Houzz Tour: A Compact House of Art, Plus Another to Spare
Clever design and imagination divided and conquered a suburban site for a homeowner with a bold vision and an even bolder art collection
Janet Dunn
18 July 2015
Houzz Australia Contributor. Former NZ House&Garden writer and stylist, and avid interior design enthusiast. Ex-restaurateur and caterer, with a Professional Certificate in Gastronomy, University of Adelaide.
Houzz Australia Contributor. Former NZ House&Garden writer and stylist, and avid... More
Thinking outside the square is something architect David Boyle does a lot of, so meeting Courtney Gibson, another outside-the-square thinker, was serendipitous. Faced with a block containing Gibson’s rickety weatherboard cottage and a spacious yard, the conventional answer would have been to renovate and extend to meet the requirement for a home for her, her two young children, and a vast accumulation of art. But her brief also included the need for an income source from the property.
Demolition of the unsound cottage paved the way to a creative and space-savvy solution: Boyle built two semi-detached houses on the site. One for Gibson to rent out or sell. The other for Gibson to live in and includes an open-plan living space for her to house her eclectic art collection, an elevated deck and yard, and mezzanine bedroom spaces that make the most of the compact building footprint.
Demolition of the unsound cottage paved the way to a creative and space-savvy solution: Boyle built two semi-detached houses on the site. One for Gibson to rent out or sell. The other for Gibson to live in and includes an open-plan living space for her to house her eclectic art collection, an elevated deck and yard, and mezzanine bedroom spaces that make the most of the compact building footprint.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Courtney Gibson and her two children
Location: Marrickville, Sydney, NSW
Size: 140 square metres; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Architect: David Boyle from David Boyle Architect
Photos: Brigid Arnott
Marrickville’s location, just 7 kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD, has growing appeal to city dwellers seeking a suburban lifestyle. “We were fortunate to be in an area where smaller allotments are encouraged. The main challenge was trying to create a sense of space within a very tight fabric,” says Boyle. Gibson’s home is 7 metres wide, the width of a small semi-detached house, and 33 metres long, with interior space of just 140 square metres.
A facade of plywood panels with horizontal battens sits beside a carport door with a lively abstract mural in exterior paint by artist Louise Tuckwell. Gibson calls it “a homage to the Australian garage doors of the ’50s and ’60s.”
Although the original cottage was demolished, there are nods to the old property throughout the new build, which Gibson finds “kind of comforting”. Bricks from the children’s hopscotch games at their now-gone cottage are laid at the front door creating a nostalgic patchwork that’s the first thing you step foot on.
Who lives here: Courtney Gibson and her two children
Location: Marrickville, Sydney, NSW
Size: 140 square metres; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Architect: David Boyle from David Boyle Architect
Photos: Brigid Arnott
Marrickville’s location, just 7 kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD, has growing appeal to city dwellers seeking a suburban lifestyle. “We were fortunate to be in an area where smaller allotments are encouraged. The main challenge was trying to create a sense of space within a very tight fabric,” says Boyle. Gibson’s home is 7 metres wide, the width of a small semi-detached house, and 33 metres long, with interior space of just 140 square metres.
A facade of plywood panels with horizontal battens sits beside a carport door with a lively abstract mural in exterior paint by artist Louise Tuckwell. Gibson calls it “a homage to the Australian garage doors of the ’50s and ’60s.”
Although the original cottage was demolished, there are nods to the old property throughout the new build, which Gibson finds “kind of comforting”. Bricks from the children’s hopscotch games at their now-gone cottage are laid at the front door creating a nostalgic patchwork that’s the first thing you step foot on.
Like many narrow Sydney semi-detached houses, the front door opens straight into the kitchen space. From first sight, it reveals Gibson’s passion for mid-century design. A ‘love’ scrapbook shared with Boyle revealed a mutual appreciation of mid-century modern architecture, so her brief of a modernist aesthetic in a semi was not as impossible as she first thought.
The warmth of oak in the expansive island bench – designed by Boyle – offsets the urban grey cabinetry and Marmoleum floors (a contemporary linoleum made from renewable and recycled materials). The ‘party wall’ that divides both semi-detached houses contains bricks saved from the original cottage – exposed in places and painted in others: “It makes sense to recycle where possible, but it also adds another layer to a contemporary design,” says Boyle.
Marmoleum Concrete range in Comet: Forbo
The warmth of oak in the expansive island bench – designed by Boyle – offsets the urban grey cabinetry and Marmoleum floors (a contemporary linoleum made from renewable and recycled materials). The ‘party wall’ that divides both semi-detached houses contains bricks saved from the original cottage – exposed in places and painted in others: “It makes sense to recycle where possible, but it also adds another layer to a contemporary design,” says Boyle.
Marmoleum Concrete range in Comet: Forbo
At every turn, the home radiates Gibson’s love of colour and all things vintage. Expect the unexpected in this house – not many splashbacks depict ‘The Great Wave Off Kanagawa‘ from Hokusai’s famous woodblock print. The dynamic artwork is wallpaper behind glass. “The wallpaper was the first thing I ever bought for the house, years before the build,” says Gibson. “All the colours in the house came off the back of that paper.”
It takes a mere moment to realise that the home belongs to a seriously passionate collector of eclectic and witty artwork. Impossible to ignore is the immense painting on the exposed brick of the kitchen space, ‘Great Band Names I’ve Thought Of (But Never Used)’ by Mark Hetherington. A gigantic hanging sculpture, ‘Mr Kangalanga’ by Rosie Deacon, dominates the space, a wild tangle of plastic, fabric, fur, fluffy toys, bottle caps and cocktail parasols.
Boyle has deliberately lowered the ceiling of the kitchen area with Oregon timber beams. This may seem a surprising move when creating a sense of space, but Boyle’s strategy was to compress and then expand the spatial volumes of the long, narrow interior, to eradicate the impression of a one-level ‘tube’ running from front to back. The ceiling soars to over 4.5 metres above the dining and living zones. This view looks back to the front door from the double-height dining room that opens impressively from the low-ceilinged kitchen.
The dining space, with Gibson’s taste for mid-century design evident in the upholstered bench and vintage chairs, is separated from the living zone by open shelving, again, in Oregon timber.
The photograph above the dining table, ‘Screen Test #4 (Australiana)’, is by John A Douglas.
The photograph above the dining table, ‘Screen Test #4 (Australiana)’, is by John A Douglas.
Another aspect of Boyle’s intent to create visual volume is a series of changes in floor level as the house moves from zone to zone, from front to back through the narrow site. A short flight of timber steps raises the living zone from the dining and kitchen zones. “It’s the split level of the ’60s and ’70s,” enthuses Gibson. “It makes it feel much more spacious than it would if it was all on the same level.”
In keeping with Gibson’s high priority for art-hanging space, Boyle painted the walls, including some of the exposed brick, in Dulux Vivid White. “We were really developing a blank canvas for Courtney to value add in terms of the interior design and artwork,” says Boyle.
Skylights and a vertical window deliver light, showcase the living room collection and, when coupled with the white backdrop, allow for the perfect stage for a collection that has been 25 years in the making. Gibson’s advice when hanging a large art collection? “Leave some blank spaces, or it will be like living in a stamp album.”
The 1930s pendant lights that hang in the void were another keepsake from Gibson’s old home. Eero Aarnio’s orange fibreglass Pastil chair, originally designed to fit inside his iconic 1967 Ball chair, is a bright splash of colour.
Skylights and a vertical window deliver light, showcase the living room collection and, when coupled with the white backdrop, allow for the perfect stage for a collection that has been 25 years in the making. Gibson’s advice when hanging a large art collection? “Leave some blank spaces, or it will be like living in a stamp album.”
The 1930s pendant lights that hang in the void were another keepsake from Gibson’s old home. Eero Aarnio’s orange fibreglass Pastil chair, originally designed to fit inside his iconic 1967 Ball chair, is a bright splash of colour.
The materials change with the level. Marmoleum in the kitchen/dining space gives way to the living room’s narrow 60-millimetre recycled blackbutt timber boards, sourced from the old Cyclops Toy Factory in Leichhardt, along with practical seagrass matting, another throwback to the ’60s and ’70s.
Gibson’s self-confessed ‘bowerbirding’ tendencies have found expression in every corner of the house. Collected into Boyle’s clever spatial design, the effect is not one of overwhelming clutter, but of interesting pieces that each tell a story, like the drawings above the lounge by Joan Ross. “I just choose things I like and put them with other things I like – then what’s not to like?” says Gibson.
Gibson’s self-confessed ‘bowerbirding’ tendencies have found expression in every corner of the house. Collected into Boyle’s clever spatial design, the effect is not one of overwhelming clutter, but of interesting pieces that each tell a story, like the drawings above the lounge by Joan Ross. “I just choose things I like and put them with other things I like – then what’s not to like?” says Gibson.
From front to back, the inviting and intimate home is packed with the telltale signs of a flamboyant spirit with a passion for mid-century design and a flagrant disregard for minimalism. It’s an Aladdin’s cave of riotous colours and artworks, some of which border on the bizarre.
The arresting portrait that hangs over the void is by Liam Benson.
Kone chairs: Roger McLay c1948
The arresting portrait that hangs over the void is by Liam Benson.
Kone chairs: Roger McLay c1948
Cabinetry throughout the house was designed by Boyle. With his and Gibson’s shared love of mid-century aesthetics, the simple lines of the shelving units, benches, bookcases and cupboards integrate with the architecture and create continuity between separately functioning zones. The colour of the painted pegboard cupboard doors changes with each zone, from grey in the kitchen to blue in the living room.
Boyle’s built-ins are a stylish and practical feature of another of Gibson’s requirements – a home study. This room is a mere splinter, around 2 metres wide, adjacent to the living area. It still manages to accommodate a large number of books, a roomy built-in desk and a window seat, and is one of Gibson’s favourite spots.
The sunny seat was upholstered by Boyle’s wife Leah Bennetts of Sean the Prawn, with another of Gibson’s hoarded retro fabrics.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Gibson’s books are colour-coded. “Entirely unoriginal and a bit design-nerd tragic,” she admits.
Gibson’s bedroom is also downstairs, inserted snugly adjacent to the living area. Gibson explains that her children are sometimes there and sometimes not, so the downstairs bedroom and bathroom arrangement means that she has the convenience of living on one level instead of two when she is there on her own.
Her bathroom is a vision in blue – blue mosaic floor, blue laminate wall panels and blue vanity. Like the rest of the house, it’s playful and unexpected.
Although the house appears as a single storey from the front, it actually has a cunning little mezzanine floor tucked under the roof. The staircase to this first floor is reached through a short corridor between the kitchen and dining zones. In this view from the mezzanine, this is just visible on the left, but the floor plan following shows it more clearly.
The area shown as an outdoor space adjacent to the kitchen is behind the colourful geometric mural on the street frontage and can also be used as a carport. This is an example of the flexibility of space that characterises this house.
Gibson specified that her children’s bedrooms and bathroom be on the top level of the house. Artwork, vintage fabrics and painted pegboard wardrobes have been, luckily, met with approval from her offspring.
An industrial pendant light, exposed brick and yet another clever Boyle-designed built-in study desk sit comfortably with a vintage carved storage trunk. The wide louvres on the left open the space to the rooms below.
Possibly the most spectacular room in the house is the children’s bathroom. Gibson has gone all the way with vibrant sunny yellow – Dulux Golden Marguerite. It’s hard not to smile at the uplifting effect morning ablutions must have in such a vivid space. Gibson’s electrician even found yellow power point plates. “It’s like a folly,” says Gibson, “and I love it.”
A mezzanine walkway links the children’s bedrooms and bathroom and provides a different, closer perspective on high-hung artworks.
Outdoor areas also have the free-wheeling Gibson stamp. A wide door in the living area leads to a rear-covered outdoor space, deck and bricked backyard. Gibson has decorated with found objects and vintage treasures, and her eclectic eye selected these sculptural baskets, by Lorraine Connelly-Northey, to hang on the wall. Northey is an indigenous artist and uses rusted wire to make traditional Wiradjuri vessels.
The 4-metre ceiling in the outdoor room gives a spacious feel and the deep overhang protects the facade from excessive sunlight and heat.
Intriguingly visible from the moment you step through the front door, this wall remains as a shabby nod to the suburb’s industrial character. Gibson was so taken with the dilapidated patina and interesting colours that she decided to incorporate its character into her backyard.
The wall is green-painted corrugated steel at the back of an adjacent factory and is ageing rather artistically, forming a backdrop to sculptural low-water usage plants in the urban garden.
Boyle’s plan throughout the project was to create the sensation of a ‘journey’ through a series of interesting, intimate but connected zones. Level changes have been key to this strategy. From the living area and undercover outdoor area, timber steps descend to the brick-paved backyard.
Gibson’s house is directly under a Sydney airport flight path and this impacted on some of the invisible features of the house. Although lightweight construction materials were preferred, mandatory acoustic requirements had to be met. These include upgraded glazing, acoustic window seals, high-level insulation and double fibre cement wall boarding. “Once the house is closed down and a plane goes over, you can hardly hear it,” says Boyle. A side benefit is that thermal performance is significantly improved. Gibson and Boyle were diligent in their pursuit of environmental gains from recycled and renewable materials, external shading, effective cross ventilation, rainwater tanks and an on-site stormwater retention system.
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Congrats to both the architect and client for being bold with colour, what a winner and a contrast to the usual white schemes you see.
Love this! All the eclectic style and color. The vibe is great!
Love this - not only the art, individuality, personality, but just as important is the smart use of space, of an asset, of land, of materials, of heating and cooling. 140 sqm and they have a three bed, two bathroom house. What more does anyone need? more is not better, it is just the selfish use of finite resources. more like this please ,houzz. And thanks for including the floorplan. seriously smart and appropriate for this day and age. congratulations and well done to the owner - hope you love it!