Old But Still Good

NSW Architect Reg. No. 10927

An architectural design and making practice working between Newcastle & Sydney’s Inner West .

Helping people make thoughtful homes with character.

Old But Still Good is a design practice centred on the belief that the best homes evolve through thoughtful design, careful craftsmanship and a respect for what already exists.

Working across architecture, furniture, materials and making, each project explores how buildings and objects can bring warmth, individuality and a stronger connection to the people who live with them.

Architectural design services form the core of the practice, supported by a broader interest in craftsmanship, reclaimed materials and the enduring character of well-made things.

Work With Old But Still Good
A small wooden structure with a corrugated metal roof and signage about a community food pantry, located next to a sidewalk with overgrown grass and plants, against a backdrop of clear blue sky and fencing.
Architectural Design Newcastle. Pergola in garden setting.

Services

Drafting and Architecture

Whether seeking assistance with a renovation or new home design, Development Application or Complying Development approval, DA or CDC documentation or a complete documented Architectural Service, the focus remains on thoughtful, affordable and well-resolved outcomes. Click here to read more of the process.

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Furniture & Small Construction Projects

Not everything shown on this website is architecture in the conventional sense. Some projects are furniture pieces, objects, installations or material explorations. Although different in scale, they share a common interest in how things are made and why we are drawn to them.

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‘I cant thank Ashley enough. I would recommend him in a heartbeat. I feel so lucky. Ashley’s design was just so right for my little house.

He has created a very calming space, the perfect vibe/fit for me and I can't wait to build a garden around it. The doors he sourced and up-cycled are perfectly imperfect and I could not imagine the space without them.

From now on the way I live in and experience my home has been improved 10 fold. Thank You Ashley!’

Fiona McKinlay. Garden Room. 2019

Architectural Projects

A small wooden deck attached to a rustic house with large glass doors. The house is surrounded by lush greenery, including trees and plants, with a clear blue sky overhead.
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Objects

Close-up of a wooden table with angled legs and a lower shelf, set against a plain wall.
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Tiny Houses

Tiny Houses Newcastle and Sydney. Recycled materials. Sustainable design. Affordable natural Tiny Houses.
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Recycled Materials

Hand places piece of wood on floor near two other pieces of wood, with a rusty metal surface and concrete floor in background.

Learn about the magic of working with secondhand materials

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GALLERY OF PROJECTS

A business card with an illustration of a small wooden shed with string lights and a yellow sign that reads "OLD but still GOOD." The card provides contact information for a recycled materials architecture business, including phone number, email, web
A converted tiny house with a wooden upper level and a corrugated metal lower level, featuring small windows and a blue door, situated outdoors next to a tree with greenery around.
Cozy dining nook with wooden furniture, a large leafy plant, a stained glass ceiling lamp, and an open door revealing greenery outside.
Wooden ceiling and wall paneling with a wooden chair in the corner.
A wooden kitchen cabinet with black metal hardware and a white cutting board on top. To the right, woven baskets on a rattan stool, set against a wall with alternating white paneling and yellow tiles, and decorative patterned tiles behind the cabinet
Interior of a cozy room with a wooden ceiling, a hanging stained glass lamp, a large potted plant with broad green leaves, a framed painting of sunflowers in a vase on the wall, a window with a partial view of an outside building, and white curtains.
Wood-paneled interior with a large gold pendant light, small stained glass window with cat images, a beige cushion on a ledge, a rocking chair, and various wooden furniture and shelves.
Handmade wooden sign encouraging visitors to come inside and look around, with phone number listed, attached to a wooden structure in an outdoor area with trees and playground equipment in the background.
Pergola Construction Newcastle. Recycled Materials
A house with a balcony under construction featuring stained glass windows, surrounded by trees and a clear blue sky.
A small backyard shed with a covered porch, potted plants, and a wooden bench, surrounded by greenery and trees, under a clear blue sky.
The image shows the underside of a wooden balcony or porch with decorative stained glass panels, surrounded by trees and bushes, against a clear blue sky.
Custom Furniture. Handmade Dining Table. Recycled materials. Mid Century inspired Design.
Close-up of a wooden table with a layered tabletop design and a diagonal support beam against a beige wall.
Unfinished wooden table with a lower shelf, set against a plain wall and on a concrete floor.
Furniture Design and Construction.
Close-up of a wooden table with a section containing black solar panels and decorative black and white patterned tiles.
Custom made counter for sustainable business in Newcastle.
Workshop workbench with a solar panel top, wooden slat sides, located in a woodworking shop.
A wooden retail counter with a sign that reads 'The Full Circle Collective'. Hanging from the front of the counter are red and blue fabric shorts with patterns. The counter displays various items including baskets, hats, and wooden toys, with a card
Architectural Design Newcastle. Pergola design. Recycled Doors. Sustainable Design. Connection between garden and house.
Image of a covered outdoor patio with a wooden floor, a metal pole, a partially enclosed wall, and a clear roof. The house has sliding glass doors and light-colored siding.
Backyard deck with small wooden stairs, partially enclosed by cream-colored siding walls, and a small white roof over part of it, with neighboring houses visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
A modern outdoor patio with wooden decking, surrounded by a white house with horizontal siding and a partially covered area with a transparent roof. There are support beams and a railing with horizontal slats.
A house with a metal roof featuring solar panels, a porch with a striped awning, and a small front garden enclosed by a blue picket fence. There are trees and bushes, with a sidewalk and street in front.
A person's hand resting on a pole and a wooden crossbar, with a rust-colored striped rug on the floor.
A sidewalk with garbage bins and flower pots next to a wooden fence with trees and a house in the background.
A wooden gate attached to a fence alongside a driveway, with trees and greenery, a small green shed or shed roof visible in the background, and parked trailer with a yellow license plate in a garden setting.
A rustic wooden and metal gate with heart-shaped cutouts at the top, set in front of a house with green siding, surrounded by trees and greenery.
A woman with gray hair in a bun, wearing glasses, a black t-shirt, and denim shorts, is painting a wooden fence outdoors surrounded by green foliage. She holds a jar of green paint and uses a paintbrush to paint the fence.
A wooden garden trellis with heart-shaped cutouts.
A white pickup truck with its driver side door open parked in a lot under a blue sky. The truck bed holds a large, partially assembled wooden structure secured with blue straps. Several cars and a building are visible in the background.
A small house on wheels being built, with a corrugated metal exterior, in a suburban neighborhood surrounded by trees with autumn leaves on a sunny day.
Two chairs made from wood and branches with a rustic, artistic design.
An art sculpture of a saddle made from wooden sticks and branches, with two chairs mounted on it, one in pastel green and the other in natural wood finish, set against a plain wooden background.
Bicycle sculpture on Throsby Creek Bike Path in Maryville Newcastle.
A dog holding a telephone with its mouth, standing next to wooden furniture and a plant, with part of a floor visible.
A wooden bookshelf with a small collection of books on the bottom shelf, set against a wooden wall background.
Custom made furniture from recycled materials in Newcastle NSW. Mid Century Modern.
A wooden wardrobe on a hand truck in an outdoor park area with trees, benches, and a trash can in the background.
Temporary shelter for homeless in Enmore park Marrickville. Portable cupboard converts into waterproof house.
Small blue and brown cart with wheels, positioned under a tree in a green park, with a handwritten sign leaning against it.
Man dressed in warm clothing, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, and a coat, standing outdoors on a sunny day with a rolling suitcase.
Colorful handwritten signboard on a sidewalk that reads: "Hello, I'm a Cupboard house!!" with additional notes and drawings about a miniature cupboard home, including an illustration of a cupboard and messages requesting feedback and suggestions.
A park scene during the early evening with trees, a small open shed with a green tarp, a bench, a trash can, standing lamp posts, grass, a sidewalk, and some playground equipment in the background.
Community and Charity built projects. Vegetable and Garden stall outside of Pocket City Farms in Sydney. Built using Recycled materials.
Community and Charity built projects. Vegetable and Garden stall outside of Pocket City Farms in Sydney. Built using Recycled materials. Giving food to the public.
Small wooden structure with informational signs about Pocket City Farms, including a community food pantry, honesty farm stall, and seed library, with a ladder on the right side and greenery around.
A small outdoor structure made of rustic wood planks and corrugated metal siding, with a framed QR code and certificate on the wall.
Empty refrigerator with a few jars and cans on the middle shelves, and handwritten yellow price tags for vegetables and lemon spread. A blue tape label on the top shelf indicates the cashbox is to the left.
Custom made furniture. Modern design. Mid Century Style Dining Table. Recycled materials from Australian Hardwood.
Custom made furniture. Modern design. Mid Century Style Dining Table. Recycled materials from Australian Hardwood.
Interior of a modern, minimalist store or gallery with a wooden table, display shelves with decorative items, hanging pendant lights, and large floor-to-ceiling windows showing street view outside.
A greenhouse with a metal and glass structure, surrounded by gardening tools, wheelbarrows, and cultivated rows of plants, with large trees and a blue sky in the background.
Outdoor construction site with a partially built structure, metal grates, and scattered wood planks and tools.
A community garden with a greenhouse, gardening tools, and small plants, set in an urban area with multi-story buildings in the background.
Two people working together on a woodworking project inside a workshop. They are using power tools on a piece of wood placed on a sawhorse. The workshop has stacks of wood and large wrapped pallets in the background.
People working on constructing a wooden structure on a trailer inside a warehouse.
A tiny house made from corrugated metal painted in a patchwork of red, green, brown, and white, on wheels with windows, an open door, a wooden ladder inside, and some parts still under construction in an urban area.
A mobile home or trailer with a patchwork of colored panels is parked on a street, supported by bricks under its wheels. A man stands on a rooftop above, near graffiti on a brick wall, with a tall palm tree nearby, under a clear blue sky.
A decorative stained glass window with a blue wooden border and four glass panes with diamond and textured patterns.
A colorful, illustrated poster announcing the grand opening of the Inner West Council's new reuse and recycling hub at Summer Hill, with various signs, drawings of a tiny house, plants, bees, flowers, and playful text highlighting community events an
A detailed illustrated guide for various power tools, including safety tips, setup, and operation instructions for a drop saw, jigsaw, bandsaw, table saw, planer, thickener, jointer, trim router, blades, and router bits, with step-by-step diagrams an
An illustrated instruction on drilling, driving, and fixing, showing tools like a cordless drill, impact driver, screw bit, drill bits, hammer, Allen key, screwdriver, and pry tools, with steps for drilling, screwing, and prying, and a logo for Bower
Hand saws and tools with annotations and diagrams for cutting wood, including images of crosscut teeth, back saw, panel saw, Japanese ryoba saw, and instructions for proper use and angles.
A colorful illustrated guide to measuring and marking woodworking projects. It includes instructions for using a steel ruler, tape measure, square, marking gauge, awl, and sliding bevel. It emphasizes safety with markings like 'Shhhh careful' and hig
A detailed illustrated guide on gluing and clamping, with various steps and tools, including wood glue, epoxy, hide glue, clamps, and other materials for crafting and assembly.
A illustrated guide demonstrating how to chisel wood, showing steps like adjusting the blade angle, bracing the wood, fitting the chisel, hitting with a mallet, leveling stones, and sharpening the chisel.
An informational guide to woodworking and timber, detailing types of saws, wood movement, timber terms, and joints with illustrations and notes.
A small, handcrafted structure resembling a miniature house or shelter, made from wood, corrugated metal, and decorative glass window, with a sloped roof and a small elevated balcony or roof area.
A small two-story outdoor wooden structure with a roof, seen in a backyard garden, surrounded by various plants and a brick wall.
A woodworking workbench with a large wooden log in the center, supported by wooden braces. The workshop background has tools hanging, a pegboard, and a blue flexible hose attached to dust collection equipment.
A partially constructed wooden table with a thick tree trunk as its base and various wooden planks and supports around it, in a workshop or garage setting.
Close-up of wooden furniture, likely a bench or table, showing different shades of wood grain and some small black holes or screws.
Children working on plant seedlings and gardening projects on a wooden table outdoors, with gardening tools and trays of small plants.
A wooden sculpture of a squirrel in a planter on a sidewalk, with houses, cars, and trees in the background.
A wooden cutout of a rooster, a rusty metal windmill, and some plants and greenery surround an outdoor garden area.
A wooden bench with a weathered surface sits on two concrete supports in a garden bed with green plants and large leaves. Behind the garden is a sidewalk street scene with pedestrians, cars, and trees, and a large tree provides shade.
Decorative metal and wooden garden sculpture in the shape of a window frame with a small abstract figure in the middle, surrounded by green plants, on a city street with pedestrians and parked cars in the background.
A small wooden structure with a window, elevated on blocks, situated in a parking lot near trees and buildings.
A small wooden structure with an open window in a park or garden setting, with a bench and trees in the background.
A small wooden shed in a parking lot with a tree overhead and a window and vent on the shed, along with a push cart leaning against it.
Close-up of wooden cabinet doors with a diamond-shaped inlay in the center.
A backyard scene with a wooden table under construction, a small concrete block, a black folding chair, and lush green plants and trees in the background.
View of a backyard garden with potted plants, a small table and chair, a wooden elevated deck with stairs, and lush trees in the background.
Interior doorway with patterned tiles, rustic door frame, and surrounding outdoor ground with plants and a decorative box.
Indoor tiled floor with black and white patterned tiles next to an outdoor dirt area with shoes and miscellaneous items, with a door opening to the outside.