The brief was to create a harmonious renovation of this 1920s home in inner Melbourne, by maintaining the original part of the house and creating a new addition at the back wrapped in gardens and natural light with four bedrooms and a study.
With its elegant Edwardian structure we created contemporary work areas and storage, with every element carefully considered to ensure life for this busy family could run smoothly. These zoned spaces work beautifully when either entertaining or during day to day family happenings, enabling the adults to retreat to the front sitting room, whilst leaving the kids to gather and study in the lounge room.
By using spaces efficiently we opened up new possibilities for how areas could work together. For instance, in the kitchen the wide island bench top doubles as a place to gather around and chat and importantly the kitchen also flows into a pantry that multi-tasks as a laundry. By creating the entry to the laundry from the kitchen it become a butler’s pantry as well.
With this philosophy of 'contained chaos' continuing throughout the design, the result was a calm, measured home, although not without exuberance. As our clients had been collecting mid-century classics, Australian design and the odd bargain for around 15 years, it was this unexpected mix of pieces that perhaps shouldn’t go together that created a calm, collected and much-loved home.