, gardening and cleaning the swimming pool.

For architect George Fortey, one of three directors of Nixon Tulloch Fortey Architecture, developing a 280-square-metre corner site in Cremorne, designing two townhouses and keeping one for his family, made sense.

"We wanted to live in the inner-city and enjoy everything it has to offer. And we were quite happy to live on a smaller footprint," says Fortey, who could have received permission to build three townhouses on the site. "Having two on a site was more viable in attracting downsizers, who still want to retain the feeling of being in a house.

The corner site was divided into two, with Fortey retaining 180 square metres and selling off the second townhouse on 160 square metres of land. With a heritage overlay on the streetscape, Fortey was mindful of designing houses that responded to the Victorian cottages in the vicinity. The cement-rendered and stained black timber townhouses, complete with contemporary-style picket fences, feature their own front paths and separate north-facing courtyard-style gardens. Dormer-style windows, framed in black steel, evoke the surrounding period homes. "I wanted to capture the form of the neighbouring homes without all the Victorian embellishments," says Fortey.

While his own townhouse is on a smaller site than the Victorian cottage he left behind, his new home is considerably more spacious and light-filled. And unlike many townhouses currently being developed, this one has its own front garden and street address, complete with a contemporary-style picket fence.

Given the smaller footprints, planning for both townhouses had to be efficient. On the ground floor, for example, there are no wasted spaces such as corridors. The open plan kitchen, dining and living areas all enjoy the northern light and access to the courtyard garden. And rather than overwork the interiors with superfluous detail, the palette of materials is contained to Cararra marble for the kitchen bench tops and island bench and painted timber for walls. A concrete hearth supporting an open fireplace in the living area, also doubles as additional seating. A guest powder room tucked off the kitchen is as discrete as the access to the single garage, the latter including a laundry. "It made sense to locate the laundry next to the garage. There's a door to the garden that increases ventilation," says Fortey.

Ventilation was also paramount in the upstairs bedrooms (three including the main bedroom) and separate study. Operable windows in the ceiling vent the hot air during the warmer months as well as offering vignettes of neighbouring period roofs and brick chimneys. And unlike many apartments and townhouses where bedrooms are "pint-size", here they are generous. The main bedroom, for example, includes a spacious walk-in dressing area and en suite bathroom, complete with double vanities.

"We're finding an increased number of requests for townhouses as people want to scale down from their family homes in the suburbs. They're not quite at the stage of moving into an apartment. This is a transition, but one that suits empty nesters as well as those still with adult children at home," adds Fortey.